Dimensions Book Six: Tricks
by Blazing Chaos
Summary: Kill the ones you love the most, or die by their hand. Not the best choice any day, but with the perils, fears and surprises of adolescence, the stakes are high and events are being manipulated from afar. Ready to play? Rukato
1. The Trick To Dealing With Consequences

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Now for the Sixth Book, which'll lead on from where Book Five ended, and cover the time span of several months.

Just to note, in the previous book, I changed the coordinates that Ryder gives Ivy in Chapter 24. I realised they were the wrong ones, so they're now fixed to the correct ones. Sorry about that.

And so, on with the tale, after an age update (the same ages as Demons, of course):

Kari, TK, Yolei – 15

Takato, Rika, Kazu, Davis, Henry, Kazu, Ryo, Jeri, Ken – 16

Mimi – 18

Tai, Sora, Matt, Izzy, Joe – 19

Ai and Mako – 5

Suzie – 10

Cody, Kristy – 11

**WARNING: DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVE NOT READ BOOKS ONE TO FIVE AND THEIR ASSOCIATED EXTRA DIMENSIONS STORIES FIRST.**

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 1**

_The Trick To Dealing With Consequences_

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**06:12 JST**

**5****th**** July 2010**

Aches can come in many forms. They can be physical aches, the aches of broken bones and tired legs. They can be mental aches, chief among which is the headache, either caused by ice-cream, mental stress or sometimes coming completely randomly. But of course, the ones that ache the most are the emotional aches. Aches on a heart. Aches that you made a mistake, that you should've done something different.

Ryder Stevens was dealing with all three of these types of ache simultaneously.

"Um…Doctor…is it a bad thing if I can't feel my arm?" he asked, glancing to his left arm worriedly as he felt it go numb.

Dr Imai sighed, looking to the boy. Every minute since Mari had left had been silence until the boy broke it. Dr Imai had been occupied with checking the equipment (still out of curiosity for how he survived death twice) and updating his chart. She glanced up from his chart, prepared to answer his question.

"Hmm…" she pondered, glancing at the heart rate machine, and various other readouts. "I can't see any particular problems, may just be numbness from injuries."

Ryder nodded, glancing to the door as Dr Imai returned to checking his chart. He frowned as he watched the occasional person walk past._'She's not coming back…'_ he thought, as Dr Imai caught his attention again.

"Ryder, I have to attend to other patients, is there anything you need?" she asked, as Ryder looked back to her.

'_Mari for one thing…'_ "No thank you" he answered, she nodding in response and leaving, as Ryder watched the door, before looking down to the bed sadly.

He had done it again. He'd managed to lose everything once again, and this time it was his own fault.

'_What the hell was I thinking when I told Mari about kissing Ivy? More to the point, what was I thinking when I kissed Ivy in the first place?'_

Ryder sighed, looking to the door in the vain hope that Mari had returned by now. She naturally, had not.

'_I wish MiniDonmon were here…someone to talk to at least…where is he anyway? I hope he's okay…'_ he thought, glancing to his D-Vice and carefully moving his other arm, thankfully the one what was significantly numbed, to it's screen. He carefully flicked through the screens, thankful to see that MiniDonmon was intact and healthy.

He sighed, leaning back down on the pillow, thankful that it was soft. Being more uncomfortable than he was didn't seem like a good idea.

"I hate hospitals" he commented. "Operations mainly…" he added, speaking to no-one in particular as he closed his eyes.

Did anyone even know he was awake? Was Mari ever going to come back for him? He wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't…but…he just couldn't see her doing something like that. He just hoped that Mari would at least listen to him long enough for him to explain what happened.

He pressed his arms down, trying to push himself up, before collapsing back on the bed in pain.

'_Great…'_ he thought sarcastically. _'So I have no entertainment, no-one to talk to, and I'm in pain…well, my life has taken a turn for the worse."_

He glanced to the side, at the heart rate monitor, displaying his heart rate for all to see. He breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't displaying a big fat zero. He shook his head, rolling his eyes at himself. Of course it wasn't zero, if it was zero, he'd not only be unconscious, but dead too.

But, by the sounds of it, death wasn't as terminal as he thought it would be. How on earth had he managed to survive death? No, it wasn't surviving. He'd died, and then came back.

So much told him that that was impossible. His whole life he'd accepted as fact that when he died, he'd be dead. But here he was, having conclusively died twice and somehow come back to life again. It was definitely a turn up for the books.

Was it because he was an Angel? Was it something else entirely? Was it because of…that?

Ryder frowned; he didn't like to think of that much. It made everything seem so insignificant. It was like…seeing a picture of some galaxies, and being told that the Earth is not even visible on it. So much empty space, so much insignificance.

And yet, this was far more than that. Ryder couldn't even understand it himself. It just made absolutely no sense.

But why would that make him survive? Clearly, if the universe hadn't collapsed upon his arrival here, then he wasn't _that_ important in the grand scheme of things for it.

He contemplated the light he had seen on both of the occasions of dying. It had saved him from death. It had thrown him out of the dark space, the nothingness that was beyond life, the universe and everything. Ryder winced at the thought; it was something he really didn't want to contemplate. But what was that light? It was like an explosion, a huge vortex erupting and saving him.

Ryder groaned. Everything had gotten just that much more confusing. He'd died, then survived, then visited his world again in ghost form and physically affected it, learnt that he'd left behind a feather, and then died and came back again.

How had he managed to go to another world, even when unconscious? At first he thought it was only his memories he was seeing, but he was seeing something he knew was real. It just was real. He knew it was. Feeling her warm hand, her blonde hair, feeling her lips touch his so gently and soft…

"Stupid mind…" Ryder muttered under his breath. His mind had a habit of wandering like this, no matter how much he tried to avoid it. In fact, attempting to avoid it normally provoked whatever he was trying to avoid thinking about. Be it a kiss in another world, or a murder he had committed of a Demon, his attempts to get it off his mind would simply bring it on with resounding force to dominate his thoughts.

He tried to pull his mind away from the kiss, thinking about the feather that had appeared. When he'd been holding it, it had felt warm, fiery even, and incredibly soft. It was also beautiful in the way that the equally fiery colours ran along it, perfectly formed without a single imperfection beyond where Ivy's gentle hands had held it mere seconds before, turning it over and peering at it with her wide brown eyes, the…

"STOP IT!" he exclaimed, before noticing that he had yelled that out a bit too loud, as a passing doctor peeped his head into the room.

"Um…are you okay?" the doctor asked, Ryder looking up and nodding, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh…yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay…" the man replied, walking away muttering something about a "mental patient". Ryder sighed, settling his head back down again, as he stared at the ceiling, feeling his mind drift again, this time to Mari, thankfully for him. He wasn't sure how much he could take of his tangential mind in the state he had found himself in upon waking up.

He remembered how he'd woken up, and she was there, looking over him, her beautiful brown hair creased with worry for him. She really cared about him; she'd been by his side even when he was unconscious and worse. In his minds eye, he saw MegaDonnermon and Youkomon avenging the Mammothmon's actions and blowing both it and the Bakamon to smithereens, while Mari ran over to him. Her hair ruffled by the wind as she stared down at his injuries, eyes fraught with worry as she watched the ambulance arrive, the phone call to provoke it being but a distant memory as she stared on at his form, unknowing as to whether he'd ever recover.

Ryder chuckled. His mind definitely had a way of describing things with dramatics as well. It had served him well for explaining and describing things both in and out of battle in the past, and no doubt would serve him well in the future.

"Hmm…" Ryder pondered, recalling Mari's appearance from earlier. He'd been far too dazed to take much notice, but thinking back, she'd changed it. The main thing he'd noticed is that she looked a lot more mature. That's not to say that her old haircut hadn't looked mature, nor that she wasn't mature in the first place (well, most of the time at least), but the new one seemed to give a look of wisdom to her eyes. _'Could be because of the Angel thing though…I mean, she has only been an Angel for…'_ Ryder paused, looking to his D-Vice carefully so as to minimize the pain. He found it amusing that he had no idea what day it was. He was thankful that he hadn't lost too much time; it was only the day after the accident. _'…two days…'_ he finished, frowning. So much had happened in two days, and so much he'd managed to do wrong.

He closed his eyes again, sighing as he relaxed down, but pausing as he felt something strange.

"Huh?" he pondered, opening his eyes again. _'Is that the flow of time?'_ he asked, noting a familiar yet strangely different feeling. He'd never been that sensitive to the flow, it took something pretty major normally to register in his mind. But now, it not only seemed like he could sense a far weaker range of the effects of time, but also he could sense longer distances, beyond the few metres he used to be able to feel. _'That's strange…'_ he thought, pondering what could've caused such a drastic change in his powers as an Angel. Was it dying? Was it the coma? Or was it his inter-dimensional trip? Whatever it was, it had definitely changed something.

A tingling feeling ran through the time stream, getting closer and closer as Ryder concentrated on it, concerned as to what it could be. It felt like a disruption in the flow of time, but what could it possibly be?

"Ryder?!" asked a familiar voice, as Ryder smiled.

'_Make that, _who_ could it possibly be…'_ he corrected, pushing himself up the pillow slightly (and slightly painfully as well) with his elbows, and looking at the new figure at the door.

"You're alive!" cheered a girl with red hair flowing free (and yet strangely in straight lines) to just below shoulder height. Ryder was always slightly puzzled as to why her hair was somehow a brighter red (albeit still not bright red) than Rika's. Then again, that was the way genetics (and Angels) worked. She looked extremely cheerful to see him alive as she paced over to his bed, Ryder noticing Realmon standing on her shoulder with her tails fanned out, smiling her equivalent of a smile.

And on her head…no…wait…make that now, Ryder's bed, sat an ecstatic MiniDonmon, as he tumbled along the sheet for a bit (inadvertently landing on Ryder's injured side and making him wince) before coming to a stop on the sheets above Ryder's chest, a look of concern replacing his happiness as he saw his Tamer's pained expression, before cursing himself for not remembering the fact that Ryder had sustained serious injuries.

"Oh…sorry…" he apologised, Ryder moving into a smile as the pain subsided.

"Don't worry" he answered, merely glad to see his partner as they simply smiled to each other. They hadn't been separated for this long since they'd first met.

"When did you wake up?" Rey asked, smiling at the happy scene.

"About half an hour ago…Mari told me I died in the process…again…"

"Well Ryder, I have to hand it to you, you are one stubborn boy…" Rey joked.

"Yeah, even death wasn't enough to hold you down" Realmon added.

Ryder chuckled, before his expression turned more serious. "Okay, joking aside, you're from the future, how on earth did I survive death?"

Rey shrugged. "No idea, haven't found out yet" she replied. "Maybe it's some kind of special power…maybe you're not of this earth…" she replied, making a ghostly noise. Ryder didn't smile, his mouth turning into a line.

"I already know I'm not of _this_ Earth Rey…" he answered. "And I'm not human either, so who knows…" he added, pausing for thought.

"Me even less so…" she joked.

"Hey, maybe it's because I don't have a Destiny or a Fate or something?" he asked, cocking his head, his attention drawn to the downturn in Rey's expression upon mentioning Fate. What, did it have bad connotations in her mind? Did she prefer being called Destiny over Fate or what?

Her expression turned to a smile again, as she shook her head. "Nah, if you're outside Destiny, you can still die, Destiny just controls those within its clutches, it couldn't care less about anyone outside."

Ryder nodded, frowning. Whatever it was, this mystery wasn't going to be solved easily by any means.

Rey suddenly had a thought cross her expression, as she glanced around. "Hey, you said Mari was here earlier, where did she go?" she asked, cocking her head.

Ryder frowned. That was all the answer Rey needed, as she groaned.

"Oh for god's sake, what did you do this time?"

Ryder frowned. "Kissed another girl…" he replied, frowning.

Rey cocked an eyebrow. When on earth did he kiss another girl? He'd been unconscious for the past day, at what point did he somehow get up and kiss someone? And who did he kiss? Was it one of the other Tamers? Did he secretly harbour feelings about someone else in their group other than Mari?

Rey mentally shook her head; she was letting her mind wander way too much. _'It's not likely that any others will have the same situation, I mean, it's unlikely enough…'_ she thought. "So, who was it?"

"Uhh…" Ryder murmured, trying to figure out what to say. Rey frowned, walking up to him and putting her hand on his head, pulling off a remarkable impression of her own mother in her tone of voice and body language. Basically, it read, 'tell me the truth or you'll _never_ recover from your injuries, got that?' Of course, she shortened it in the verbal form to a far more succinct reply.

"Spill it…" she said. "Who was it?" she asked.

"Ivy…" he answered, unease in his tone and expression as his gaze deviated from her. Rey stood up straight again, moving her hand away and pausing. She frowned as the realisation dawned on her as to what he was talking about. She frowned.

'_Who else?'_ she thought, realising she should've guessed it beforehand. Or maybe not, how had he somehow gotten out of bed without anyone seeing him _and_ gone to another universe, one he seemed to have no method of returning to? "How?" she asked, summing up her thoughts.

"It was like a dream…I had several dreams actually, but it was the most important one…I was able to move about my own house, and she was there…and then…then I was at my funeral…and I wanted to hug her so much, and then I grabbed her hand, and, all of a sudden, she can see me…and it was really real and everything…I think I somehow became real for a short amount of time…and then, we talked for a bit, and then I kissed her…"

"Well, I think Mari should see that as an honest mistake…"

"…three times…" he added nervously.

Rey frowned, sitting down on the edge of his hospital bed as all sympathy escaped her voice, to be replaced with exasperation. "Oh Ryder, how do you manage it? Again, and again, and again, and again, you somehow manage to cock everything up…" she groaned.

"I know, I've noticed that too…I mean, I was being honest with her, I told her what had happened when I woke up, and then she just walked out…I didn't even get a chance to properly explain everything…"

"The truth is not always the best thing" Rey quoted, looking back into his eyes.

"But I'm not going to get anywhere with her if I'm not honest so…so I decided to tell her…and look how it ended up…" Ryder replied, frowning. "She deserves to be with someone better than me, I can't even think straight when I'm awake, let alone in my dreams…" he answered, looking forlornly down at his partner, who frowned in response.

Rey walked forward, putting her hand on Ryder's cheek gently. "Ryder…" she said softly. "I'm sure that you two can work things out…you work so well together…"

"Yeah…thanks…" Ryder replied, looking into her eyes again. Rey paused, looking back into his eyes with her hand on his cheek for a short while, before Ryder gave her an odd look. She quickly turned away, deciding to change the subject and get away to clear her head for a while. Realmon grinned, looking to her partner's expression. Maybe this was what was bothering her…

"So, I'll call the others and get them to come…" she said, not looking back to face him as he watched her, cocking an eyebrow at her change in behaviour all of a sudden as she walked to the door, Realmon leaping onto her shoulder.

"Yeah, okay…" he replied. Rey took a single glance back, before proceeding through the doorway, leaving a confused Ryder in her wake.

'_What was THAT about?'_ he thought, looking with a bewildered expression down to his partner.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And so, I'm back onto writing again, and here we go with a new fic. A lot of reflection in this chapter, but the action should resume soon.

Next time…

Will Mari come back to see Ryder? What will Renamon do with the egg? How did Ryder survive death itself?

Find out in 'The Trick To Escaping Renamon's Wrath Alive', Chapter Two of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	2. The Trick To Escaping Renamon's Wrath Al

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 2**

_The Trick To Escaping Renamon's Wrath Alive_

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Shinjuku Park**

**06:21 JST**

**5****th**** July 2010**

Renamon leaned against the wall, staring at the object that had suddenly leapt into her life. The object that she somehow had produced (although Renamon had an idea of the details of it). An action which she knew was impossible until two days prior. And she knew exactly who was to blame for it all. They were going to pay big time as soon as she got her hands on them.

She frowned, groaning as she unclenched her fists. This must have been exactly how Rika felt when her actions came round to bite her on the ass. Clearly, the impact was going to be very different however, even if in element it was the same in the long term.

Renamon contemplated the concept of getting rid of the egg, currently 'sitting' immobilised on a mound of dirt that Guilmon had dug up at some point in the last five months. Who would even know if it were to go missing, besides her of course? Who would actually care?

Something stopped her though. Something strange; a maternal feeling perhaps? Despite having only been around the object for less than an hour (consciously at least) she nonetheless somehow felt attached to it.

What on earth would hatch from it though? A Digimon, presumably, but what kind of Digimon? A child of a virus-type Digimon created by a twelve year old (at the time) part-God, and a fox-like data type who was partner to another part-God. A child of creation and destruction.

Renamon chuckled, no doubt that summed up Rey, Rika's child-to-be, but what about whatever was in the digi-egg in front of her? Her mind contemplated a hybrid between her and her lover, but, try as she might, she couldn't picture anything that was remotely realistic. She doubted that even Takato, the great 'Dreamer', could do so.

Renamon wondered what provoked her to do what she did with Guilmon the previous night. Maybe it was simple longing…it had started out as a kiss, but…something…something had happened…

Renamon shook her head as she tried to concentrate back on the matter at hand, there would be time for reflecting later. For the time being, there were far more important things to do. For example, making sure that no-one sees the egg.

"Oooh…pretty…" commented a childish voice, as Renamon glanced down to Calumon staring at the egg curiously; tapping it lightly with his hand as he dashed any hopes of keeping it hidden. He smiled, looking up to her curiously. "What is it?" he asked; hand on the edge of his widened mouth.

"Nothing…" she answered monotonously, her tail sweeping out and curling around it. Calumon broke into a frown as he watched her do so.

"It doesn't look like nothing…" he continued, watching the egg held in the grips of her tail, held up to one side behind of her.

Renamon looked down to him, their eyes meeting periodically, before her gaze moved up and she, frowning, vanished into thin air without a sound.

"Huh?" Calumon asked, stumped at first by where she had gone and looking round. "Aw…that's not very friendly…" he moaned.

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**06:21 JST**

"Okay, so you'll drop by after school?" Rey asked, having nodded to the voice on the other end of the payphone. She frowned, Ryder was going to reimburse her for the cost of all of these calls whether he liked it or not. Why the hell couldn't she use her cellphone in a hospital anyway?

"_**Yeah, otherwise we'll have detention for weeks…" **_complained the voice on the other end.

"Okay Yolei, hope to see you soon" Rey finished, hanging up the payphone as she sighed, pausing for a moment with her hand on the handset.

Of all of the Tamers and Digidestined, only Takato, Rika, Kristy, Jeri and Henry were going to be able to come to the hospital. Everyone else was either asleep, or too far away, or too much in fear of detention from teachers or grounding from parents, despite the significance of the situation. They had all been grateful to hear that Ryder was alive and awake, but unfortunately it was a Monday morning, and both Kazu and Kenta had failed to do their homework for the next day. The threat of being in detention for the rest of their natural lives was too much for them.

Naturally, Rika would come regardless of whether she was allowed to or not, and probably likewise with Takato (although far more tactfully). Equally, Takato, like Jeri and Henry, was unlikely to get a detention from Mrs Asagi, because they had all done their homework already. And Kristy…well…she'd simply insisted on following behind Rika. And Rika, as usual, didn't mind. It was odd how those two got along, it was always as if Kristy expected Rika to say no, and then was surprised when she didn't. Of course, there were always the occasions when Rika had to get away from her sister to talk privately or to be alone with her thoughts. Lately, this sort of situation must have happened more than ever given what Rey knew (and had seen) of Rika's newfound situation.

Still, Rey couldn't help but feel she had wasted a lot of money on phone calls compared to the amount of people who were actually coming in the end. She took her hand off the payphone, and looked down to her partner, standing and watching from the floor nearby, people walking past thankfully not taking too much notice of the yellow fox and her nine swishing tails gently waving about.

Rey cocked an eyebrow, noticing her partner's expression. A faint smile was on her features, and her eyes were narrowed slightly, as her smile grew into a smirk.

"What?" Rey asked, unconsciously putting her arms out defensively, a habit she had picked up from her father (who would seem to use it whenever he said the wrong thing. Around Rika, this was normally a lot, given Takato's usual clumsiness).

"You know what…" Realmon answered, a knowing tone in her voice as she glared into Rey's eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Rey asked, her question hollow and fake.

"It all finally makes sense" Realmon continued, as if Rey wasn't denying it. Her glare into Rey's eyes continued.

Rey frowned, sighing as she closed her eyes, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. She looked to the ceiling, and its ugly fluorescent lights. Her eyes automatically switched to a tinted view, preventing damage to her retinas from the light. There were definitely plenty of advantages to being the daughter of two half-Gods, even if it did drain her energy in the process. Well, this type of move tired her very little, while more complex moves tired her far more. Final Destiny was definitely the be-all and end-all of it, it had made her faint in all the times she had used it, so naturally she would never use it except in dire situations. It was a horrid move, more or less scraping people from existence, destiny and all. It wasn't even clean really; it left jagged edges in Destiny where the people just vanished completely. Of course, the move would never work on people like Ryder, nor could it work over too large an area without killing her in the process. She sighed again; she was simply ducking the issue by thinking about something else entirely.

"So are you denying it?" the fox asked. Ryder frowned, looking down to her partner as a glance went between them, the sign of a telepathic message between the pair that no-one else would ever hear. Realmon nodded, frowning as she contemplated both the fact that she was right, and the impact of this revelation. "So what are you going to do then?" she asked.

"Like I can _really_ do anything about it!" she replied, rolling her eyes. "Regardless, I'm sure it'll pass, I've still got someone waiting for me back home, remember?"

"Oh, do you Rey, because of course I forgot about _him_ in the few months we've been travelling…" Realmon replied sarcastically. Rey chuckled; her partner and her had an interesting relationship with each other. That's what came from having been together for their entire lives. Of course, Realmon had matured far faster in terms of speech, intelligence and abilities, but Rey had caught up with her (and exceeded her intelligence in some places) by far by now.

"Do you ever feel like you're a character in a TV series?" Rey joked, contemplating her unusual situation, something well within the realm of anime and its associated realms. Realmon smiled knowingly, nodding in response.

"You've been reading my mind" Realmon answered.

"_With ease…" _Rey said telepathically, Realmon nodding again, as her expression turned more serious, yet curious simultaneously.

"_So are you going to help Mari and Ryder get back together?"_ the fox inquired.

"_Of course, they're still my friends and I have nothing against Mari in the slightest…she cared for me when there was no-one else to…or rather…she will care for me when there is no-one else to…"_ Rey answered. _"I owe her a debt of gratitude, and they go well together…like I could really get anywhere with this anyway…"_

"_This is why I respect you Rey, you're so thoughtful…" _Realmon said telepathically. _"Albeit slightly ditzy at times…"_

"_Thanks, I guess…"_ the Tenth Angel replied, nodding uneasily (and proving to anyone watching that she was completely insane if they were suspecting it. She was simply staring a bizarre creature in the eyes, and nodding occasionally, not normal behaviour for a sixteen year old, or a person of any age for that matter). She turned, facing down the corridor as Realmon leapt onto her shoulder, tails swishing gracefully as she did so. "Now, to find Mari…" the redhead announced, albeit quietly as she began to walk.

'_Why do I have a feeling that this'll be the easy part?'_ Realmon pondered.

* * *

**West Shinjuku Apartment Complex 10B**

**06:35 JST  
**

"Terriermon!"

"What, it's not my fault if Suzie is still crazy!"

At one point, the residents of the local area around this particular apartment block would've been surprised to see one of its residents, a blue-haired boy most commonly seen in an orange jacket, talking to a small cream and green…thing, that could best be described as a dog-bunny (although those with knowledge of the media franchise he was from, or who had simply heard Henry's scolding, would know that this creature was called Terriermon). However, they had grown used to this creature's sardonic wit, as well as the boy's exasperated attitude about it. Nonetheless, it was clear that they had a strong bond, particularly since no-one else thought they could put up with the same level of tactless chatter as the boy did. He clearly had a lot of patience with the bunny.

"That's still no reason to call her that."

"Henry, she's ten and she still wears pink! She's got an obsession with it, I'm sure of it!"

"Terriermon, plenty of girls wear pink, even at my age."

"Does Jeri wear pink?"

"No, not normally."

"Does Mari wear pink?"

"No."

"Does Sora wear pink?"

"No, well, not when I've seen her at least."

"Does Rika…well, that's a stupid question, I'll admit, but…"

"What about Kari, Yolei, Ai, Mimi and Kristy?" Henry asked. Terriermon frowned.

"Okay, then maybe a few girls at your age wear pink, but I really don't see why…"

"You have EXACTLY 5 seconds to run before I personally destroy every single last piece of your data" came a new voice, interrupting the pair. Terriermon looked up in alarm from his position on Henry's shoulder to see an angered Renamon, glaring at him. Henry felt unease, why was she so angry?

"What? Why?" Terriermon asked, looking like a deer into headlights.

Renamon growled deeply, before turning to Henry, her voice commanding. "Henry, I need to talk to Terriermon privately for a moment…"

Terriermon gulped. He had a feeling this was going to be very painful, whatever it was. She'd never normally gotten this worked up about him (that was Rika's job), but now she seemed to want him dead. Not only did she want him killed, but she seemed to want to make it painful too.

He prayed to whatever Gods existed that she'd have mercy on him. Unfortunately, his mind reminded him that Renamon actually was a God, albeit a constituent part of one, so praying to the Gods was in reflection not a very good idea.

"What about?" Henry asked, unsure as to how to approach the situation. An angered Renamon was a rare sight, but always a deadly one. Her glare left the eyes of the terrified dog-bunny and moved into the eyes of the boy, before back to the bunny again.

"He knows."

"Do I?" Terriermon asked, somewhat stumped as to what she was talking about.

"I still want to hear, you may hate him but I'm not just sending him to his death" Henry answered.

Terriermon breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Oh thank you Henry, I'll never annoy you again!" he replied gratefully, clutching Henry's head with his ears.

Renamon sighed; this would make things more complicated. She supposed she was simply acting on her anger, rather than taking any rationale to the subject. Sure, Henry was involved in the patch, but Terriermon was the one who made it. She breathed deeply, although it wasn't visible or audible to her observers, before a quick wipe of the tail left the red, yellow and black egg in her hand. She held it out, waiting for the pair to compute what it was.

A look of bewilderment crossed both Henry and Terriermon's eyes, before comically their eyes both widened simultaneously as they looked up to Renamon, who nodded, frowning.

"Ah, now I understand why you're angry…" Henry said. Terriermon simply began to laugh, before Renamon shot him a death glare and shut him up instantly.

"Yes, this is all your fault…both of you…" she answered. "But Terriermon mostly…" she added.

Terriermon began to laugh, even a death glare not silencing him this time. Henry looked uneasily to his partner and back to a very pissed-off Renamon, wondering whether he would be caught in the crossfire. Terriermon wiped his eyes, before looking back to her. "Renamon, seriously, are you blaming us for what you did?" he asked. Renamon paused, looking back to him and narrowing her eyes.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he does have a point" Henry added. "Surely it was your choice to do…whatever you did…with Guilmon I presume?"

Renamon frowned, albeit felt slightly vexed by the argument coming from a human no less. However, she had a lot of respect for Henry; he was one of the more insightful members of the group, something that couldn't be said for the bunny on his shoulder, who was trying hard to suppress his laughter.

Henry frowned, looking down at the floor as Terriermon noticed his actions. "I was worried there'd be consequences Terriermon…looks like they came sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, at least they don't affect us!" Terriermon cheered, grinning widely, and then noticing Renamon's expression. His mouth dropped into a frown, as Renamon raised a hand, a single icy shard prepared in its clutches. Henry looked nervously to the vixen, both out of fear for injury to himself, and a faint worry that his partner would get him for what he said later.

Henry smiled weakly, deciding that now would be a perfect time to teach Terriermon to be more careful in future. "Go ahead, just don't hit me…" he commented, Renamon grinning and a look of horror crossing the bunnies' face, before turning to anger.

"TRAITOR!" he yelled, before a shard knocked him off his perch and onto the ground. Henry turned as Renamon walked up to the bunny, picking him up by his ear.

"Now, time to teach you a lesson in consequences…" she noted, Henry nodding as he stepped aside.

"Wait!" Terriermon yelled, pausing the vixen in her tracks. "If you attack me, I'll tell everyone!" he said.

"On the light of it, that'd be a worthwhile trade" she answered coldly, crossing her arms as shards (although far less than usual) materialised between them.

"I'm willing to bet that you're actually petrified of what'll happen if everyone finds out…not least Rika, since you made the same mistake as her…imagine that Renamon, imagine it…" he said, looking into the Kitsune's eyes as they traded glares, each trying to see if the other was bluffing or not.

Renamon paused, turning and firing the shards into a nearby wall to vent her annoyance. Henry covered his eyes as the wall exploded, crumbling to the ground as the shards erupted. A wind ripped past, ruffling Renamon's fur, as she frowned, glancing down at the bunny, now doing a victory dance until Henry glared at him.

"What?" Terriermon asked, his voice knowing the mischievous deeds he was doing but pretending he wasn't at the same time.

"Terriermon, you have _seriously_ got to learn some tact…" the blue-haired boy said exasperatedly, sighing as he looked back to Renamon, who had paused in thought and stared off into thin air, a strange pose for a being who normally had a grip on any situation she found herself in. "Are you going to tell Rika?" Henry asked. Renamon shook her head, stepping backwards. Henry frowned as she vanished suddenly, leaving them to their thoughts. He turned, looking down to the bunny with a serious expression as he bent down.

The bunny stopped smiling as he noticed his Tamer's expression, instead his mouth turning into a flat line. "We're not going to milk this one, are we?" Terriermon asked sadly, annoyed that his potential fun had been ruined by his Tamer (as always). Henry shook his head.

"We're not going to tell anyone, Renamon just needs some time to think, and we've got to give her that…"

"And what happens if I do tell?"

Henry smiled evilly, disconcerting the dog-bunny. "Then every single secret I know about you will be published on the internet for all to see."

The bunny gulped. "You win" he said, sighing.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

As fun as it would be to have Renamon beat Terriermon to death, I didn't expect Henry to allow that, and it would be a bit too over the top. Please review. 

Next time…

Will Renamon decide what to do? What will Rika think? How will Rey cope with her feelings?

Find out in 'The Trick To Keeping Your Arguments A Secret', Chapter Three of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	3. The Trick To Keeping Your Arguments A Se

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks go out to Crazyeight for beta-reading this chapter, as well as to all my reviewers for reviewing.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 3**

_The Trick To Keeping Your Arguments A Secret_

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**06:40 UTC**

**5****th**** July 2010**

"Is it just me, or am I spending every day in a hospital lately?" Rika asked Takato, as they paced down the corridor of the hospital. Takato nodded, glancing around to Jeri and Kristy following behind them, with their partners in tow (or on shoulder). As always, Guilmon was absent, and Renamon was presumably hidden from sight. Rika had no reason to summon her regardless.

Kristy cocked an eyebrow. "It was only yesterday, what do you mean 'every day'?"

Everyone else stayed silent (Takato even whistled innocently until punched lightly in the arm by Rika), and Kristy's vexation grew.

"Hello?" she asked again. "Have I just become muted?" she added.

"I wish," Rika muttered under her breath.

"What?" Kristy asked. Rika ignored her, as they reached the door. Jeri gently pushed it open, checking whether the boy in the bed was awake or not.

"Hey!" came a pained voice, as they all stepped into the room, looking to the boy and his bat-like partner who currently sat on his ruffled hair. His eyes, despite him having slept for so many hours, had bags under them, and his clothes were ripped along where his injuries were, only to be placed back over them again. He was propped up slightly against the bed end, and he greeted them with a weary smile.

"Hi," Takato greeted, Ryder glancing around as he identified the group. He noted the odd lack of Henry; he probably was still on his way and simply got held up somewhere. Rey had told him who was coming, and he had been slightly disappointed by the very short list, but he could sympathize with the fact most of them had school, something that was probably the only advantage of his hospitalization. Plus, it was clear he was going to recover (unless things truly took a turn for the worse) and so they would naturally less concerned about seeing him for the last time whilst he was alive (not that it appeared that he had any need to be concerned about death).

"How are you feeling?" Jeri asked, concern leaking from her voice. Rika, or rather Harmony, eyed Ryder's form carefully, analyzing his current condition. Chaos simply couldn't be bothered to do the same, instead waiting for Ryder's response, Harmony's answer, or both.

"Fine," Ryder answered, but Harmony painted a different picture of his condition.

"**Major injuries in left ventral side, to a distance of five ****centimetres maximum, although bleeding has been stopped and healing have begun. Pain currently controlled using local anaesthetic drip and a general numbness. Broken left tibia, general bruising on left posterior and anterior of chest. Low energy levels, although heart rate is faster than resting heart rate. Emotional state depressed for unknown reasons, probably due to condition."**

"Okay, maybe not fine if you put it _that_ way?" Ryder reiterated.

"When did you wake up?" Kudamon asked.

"I don't know. What time is it?" Ryder asked, attempting to look at his D-Vice. He was glad when someone answered his question to save him the inevitable pain.

"Twenty to seven," Takato answered, glancing to his own device and back to Ryder.

"One and a half hours then, I think," Ryder responded.

"So what was dying like?" Kristy asked curiously. Ryder frowned; he couldn't possibly tell her the truth.

"I…I don't know, I was unconscious," he said. Rika frowned, he was blatantly lying, but she had a feeling why. Whatever the truth was, it sounded like Ryder didn't want to tell.

"Oh…okay," Kristy answered, disappointed by the lack of an answer (although arguably the truth would be far more painful for her). Jeri spoke up, having glanced around and noticed something odd.

"Where's Mari?" she asked curiously. Ryder's face turned to a frown, as his gaze deviated from the group.

"Not sure" he answered. MiniDonmon looked down to him forlornly from his place on his brown ruffled hair. It was sad to see his Tamer like this - not as bad as seeing him unconscious, of course, but still terrible.

"Okay. Where's Rey then?" Rika asked. "She _did_ call us," she added, making Ryder deduce that she suspected that something more than it seemed was going on here.

"Looking for Mari," Ryder answered matter-of-factly, hiding any emotion in his voice.

"Was Mari here when you woke up?" Takato asked curiously, sure that something wasn't adding up here.

"Um…yeah, but she went to get…um…um…" Ryder began, trying to think of a plausible reason. "I can't remember," he finally finished, deciding to play his amnesia card.

Rika glanced to Takato, an invisible message running between them. Something was definitely up here. Ryder noticed, trying to get their minds off it by surprising them with something else, hoping that this tactic would stun them enough.

"I died again, by the way," he said, making everyone in the room pause and look at him with widened eyes. It completely threw Harmony for a loop; having invented death in the first place, advertently or inadvertently, a person dying and coming back to life was completely beyond what even she knew, let alone a person doing the same act twice.

"No…way…" Takato exclaimed. "That's impossible…isn't it?" he asked, looking to Rika, or rather Harmony, for advice, the gaze being mimicked by his fellow Tamers. Rika felt Harmony take control as she put her hand on her chin in a thinking pose. Ryder had a feeling of relief sweep over him about his successful attempt to change the subject.

"**Well…it…I really can't think of any way this is possible…even if you are outside of Destiny…we…I…never created this sort of possibility, death was a control to prevent Chaos…everything would die naturally in the end****,"**

"**Hence, I made viruses and disease and disrupted it all for her."**

"**Oh, I'm so grateful for what you did by the way**" Harmony replied acerbically.

"**I know you love me really****,"**Chaos joked, pulling a face and receiving a cold glare from Harmony, and confused glances from everyone else who had always been under the perception that Chaos and Harmony despised each other. Chaos grinned, turning to his audience'. **"Only joking, of course, I loathe my counterpart more than anything else…except people who steal pebbles from beaches."**

There was a long silence, as Harmony rolled her eyes at her opposite number. The sound, or rather the lack of it, was finally broken when Takato took back control from Chaos.

"O…kay…" he began, before Rika interrupted, having figured something else out in the interim. She strode over to Ryder's bedside, looking down to him with a glare that said tell me the truth or you'll _never_ recover from your injuries, got that?' Ryder was unnerved by the fact this was the second time in two hours he had been given this exact glare, and from two girls who naturally shared several characteristics.

"Spill it," Rika began. "You're hiding something," she added.

Ryder felt her eyes drill into the back of his skull as he periodically glanced across to Takato, who looked back with a shrug. When Rika wanted to find out something, there was nothing that anyone could do to stop her; not even Takato was able to stop her. Even Harmony struggled, and in this case, she was curious enough as well not to attempt to stop her alter ego.

However, there is that little voice in all of us that tells us to challenge this sort of intimidation. Normally we ignore it, but sometimes, we end up doing the stupidest of things.

"Go ahead and kill me, chances are I'll come back five seconds later," he replied, Rika's glare turning into a confused look as she glanced to the others, who were equally either confused, surprised, shocked or all or a mix of the above.

Ryder felt a grin cross his face, as Rika glowered over at him. A voice whistled in awe, Rika looking across the room to see her favourite antagonist (and the word favourite is used ironically here) and his partner whose head he stood on.

"Wow Ryder, that sure took guts," Terriermon said, grinning.

"Terriermon!" Henry complained, seeing Rika's death glare.

"Oh right, don't antagonise it'."

Henry groaned and quickly decided to change the subject before energy balls started flying - the hospital, as well as those watching and those not, were at risk otherwise.

"So what do you mean that you'll come back five seconds later?" he asked. Rika was slightly peeved at losing her chance to finally get rid of the bunny (for good reason too), but was still interested in the answer.

"Well, I survived death twice already, what's to say I won't again?" Ryder asked, tilting his head slightly, proving to Rika that he wasn't completely sure himself.

"Are you willing to experiment with that?" Rika asked, sounding somewhat like a threat. Ryder gulped.

"No…no thank you," he answered uneasily. Rika nodded.

"Right, so shut up and just answer our questions…what are you hiding?" Rika inquired.

"How can he shut up _and_ answer your questions?" MiniDonmon asked.

"JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE HIDING!" Rika yelled, beyond her wits end with pretty much everyone.

"Sis, can you calm down?" Kristy asked. "You're scaring me."

Rika turned, about to snap at her sister, but she paused suddenly, freezing up as pictures played through her head. She looked down to her sister, suddenly feeling something hold her back as she looked to the innocent child. She turned, walking from the room as Takato and Kristy looked on with concern, the others simply confused.

"What's eating her?" Terriermon asked, voicing their questions. Ryder silently breathed a sigh of relief; he'd continued to be able to escape the question. Takato glanced to Jeri and Henry, the former nodding in encouragement, as he promptly followed after the redhead.

"Wow Ryder, you went under the legendary Rika glare and survived," MiniDonmon said in awe to his Tamer.

"Yeah, that is something I never thought I'd face in a thousand years. The TV series really doesn't do it justice," Ryder answered, noting looks from the others in curiosity. They always seemed to do that when he mentioned the TV series; they were clearly intrigued by what it portrayed, and they'd never had much of a chance to discuss it. Mainly since he always found a way to duck out of it, since there were some things he really didn't want to mention. However, in light of the current situation, with his lack of mobility, it looked like he'd have to field their questions this time.

Still, that by far beat talking about his and Mari's current situation. He pondered whether Rey had had any success, before fielding the first question.

"Yeah, about that. I was wondering; was the TV series entirely accurate?" Henry asked, looking to Ryder with a curious gaze. It'd been a subject of interest for the blue-haired boy since he'd first heard about it, and he'd never had a chance to ask.

"Compared to what? I'm not sure on what really happened, so you'll have to give me examples."

"Well…" Henry began, pausing and changing the idea of what he planned to talk about after a quick glance at Elecmon and Jeri. The Beelzemon battle would be one of the best examples for comparison, but in light of her presence, it'd be highly tactless. He decided to choose something earlier on in their adventures. "What about how Takato and Rika first met?" he finally asked.

"Let's see, Episode 2 Digimon, Digimon, Everywhere' spanning into Episode 3, To Fight Or Not To Fight'…" he began, surprising those watching, since they'd never considered the fact it was in an episodic format. "Now, if I recall correctly, Guilmon was kicked into a fence, then Rika confronted Takato, they fought, Rika used a modify card on Renamon, which was avoided by Guilmon once he snapped out of his feral state. Then, Renamon saw the happiness between Guilmon and Takato compared to Rika who was shouting at her to attack, but then attacked herself, only to be interrupted by Henry and Terriermon. Rika then left the pair of you. Am I accurate or not?"

"That's pretty much everything. Never really heard about how it all started in that battle though, so can't tell you whether that is accurate or not," Henry noted.

"Okay…hey, thinking about it, there is one thing that never happened in this world it appears," Ryder noted, glancing to MiniDonmon, who nodded as the same thought passed across his mind.

"Well tell us then, don't keep us in suspense," Terriermon complained. "Geez, you're one for dramatics, aren't you? You should become a writer," he added, rolling his eyes (to the best of his abilities at least, given that his eyes were merely pupils).

Ryder chuckled, before continuing. Well, he was about to, before he paused. "Hold on. Wait…forget it…" _'That'll just complicate matters too much…'_

"What was it?" Jeri asked.

"Don't worry, I thought it was something different, but it'll actually be the same," he answered, looking to his partner who nodded in realisation. That was something they didn't want to bring up, it would cause far too many problems for them.

Henry frowned; it looked like Ryder was still hiding some things about the TV series. Nonetheless, his interest had been raised by another thing. "Okay…so how many episodes were there?"

"There were 51 episodes, and it covered all the way from when Takato got his D-Arc to when the D-Reaper battle ended and you lost your Digimon," he answered, pausing before quickly continuing. "And then Dimensions ran from when you got your Digimon back up to the cataclysm, with another 30 episodes…Dimensions was on a series break when I left," he added.

"I see," Henry answered. Ryder cocked an eyebrow, considering one particular problem that he'd just thought of.

"Are you sure that you can just skip school like this? From what I've seen of Mrs Asagi, she doesn't let people off that easily."

Jeri smiled. "We'll brave that just to see a friend is alright."

"Aw, isn't that so sweet?" Terriermon noted sarcastically.

"Oh, by the way, you've all got a bit more experience than me, am I going to get off easy when I get back to school or will I have weeks worth of work to catch up on? Because, you know, I'd rather just do what Ryo does and vanish to the Digital World for a few weeks rather than deal with that," Ryder asked.

"She may go lightly on you," Jeri replied.

"Just show her your scars," Elecmon suggested.

"To be honest, I hadn't even begun to consider the concept that I'll have scars from this," Ryder answered, groaning as he realised the extent of what he'd have to deal with, both in injuries and in getting his life back on track after recovery. "Not to mention the fact my favourite outfit is now ruined," he added, gesturing to his clothes.

Jeri nodded, laughing. "Yeah, but I'm sure Mari will take you out shopping and buy you thousands of things," she answered. She looked to Ryder's frown at Mari's name curiously. What was the problem with that?

Ryder looked down at the bed, knowing that what Jeri had said was unlikely to happen. Then he realised how clear that made it seem that something was wrong between the pair of them. He decided to blame his sadness on something else. "Great, I hate shopping," he moped.

"Oh, I see your friends have turned up," Dr Imai noted, stepping into the room periodically.

"Hey Doc!" Terriermon greeted, waving an ear. Dr Imai glanced at the strange creature for a second; still amazed that such a thing existed, before walking over to Ryder's heart rate monitor and checking that everything was all right.

"So, am I dead or alive?" Ryder asked dryly.

"Given that the former seems to be impossible for you, I'd say the later," Dr Imai answered with a smile.

"Right. If you can't tell, I hate hospitals."

"I see. Has Mari come back yet?" she asked. Ryder glanced to the others, knowing that they had no idea what was really going on, before looking back to Dr Imai.

"No, she's still…somewhere…" he answered. "Rey's gone to find her," he added.

"Oh, so Rey was here?"

"Yeah, and now I seem to have lost both of them…funny thing that…" Ryder replied, nodding to Dr Imai, who smiled again.

"If anyone sees a wandering girl with a Digimon in tow, I'll tell them to send them this way," Fumiko answered.

"Thanks."

* * *

**Nonaka Residence**

**06:41 UTC**

A graceful foot landed gently on the grass in the garden, appearing out of nowhere all of a sudden to interrupt the serene beauty of the area. It was not a long disruption, the being herself was not out of place in the slightest in her surroundings, both because she was a creature, and because she was based on the myth of the Kitsune from Japanese legend, which had also seemed to have had an effect on the large traditional house. Granted, it was probably the only traditional house in Japanese history to have ever actually been inhabited by an actual Kitsune. One difference with this particular Kitsune was that she couldn't transform into a human form (albeit still with a tail) like the foxes of Japanese legend, but that was by far made up for by her other abilities, namely digivolution and biomerging with her Tamer.

Renamon looked around the garden, the wind gently running through the grass and trees as the sun beamed down on it all. A gentle dripping could be heard from the pond, a wooden bridge built over it, although rarely used in practice. She pondered what she could do in her current situation, as she clutched the egg with her tail. She could hear no sounds of life from the house, thankfully for her. Seiko was presumably shopping, and Rumiko out on a fashion shoot as always. Rika and Kristy, of course, were at the hospital, and Renamon hoped that Rika wouldn't call her while she was doing her next task. It would be difficult to explain, as she was expected to be close to Rika most of the time, even when not required. Renamon wasn't ready to face Rika yet with the truth about the egg - hell; she wished she hadn't told the dog-bunny now, as insightful as his partner was at the same time.

Her current task was to find a place to hide the digi-egg, and she pondered whether the outside or the inside of the building would be better. She wondered whether the egg would be affected by the cold nights. On the other hand, indoors it was more likely to be discovered in one of the places frequented by the humans living there.

She would've preferred, nay, she felt instincts to, keep the egg on her, but she knew that that would be impossible. It was difficult to keep concealed entirely by her tail hairs (as well as to keep a grip on it at the same time), and the risk of it being damaged in battle felt too great, let alone what'd happen if she were to digivolve or biomerge.

Then she saw it, a small traditional-styled birdhouse, near the pond. She leapt over to it, curious as to whether she could fit the egg in it. The holes in the top, used by the birds to access their nest, were too small to fit it in there, and she knew it wouldn't be hidden anyway. However, it was mounted on a tapered box-like frame, and she thought that she could fit the egg inside.

Frowning as the damage she was causing, but knowing she had no choice, she broke one of the front panels off the frame, holding the birdhouse up with her other hand as she carefully inserted the egg, before replacing the panel carefully, trying not to make it look too obvious that the item had been broken. She sighed; at least in a place like this, if Guilmon were to sniff it, Takato would just think he was interested in the birds. Hopefully, Guilmon would also think it was the birds.

She leapt into the air again, vanishing as she headed to be with her Tamer. She only hoped that the object would stay hidden until she could think things through at least.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Mainly dialogue in this chapter, as we begin to move through this day. After this particular day is over, the events of the following week will be put into one or two chapters, and then we'll progress on from there. Please review.

Next time…

Will the egg stay hidden? Will Rey find Mari? Will Takato be able to help Rika?

Find out in The Trick To Convincing Someone With Words Alone', Chapter Four of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	4. The Trick To Convincing Someone With Wor

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Once again, thanks go to Crazyeight for beta reading this chapter.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 4**

_The Trick To Convincing Someone With Words Alone_

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**07:05 JST**

**5****th**** July 2010**

Once again Tamers aimlessly wandered the corridors of Shinjuku General Hospital, only this time, there were far less than before. However, out of all of these Tamers, one of them was far angrier than anyone was the day before. And who might this particular angry Tamer be?

Who'd you think?

"Rika, what's wrong?" Takato asked, as Rika paused upon coming to a dead end in the hallway. She sighed, turning to him and leaning against the wall. Rika frowned, as Takato looked into her eyes.

"I'm just…" Rika began, pausing for the words, which unfortunately failed to come to her. "I don't know," she finished. "I just…don't really know anymore…"

"Yeah, this whole thing has thrown me for a loop as well…I mean, how did Ryder…"

"No Gogglehead, not about Ryder surviving, I mean about our thing…I just don't know what to think anymore…I'm not even sure if my emotions are real, or just caused by mood swings…" Rika interrupted.

Takato paused as Rika looked to him, and he caught a glimpse of her eyes. She looked completely lost, and Takato tried to figure out something to say to reassure her, moving to lean against the wall next to her in the process.

"Even if you are having mood swings, you're still you," Takato replied, pausing as he waited for Rika's reaction.

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard Gogglehead," Rika answered, using a name that had become her pet name for him.

"See, you're still you," Takato replied, braving a smile. She weakly smiled back.

"I know I'm still me Takato, that's not the point…it's just that lately, I have completely lost control over everything," she replied, her voice continuing to be tinged with depression.

"I know what you mean Rika…but…um…I'm here to help?" Takato asked, sounding like he was asking whether he was giving the right advice or not.

Rika's weak smile strengthened at his usual clumsiness and uncertainty, the latter of which she seemed to have taken on herself recently. "Yeah, I know, and I'm glad you are…I know that, hard as it is for me to admit it, I can't deal with this all alone," she began, pausing as she felt Takato's fingers touch her hand, prying it open as he gripped hers. Her eyes wandered down to watch, before looking back up to Takato, who smiled clumsily. "I'm glad that you're here, but…" she began, Takato looking to her with curiosity in his eyes. "…Don't worry…" she finished, shaking her head as Takato frowned, before looking to her with one of his reassuring smiled.

"No, go ahead, you can tell me," he told her.

"Don't worry Takato."

Takato returned to his frown. Whatever the exception was, it was clear she wasn't going to tell him, at least not yet. A silence descended on the pair as they looked down the corridor to see the myriad of patients, visitors and doctors wandering from room to room, along with the squeaky wheel of a medical trolley. Few paid any attention to them, and none approached them in particular. They were not particularly in the way anyway, they were merely at the end of a corridor, albeit one that didn't actually go anywhere. Rika noted her odd habit of heading down dead-end corridors, recalling her experience in the UN building in New York City five weeks prior when pursuing Rey.

Her mind reflected on Rey, who was both her daughter and not her daughter at the same time. It left her so confused to think that she somehow would ever have the ability to raise a child. How could she of all people manage that? She'd never been particularly caring, although she made exceptions for her close friends, all of whom were better at showing their emotions than her. Sure, she had her mother and grandmother to help, but there were still the emotions to deal with. She frowned; emotions were one thing she just had no idea about at the moment. It was like being told that you're not actually real (something she knew that the Digidestined must've felt, upon learning they were simply a TV show. Hell, when Ryder told them that they were also characters in a TV show, she'd felt it). That everything you feel isn't actually a real feeling, and that something else is controlling you, and that no one can change that. A feeling of helplessness, loneliness…

Takato glanced to Rika upon feeling her grip weaken on his hand. She didn't look back to him, as he gripped her hand more to substitute. She continued to stare down the corridor, as she spoke dryly.

"I know you're trying to reassure me and all, but you're actually hurting my hand," she said, before finally looking back to him as he laughed nervously, her expression still a frown.

"Sorry about that."

She weakly smiled as she returned to looking down the corridor; Takato always seemed to have a way of messing up everything he tried. It was one of his amusing talents, and watching his escapades was one thing that the whole group seemed to enjoy, even those who rarely laughed, Renamon for example.

She pondered where the yellow Kitsune was. She hadn't seen her at all that morning, and she felt that she wasn't close by either. Like it mattered, the vixen was probably reflecting on how her Tamer's situation had dramatically changed lately, and how it would affect her. Rika knew that it was better to leave Renamon to her thoughts; she was always there when she called anyway.

"Hey, Rika?" Takato piped up, the usual tinges of nervousness in his voice as Rika looked to him, awaiting his question.

"Yeah?" she replied as the looked to him, reassuring him that she wanted to hear his question.

"Um…what was that about earlier with Kristy?" Takato asked, still nervous despite Rika's reassurance. He wasn't sure whether now was the right time to ask his question, but he realised that he would be unlikely to find out otherwise.

Rika sighed, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. Takato frowned; clearly he'd touched on something that Rika was concerned about.

"I was about to get at Kristy after I yelled, but something stopped me…it felt really strange…it was like yelling at Calumon when he's sad, as rare as that is. I just couldn't do it, maybe she looked innocent, maybe she looked vulnerable, maybe she looked…"

"Like a child?" Takato interrupted to suggest. Rika frowned, nodding sadly.

"Yeah, and it was a feeling I'd never felt before…except when looking at Calumon, but even when I hated all of you back when we started, I still couldn't bring myself to be truly mean to him."

Takato chuckled nervously, recalling the early days of their taming careers'.

"But that's exactly what I mean though," Rika continued. "It was like something was manipulating my emotions, trying to put ones in that I wouldn't feel before…and it's really worrying me."

Rika looked down to the floor, Takato moving his arm from her grip to go round her shoulders as he pulled her closer. He'd been with her for long enough to know that she'd never admit any fear, particularly not in public, so "it's really worrying me" was simply her alternative. She glanced to him, and his it's all going to be alright' smile. She knew that things wouldn't be that simple.

"Whatever happens," he whispered. Rika frowned, rolling her eyes.

"Great move Gogglehead: every time you say that, something bad happens."

Takato laughed nervously. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "Sorry about that."

Rika laughed, smiling at how he always managed to somehow cheer her up. Sure, she was still concerned, petrified even, of the responsibilities she would soon have to face, but he at least managed to take her mind off it all, advertently or inadvertently. She put her arm around him in response to his arm.

"And thanks…for cheering me up."

"No problem…if you ever want to talk, I'm your man…well, I am actually your man, and I'm actually a boy…"

"Takato, this is the point where you shut up," Rika interrupted, rolling her eyes, but smiling in amusement at his antics.

"Okay."

* * *

**07:20 JST**

DarkRenamon frowned from her position on the rooftop entrance to the hospital. This place had been all-too familiar recently, but the situation had changed for sure. There was a crisp feeling to the morning, one that she expected to subside as the summer temperatures set in and baked the city.

She glanced to deep gray storm clouds gathering in the distance, frowning at its aptness to their current situation. Everything seemed good for a few seconds earlier, in the interval between Ryder awaking and Ryder telling Mari about what he had done. It was a shame that, like the current tranquillity, it wasn't to last.

She looked down to the rooftop, to Mari leaning on the thick wall around the edge, looking out over the city and frowning as the sounds of traffic and birdsong drifted across the rooftop. A glum expression dominated her face, the initial anger gone and replaced with depression. She sighed for the fourth time that minute, prompting DarkRenamon to decide that she would intervene before it was too late.

She quietly walked over to her Tamer who glanced up at her as she came to a stop next to her, joining her in leaning on the wall. DarkRenamon looked down to the road below and followed her partner's line of sight as she lazily glanced at what was below. Apart from Mari's glance, no other communication went between them, until Mari abruptly broke into conversation and saved DarkRenamon the hassle of asking, something the vixen was thankful for.

"I have no idea what to do," Mari answered the unasked question. DarkRenamon frowned; it had saved her the difficulty of starting a conversation, but at the same time it had given her no idea of how to continue.

DarkRenamon's ears twitched as she appreciated the resonant sound of the city below, before she paused. Mari glanced to her curiously, noticing her partner's unease.

"What's wrong?" she asked curiously.

"I felt…heard…something…" DarkRenamon answered, staring off into space before shaking her head and looking to her Tamer. "I was mistaken, it was nothing."

Mari frowned, wondering whether DarkRenamon was covering up something. DarkRenamon frowned; she had felt and heard a tinge of something, a disruption. But she couldn't think of what it could be. She'd never felt anything like it before. She turned to face her Tamer, deciding that whatever it was could wait.

"Perhaps if you explain your thoughts to me, you will have a clearer picture of what to do?" the fox suggested. Mari nodded slightly, turning to lean on the wall with her back to it. She paused to gather her thoughts, as DarkRenamon waited patiently, until she finally spoke.

"I…I thought I finally had someone…someone there for me, someone I could trust, you know…a really close friend…a lover…" she began, glancing to DarkRenamon for her reaction.

DarkRenamon nodded, as Mari's expression and tone took on a spiteful edge.

"And then everything I loved died once again…for real and metaphorically," she continued. "I thought…he was here for me…he always said he was…and I was there for him…maybe I got too close for my own good…I risked too much betting on someone who the odds were far too much against."

She punched the concrete wall, surprising DarkRenamon with her actions and anger. Naturally, she caused no damage to it, but her knuckles began to hurt, as she clutched them.

"I was so stupid!" she cursed. "Why didn't I think? He told me from day one that he had someone back home, why didn't I see the warning signs?!"

DarkRenamon frowned as Mari turned put her head on her arms which she placed on the top of the concrete barrier, falling to her knees. DarkRenamon placed her hand on the girl's head, lightly stroking it as she bent down.

"You have to talk to him," she advised. Mari lifted her head from her arms, looking to her partner.

"But that'll end up making things worse," she replied, doubt lodged deep into her voice.

"No, things will get worse if you don't talk to him Mari…you two…I've watched you since I first met you, and all the time, you two seemed to compliment each other so much…you can't give that all up, without even knowing all the facts."

"What do you mean?"

"Mari, not trying to lambast you or anything, but did you consider that you jumped to conclusions about what he said?"

Mari frowned, standing up straight again as she looked to her partner. "Yeah…yeah, I see…I never gave him a chance to explain…I'm sure…I want to work at this…I want to get somewhere, not to let myself be bogged down again without a future," she said emotionally.

DarkRenamon smiled, although it wasn't remotely obvious, as the wind continued to ruffle across the rooftop. Mari frowned in saddened contemplation as she considered what she needed to do.

* * *

**07:29 JST**

"All I'm saying is that we could really use this situation to our advantage. Gee Henry, you are really a killjoy at times," the bunny chirped from his usual place on Henry's shoulder. Henry was thankful that the digimon didn't weigh too much, although it was always still tiring on any day when they had to do plenty of walking, for example, any day they had spent in the Digital World.

"It's not fair on Renamon to blackmail her. How would you like it if someone blackmailed you?" Henry asked, as he walked back from the bathroom. As far as he knew, Jeri and Kristy were still in the room (along with Ryder obviously), and he wouldn't be surprised if Rika and Takato had returned, although one never could tell when it came to Rika.

"Someone does Henry…and that someone is you!" Terriermon complained.

"Point taken…but keep your voice down, we don't want anyone hearing…" Henry replied. Terriermon pouted.

"I can't believe I have exclusive access to the biggest secret about someone I'll ever learn, and you're stopping me telling anyone…go figure," he complained.

"You really shouldn't tell anyone, otherwise, everyone gets to know about your feelings for you-know-who…"

"Okay, now I shut up."

"Good."

With timing perfection only seen elsewhere in television, fanfics, anime, and books their conversation ended just as they entered the hospital room. Jeri smiled to see him, as his presence attracted attention from those in the room. As he'd expected, Rika and Takato had returned, in the familiar pose of Rika gripping his hand, for once not painfully. Ryder still looked exhausted, Kristy still looked cheerful, and there was a notable absence still of Mari and Rey. Henry frowned, it looked like they weren't going to see those two anytime soon.

Rika stood up, pulling a surprised Takato up with her. "Right, we're off…" she announced, surprising Ryder and the others in the process.

"What, you're not staying?" the immobile boy asked.

"No offense Ryder, but sitting here and watching you lie there all day is going to be more boring than school, as impossible as that is given we have Mrs Asagi as our teacher," she replied.

"This is because I challenged you earlier?" Ryder asked.

"Yes, partly that too," Rika answered.

"Um…where are we going?" Takato asked curiously.

"We'll go to my house, we've got a whole day off school thanks to Ryder over there and I intend to use it," she replied.

"Doing what?" Takato asked, before turning a shade of red at the question when he heard it back in his mind.

_Damn sick mind…'_ Ryder thought, as he mentally answered the question in the same way that everyone but Kristy and Kudamon already had. Terriermon simply sniggered, until Rika shot him a glare.

"What's so funny?" Kristy asked, oblivious to the undertones to the question that everyone else had picked out.

Rika glanced to her sister, smiling and shaking her head. "Don't worry."

"If I'm not here seeing Ryder, my parents will want me to help out at the restaurant if I am going to have a day off school. They already called in this morning, so I don't want to break their trust," Jeri answered. "I'll probably go into school in the afternoon." Henry nodded, glancing to his partner on his shoulder.

"I'm sure Terriermon here will find some way of occupying my time. Either that or I'll be forced to go into school."

"Why? It's horrible!" Terriermon asked, gobsmacked. Henry groaned and didn't answer.

"Rika, we better get Guilmon first on the way to your house," Takato noted. Rika nodded, glancing to her sister.

"I'm coming with you know," the youngest Nonaka answered. Rika frowned, nodding, she'd have liked to have had a private conversation with Takato, but she supposed that Guilmon could distract Kristy all the same.

"But who will keep me company?" Ryder asked, alarmed by the fact everyone was leaving. Rika turned round as she reached the door, turning back to face Ryder.

"Try sleeping," she suggested unhelpfully with a smile, before leaving. Ryder groaned as he heard the others leave, falling back onto the pillow as MiniDonmon looked curiously over him.

"You okay?"

Ryder frowned, sighing and looking to one side, to his heart rate machine beeping steadily away. "Not really," he answered. "At least I don't have to keep thinking about keeping things secret now they're gone," he added. "Doesn't make my situation with Mari any better though."

"I'm sure things will work out," MiniDonmon reassured, although he himself doubted his answer.

Ryder frowned. "I hope…"

* * *

**Tokyo station**

**07:29 JST**

The busy station, packed with commuters, tourists and businessmen, amongst others, greeted another of the sleek sharp blade-like N700 Shinkansen train into its many platforms. Slowing to a halt with a sounding of its musical horn (one of the interesting features of many types of Japanese rolling stock), the doors slid open. Another musical chime heralded the requirement of passengers' attentions to the announcement of its arrival.

"_**The 07:29 Nozomi Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka has now arrived at Platform 17."**_

A pair of purple and black shoes touched down on the yellow line on the platform, their owner bending their knees slightly as they did so. The person stepped forward and pulled their case with them, doing an about-face on them as they turned to look back into the doorway.

A shadow, or at least that's what it looked like at first, flew from the doorway and came to a stop above the person's head, her feminine features unchanging in their expression as she

"Hey, is that a digimon?" an eager voice asked, pausing the girl in her walking as she turned back to face a little boy probably aged 2 or 3 by her reasoning, holding a red balloon and standing near his mother who subsequently looked to the girl with curiosity. The girl's deep brown hair, almost to the point where is could be mistaken for being black in colour, hung down to where the white sleeves of her t-shirt ended; the rest of which, all the way from where the sleeves ended to her thin line of exposed midriff, was a blood red. Below, she wore a purple skirt down to her knees, gray tights running down into her aforementioned shoes. To top the strange fashion off (although in a way only a few would know the significance of), the unintentional camouflage of the digital watch-like D-Vice was placed on her wrist; the gray dullness of its features broken only by a purple ring around its screen.

Her mouth turned into a thin line as she looked down to the eager boy and his bewildered parent, looking up at her partner. In silhouette, she would appear to be the Digimon known as Biyomon from the television show, but in normal conditions she looked considerably different. The blue tail-feathers of her counterpart were instead a deep purple, as were parts of her striped head-feather and the tips of her face. The rest was a deep gray, only just lighter than black. She flapped her small hand-like wings as she looked to her Tamer for what she would do next.

A smile crossed the girl's face, reassuring the boy's parents as she bent down and met the child eye to eye, the boy eagerly awaiting her response to the identity of the creature currently flying near where her shoulder had been moments earlier.

"Go to hell you little brat…" she answered spitefully, pronouncing each word with a pause in between, as her expression instantly dropped into an angered frown. Her nails went into the balloon, popping it immediately into a squib of rubber as the air rushed out. The girl smiled sickly, turning and walking away as the parent dealt with her crying child, looking up occasionally in anger at the girl who'd caused the quick emotional change in him, and the creature with her who had yet to talk.

The girl smirked as she saw the exit in sight, her journey finally over.

_It begins…'_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

A new character introduced at the end there, as well as some character development for several characters. Please review, I'd like to know in particular if you found the description of the girl at the end easy to follow or not.

Next time…

Will Ryder ever get a chance to talk to Mari? Will Mari ever forgive him? Will Terriermon be able to keep a secret?

Find out in The Trick To Making Up', Chapter Five of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	5. The Trick To Making Up

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta reading this chapter.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 5**

_The Trick To Making Up_

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Shinjuku Hospital**

**07:45 JST**

**5th July 2010**

The bat's ears drooped as he fluttered his wings to a stop, landing once again on the bed in front of his Tamer, who currently stared sadly at the ceiling. The room was more or less silent, except for the occasional chatter of doctors walking past, and the general murmur of noise from wards and hallways. The usual silence was pierced only by Ryder's sadness, dominating the room like an eerie cloak. The boy's eyes closed, as MiniDonmon began to open his mouth, pausing afterwards as he felt Ryder's chest move in a sigh beneath him. He fluttered his wings lightly to keep his balance, as he glanced to the dried blood on the boy's black shirt, which thankfully hardly showed up. MiniDonmon then glanced to the D-Vice, the object linking him to his Tamer and provoking all of his digivolutions.

A shiny surface of a cabinet reflected his appearance, and he occupied himself with looking over it. He'd never really considered what he'd looked like before, at least not outside of when he acquired a new form. He glanced to his ears, his small form, and his white stomach. He smiled in amusement at his similarity to DemiVeemon, a Digimon he had been inspired by. He still wasn't sure exactly how he had been created, not even Ryder could answer that. The artist theory that had applied to Guilmon's creation didn't apply to him for two reasons. Firstly, his world seemed to lack DigiGnomes. Even if they did exist, however, there was a second problem

Ryder was a terrible artist.

MiniDonmon chuckled at the thought, as he pressed his wings against each other, looking at his colours in the mirror. He wasn't exactly like DemiVeemon. His orange tipped ears and tail and his orange-edged wings complimented his orange eyes. His stomach, like his face, was white, but surrounded by red, like the rest of his body. The red faded into the orange in a fire-like style. He was equally amused by his odd resemblance to a bat, an unintended consequence of his creator, but an amusing one nonetheless. Smiling, he stroked back his ear with his wings.

"Vanity trip?" Ryder asked, opening an eye and looking down to his partner with a grin on his face.

MiniDonmon chuckled, nodding. "Yes," he answered.

"Go get her," Ryder added jokily, as he closed his other eye, ignoring his partner's blush as he decided to rest for longer.

MiniDonmon looked back into the shiny surface, before his ears perked up at the sound of a door opening. Ryder looked up eagerly, breaking into a frown as the girl at the door shook her head, her red hair displaced as she walked over to the bed, sitting on it and frowning as the sheets rubbed across his wounds, he groaning in pain. Realmon leapt to the ground behind her, watching her mouth turn into a thin line.

"Quit your wining, I looked everywhere in this hospital for her. Do you _know_ how big this place is?" she asked.

"No idea…haven't moved since I woke up…but…thanks for looking around for her for me," Ryder replied. She smiled in response.

"No problem."

Ryder frowned, glancing down at the bed in sadness. "I don't know what I was expecting; I know what I did, and like she's really going to forgive me for that…I'm an idiot…"

Rey looked to his sadness, frowning, before braving a smile. "Now come on, you're not_ that_ bad…you did invent this thing," Rey answered, tapping her time device. "And, even if it is slightly inaccurate, it works pretty damn well," she noted. Ryder smiled weakly in response, before frowning.

"Still…I feel like I'm wasting your time…you can go if you want, you don't have to stay here," Ryder advised. Rey looked into his eyes, tilting her head. "I do need to sleep anyway, and I don't want to bore you."

"Never…I'll keep you company, you look like you need someone to talk to," Rey reassured. "Other than MiniDonmon, of course," she added, glancing to the bat still on the bed, who nodded. She looked back to Ryder.

"Thanks," Ryder replied, looking into her hazel eyes with his brown orbs.

She smiled nervously, glancing down at the bed to hide her blushing._ 'Keep…yourself…together…Rey…I'm not just some teenage schoolgirl…'_

"But why are you helping me exactly?" Ryder asked, Rey looking up in bewilderment as the question registered in her mind.

"Um…" she pondered, not sure how to reply. "Friends always help friends, don't they?" she answered, smiling again.

"Yeah. You know Rey, even if you are my friend's daughter who's travelled in time plenty, something that's impossible, you are a pretty quirky and nice girl."

"Thanks…" Rey answered, looking to Realmon as she tried to avoid her current situation.

"I mean if I were in your situation, I don't know how I'd cope. I mean, I'd probably end up completely lost and warped…how do you cope?"

"I'm in love."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Rey answered, blushing as she recalled the boy back home. "He's a great guy…he's a Tamer too…sometimes a bit dry in his humour but…he's got an…how shall we say…interesting past."

"What kind of thing?"

"He's a bit lost too."

"Aha, misery loves company."

"What makes you think I'm miserable?" Rey asked, looking into his eyes again with a questioning glare, eerily similar to those of her mother.

"Erm…nothing…so how long have you two been together?" Ryder continued, quickly changing the subject. Rey frowned at Ryder's topic changing, before answering his question.

"Not that long."

"Okay. Can I hear his name, or would that completely shatter time?" he asked curiously.

"Sorry," she replied, frowning and shaking her head.

"Fine, fine…" he acknowledged, hiding his annoyance at not finding out his answers. "Hey, do me and Mari ever get back together?" he then asked, curiously.

Rey frowned, looking to him. "Ryder, I've told you time and time again, nothing is prescripted for you. No Destiny, nothing at all like that. You're a free man Ryder, and you're unique. I'm a bit free because I'm out of my time, but I'm not completely free from the effects of Destiny."

"But you know that's complete nonsense Rey. Someone is playing a game with my life, and I'm not sure how, but they're managing to make it a misery."

Rey frowned, shaking her head. "Ryder, things…aren't always what they seem. You know that the most, I'm sure. Even if you look deeper, you may not be looking deep enough to figure out what's really going on. Hell, I have no idea what's really going on in this world. Nothing makes any real sense. We always believe that Harmony is winning, mostly at least. There's no war in this country, most people live happily in the world, and the Digital World is relatively stable. But…think again…and you'll see that Chaos is what truly rules everything. Time is chopped and changed all over the place, and we're simply bugs living on the wound."

Ryder looked at her bewildered for a second, before glancing aside. "I know what you mean but…how did you think of that?"

Rey smiled, a teasing smile moving onto her lips. "You told me it."

"Go figure…" Ryder said sarcastically, leaning back. "So I'm pre-empting even myself now."

* * *

**Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo Prefecture**

**07:49 JST**

Near-black hair was coursed by the wind as the girl paused in her walk, turning to face her bird-like partner who had called for her attention. She smiled to her partner, as she answered the question she had been posed, as they stepped away from the crowds into an alleyway.

"We're going to stay in Shibuya DarkBiyomon…I got us a hotel room no trouble, and you know that it'll be for as long as we want it to be."

DarkBiyomon's expression curved into a frown, as she nodded. "Chiyo, are you sure that no one will notice us? We are a bit obvious, aren't we?"

The girl now identified as Chiyo paused, looking to the roadway near her, the crowds surging past, the pounding of feet, the cars racing past, all marching forth in their duties, all marching forth to w…

"Chiyo?" the bird chirped, as Chiyo shook the thoughts from her head, turning back to her partner and smiling.

"Trust me, if Chaos' Guilmon can survive unnoticed out here, you can easily do the same without a problem."

"Okay…but…Chiyo…I know it sounds silly but…" DarkBiyomon began, pausing as her stomach grumbled and she put her winged hands on it. "I'm starved, we didn't eat anything on the train, and you didn't pick up anything back in Osaka from your parents before we left."

Chiyo frowned at the name of her parents, looking to DarkBiyomon more angrily. "They don't exist any more, got that?" she snapped.

"Okay," DarkBiyomon answered abruptly.

Chiyo smiled, her youthful features highlighted as her partner felt relieved that the storm had passed. Chiyo had an…unusual temper. Of course, DarkBiyomon knew the reason, but she still found the girl to be friendly, if highly disturbing at times. It was her particular abilities that caused her to act that way, but thankfully she had never used them on her partner. "Now, let's go get something to eat, shall we?"

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**07:51 JST**

"Still Ryder, you have to say, it's a funny situation," Rey began, breaking the short-lasting silence that had descended. Ryder's face took on a confused expression.

"What is?" he asked.

"You know, your situation. Your existence in this world, the nature of this world, not to mention the fact that you're an atheist living in a world as a friend to two Gods…or rather one God…always find that slightly confusing," Rey answered, rolling her eyes. "I tend to try to stray away from that sort of stuff."

"Yeah, I mean, you technically have only one parent."

Rey sighed, rolling her eyes again. "Ryder, by that reasoning, Guilmon is my father, and I'm simply not going down that road," she explained.

"Fine, fine…" Ryder answered. "Funny though," he muttered under his breath. Rey was about to berate him from where she still sat on the edge of his bed, before she was distracted as the door opened, making the pair of them, plus their two digimon, look up to the door, to see Mari Flynn standing in the opening, the shadow of DarkRenamon behind. At first, she seemed like a woman on a mission, with confidence filling her brown orbs. But Ryder saw through it all, as did Rey once Mari sighed sadly, walking over and pulling up a chair as Ryder went to open his mouth to speak.

Mari sat down on the seat, looking into Ryder's eyes with her own. "We need to talk," she said, speaking the words that put fear into the heart of many a boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband, parent, child, and pretty much every single person on Earth who was aware of its connotations, and some in the Digital World too.

Rey looked nervously to each of the pair, noticing that neither looked away from the other, even Ryder with his sore eyes. Realmon, MiniDonmon and DarkRenamon were equally nervous, afraid of what could happen between the couple.

"Good, because I want to talk," Ryder answered, sighing as he finally deviated his glare, closing his eyes and looking up at the ceiling. "I guess I need…want to apologize too," he added. Mari went to open her eyes, before Rey voiced her concerns.

"Um, do you two mind if I'm here?" she asked, unnerved by the situation and feeling like she was intruding on something that she thought would've been wanted to be kept private between the auburn haired girl and the brunette, with the probably exception of their near ever-present partners.

Mari flashed Rey a smile, settling her as she shook her head. "Don't worry; I don't plan to have an argument. I just want to talk. And to listen, because I'm sorry for not doing that earlier."

"Oh…okay," Rey answered, the nervous feeling still refusing to leave as she moved to a nearby seat, an invisible sign for Mari to take up her vacated place on the side of Ryder's bed, which she did, before turning her head, looking slightly downwards, and continuing to talk to him.

Well, nearly. In her uncertainty, Mari simply paused for a short while, the room descending into silence before Ryder braved up the courage to break it.

"I'm sorry for what I did…I guess I'm feeling a bit displaced now…I woke up only a few hours ago from a world where down was up, up was down and quiet sounds were extremely loud and painful."

Ryder paused to gauge Mari's reaction, one of curiosity, before continuing.

"…but…the thing is, Mari…you were the one person I wanted the most when I was in there," he said, smiling to her.

Mari paused, taking in his words with uncertainty about this world, before asking a question that had plagued her curiosity. "Thanks, I guess…but…how real did it feel?"

"Pardon?" Ryder asked, not sure what she meant. Mari frowned at how she was forced to reiterate her question.

"How real was it? Did it feel like a distant dream, or was it just like real life?" Mari asked, hoping that Ryder wasn't completely in control when it all happened, before asking the question she was really wanting to ask. "Did you really kiss her?" she pressed, her true emotions in her voice. She didn't want to think that she had lost everything.

"The world changed so much, it never stayed with the same level of realism for long…on whether I kissed her…I'm sorry but…it did feel real when I kissed Ivy…really real, I'm sure of it…I'm not sure how, I'm not sure why, and I'm not sure who caused it, but I was somehow projected onto another world," Ryder answered, frowning as he sighed.

"I see," Mari answered, saddened by the lack of the explanation she hoped for. "So you really think you did it?" she asked again, still hoping that something more was going on here.

"Yeah…that's the thing, I know I did…because time literally stopped when I touched her hand," he answered, before pausing as a realisation came to him. "Hold on, wait…thinking about it…that makes sense, doesn't it?" he asked, glancing to Rey.

"Huh?" MiniDonmon asked curiously, not getting his Tamer's drift. "How?"

Rey frowned. "The Angel of Time is able to monitor and effect time. In a corporal form, his powers are restricted by energy levels. But, in a dream form, projected onto another world, he could use the full potential, albeit unintentionally in this case. As for the whole projecting across dimensions thing, even I'm not sure about that. We could be completely wrong; Ryder could actually have gone there."

"Or he never left," Mari mooted, making Ryder and Rey look up with glances of confusion. She paused, gathering her thoughts, before explaining. "Well, you know how Shibumi projected himself onto the Digital World…well at least that's what everyone told me."

"Yeah, so?" Realmon asked curiously.

"Well, maybe Ryder is really doing that, all the time?" Mari proposed, although hoping she was wrong. She didn't want to think that Ryder didn't really exist, it made his presence far less constant, particularly if he could just vanish at any time, leaving her alone.

Rey frowned, uncertain as to the theory. She highly doubted it; she had a much better idea of what was really going on. "Shibumi only appeared in the Digital World as a ghost-like form; my father always said that he could see right through him. But, as we can see, Ryder clearly isn't like that, and the divide between our world and his is far wider than between this world and the Digital World. It'd take probably more energy than exists to funnel something through."

"I see," Mari answered, still concerned by the ideas being circulated, before a thought passed through her mind. "Hold on, wait, if that's true, how'd he get here in the first place?" Mari asked, concerned as to the hole in Rey's explanation.

"Break a hole in the universe, and anything can drain out. Being specific is far more difficult," Rey answered, frowning. "Ragnarok as a system was extremely primitive, and its malfunction allowed the universal barriers to be broken. It wasn't remotely accurate though, and by the fact there isn't a massive leaking hole in the universe near Tokyo, I'd say that the hole sealed itself afterwards."

"I see," Mari answered, pausing as she realized they had been dodging the major issue here. Ryder took up the bat to get back to the subject of the conversation.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked, inwardly cringing at asking the question, not wanting to hear the answer. He didn't want to consider losing her, he didn't even want to have to think about it.

"I don't know," Mari answered, really unsure whether they could have a relationship after all of this. She looked to him as if a void separated them, an amusing irony she noted, since that metaphorically put her in the same position as Ivy.

Ryder frowned, looking down to the bed once again as he contemplated what to say next, a saddened silence descending as Rey glanced back and forth between her two friends, awaiting either of them making a move. She had always hated this sort of tense, emotional moment, and she'd witnessed plenty of them in her time. It was always better when someone broke the silence.

"I couldn't stop thinking of you when I was in there," Ryder noted, before looking back up into her eyes. "Even when I was kissing her…I just…I'm just not sure why I did it…love is a funny thing, you know?"

Mari nodded, smiling in amusement and agreeing. "Yeah, it makes you do insane things."

Ryder and Mari unconsciously glanced to Rey, before quickly looking back to each other when they realised what they were implying. Rey frowned; she didn't want to think of her conception as an accident. It made her feel insignificant, unwanted, and she knew that that was far from the truth.

"But…I told her that I wanted both of us to move on…to live our lives apart, rather than to stay depressed and sorrowful about something that could never happen."

Mari nodded, acknowledging his words (and cursing her selfishness afterwards about being glad they had decided to live apart), before he spoke again.

"I just hope…I just hope she heeds those words," he added, looking back down to the bed. Mari frowned; noticing his sadness, and yet feeling tinges of jealousy try to tear at her. She reached out a hand, placing it softly on the back of his, smiling as he looked up into her orbs.

"Ryder, that's up to her. You can't worry yourself about something which you have no control over; you'd never get anywhere that way."

Ryder nodded, still deep in thought, before he continued speaking again.

"Thanks…I guess…I guess it was just…well, imagine you met your parents again…or if you were able to meet them again…you'd be so longing for that familiarity of home, that you'd probably do something really stupid…like I did…" Ryder began, before Mari's expression fell into one of disgust. Ryder cringed at the silence (one of many he had encountered in his life, none of which ever turned out on a positive end), as Mari looked at him speechlessly.

"You insensitive jerk," she said under her breath. Ryder went to open his mouth, before Mari over-spoke him. "Poor Ryder, trapped away from my world where his_ living_ friends live, his _living_ parents live, his _living_ crush lives!"

Rey looked to her friends, unsure of how to react to Mari's sudden swing into anger, as she glanced to the girl's partner, who looked on with concerned orbs.

"Well screw you Ryder! My parents are _dead_ Ryder; never coming back…I saw their blood boil before my eyes at the hands of a monster! I saw my house blown to shards! I heard there screams…" she said, pausing as sadness swept over her as she recollected the event that had left her so traumatised, a trauma that had never really seemed to go away. Her voice took on an angry tone again as she recalled the aftermath of their deaths. "And no-one really cared! No-one to arrange a proper funeral, no friends or family to comfort me, do you really think that I've never wished to see them again? How can you compare _this_ to that? You at least have a remote chance of meeting your friends, your family, your crush again…I will never ever be able to do the same…" she said, Ryder speechless as he stared into her eyes, her tear ducts welling and her expression deepened with despair.

She stood up, walking away to the door and turning back, shooting Ryder a look of absolute disgust.

"It's over Ryder…I'm sick of all of this, and you most of all…" she snapped. "I can't trust you any more," she said under her breath, her voice taking on a saddened tone. She left, a concerned DarkRenamon followed. Rey stood up, apprehensive at the turn of events and how they were spiralling out of control.

"Mari, wait!" she called, before promptly running after the girl, Realmon in tow, leaving a dazed Ryder in the room with his partner looking at him in shock.

A tear threatened to leak from the corner of Ryder's eye, before his cheeks squeezed and reddened in anger and depression. He snapped his eyes shut as he held back the tears. Groaning in annoyance at himself, he threw his head into his hands, screaming in pain as it felt like sharp blades ran across his back and up his arms. Tears spilled from his eyes at the emotional, physical and mental pain.

"Why do I_ always_ screw absolutely everything up?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And as it seems that things are going to turn out alright, Ryder manages to screw up once again. At the same time, we find out a bit more about a new character. Please review.

Right, in other news, I'm considering writing an ongoing anthology series regarding 'The War' that otherwise occurs during Book 12. A few characters I already have ideas for regarding their inclusion, including one or two main characters. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions, since there will be more than just one point of view in the anthology. It is intended to give hints about what life is like for those living under the oppression of the 'Lord and Master'. It'll give me a chance to write smaller tales when I don't have the time for a full on chapter of a main story, like recently with coursework and exams taking precedence. So, in short, I'm open to character submissions, but I will also be contacting one or two people specifically regarding inclusion of their characters. Some of the anthology characters may also appear in the main series.

Also, I have already written Chapter 11 of Deviations, and when I get the time to finish Chapter 12, it'll be online, so don't think I'm leaving out fans of that series. A lot of things life-wise have crept up on me lately, so apologies for that, but they will always take priority.

Next time…

Will Ryder ever manage to avoid saying the wrong things? Will he ever manage to patch things up with Mari? Who is Chiyo, and what is she planning to do?

Find out in The Trick To Intervening', Chapter Six of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	6. The Trick To Intervening

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 6**

_The Trick To Intervening_

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Shinjuku General Hospital, Tokyo Prefecture**

**08:04 JST**

The receptionist glanced up from magazine during an unusually silent period in the middle of the day to see a girl with auburn hair storm past with a swiftly moving dark shadow in tow, followed by a redhead who was desperately trying to catch up, a yellow fox with nine tails on her shoulder.

The previous few days at the hospital had been very unusual, so this was not a strange sight to the woman, as she looked back to her magazine, taking advantage of the break between greeting the sick, injured and the visitors.

* * *

_**Katou Restaurant and Tavern**_**, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo Prefecture**

**08:06 JST**

A door-mounted bell chimed as another customer entered the small restaurant in Shibuya, a regular occurrence in this particular bar (because otherwise, naturally, it would go out of business).

This particular customer, however, looked even rarer. A girl of around sixteen (already an unusual occurrence for a place whose regular clientele were normally, to put it simply, middle aged alcoholics outside of the more business-like clientele in the morning and evening peaks), with an interesting sense of fashion, blood red and white sleeved t-shirt with purple skirt and tights (a somewhat more pessimistic look than that of the majority of girls her age), along with a more ordinary-looking black and purple watch, and a cardboard box held in her arm. It was not a very normal object for a girl of her age to be randomly carrying, pondered the eldest woman at the counter, Shizue Katou. She dismissed it as she prepared a drink for the customer she was serving. Stranger things she had seen living in this city, and a cardboard box was mundane by comparison.

The girl entering paused in thought periodically, before glancing around the tavern and smiling as she walked up to the counter. She was about to speak to the woman behind it, but was interrupted by another girl stepping out from the doorway behind. Shizue looked and smiled to her stepdaughter.

"Ready now?" she asked, a hint of playful teasing in her voice.

Her stepdaughter smiled back, nodding as she finished tying up her apron and stepped forward to serve the new customer.

"Welcome, what will you be having?" she greeted, as the girl placed the box on the counter periodically. She pondered what the box was for as it was rather large. Was she delivering a package or something? _Is it really my business anyway?'_ Jeri thought, dismissing her curiosity.

A sadistic smile crossed Chiyo's face, as she glanced behind the sneeze guard, not speaking as she looked over the available refreshments and considered the unlikelihood of what had just happened. _Heh, finding any of them was far easier than I thought it would be,'_ she thought, before looking back up to the girl, a look of concern replacing her cheerful greeting.

Jeri pondered whether to ask the girl whether to hurry up, silently breathing a sigh of relief when she finally decided what she wanted.

"Ten onigiri and a bottle of Ramune," she ordered, Jeri nodding in response as she walked around collecting the various items. Her mind paused on the thought of the girl behind the counter for a few seconds, before she dismissed it and returned to the counter with a tray. These particular onigiri were riceballs wrapped in nori (edible seaweed) and filled with pickled ume fruit. Jeri had never particularly liked them, but by the fact that this girl had ordered so many, it was clear she had a taste for them. "That'll be 1000 yen thank you."

Chiyo frowned as she looked at the cheapest item on the menu she had ordered. Usually she'd have no problem with money, her particular talents allowed her to get practically anything she wanted from anyone. However, she knew that it would be unlikely to work on this particular person, and so she handed the note over as she picked up the tray, glancing periodically at the bottle and food on it. The latter wasn't particularly enticing (although she didn't mind the things), but the bottle was something that had always plagued her interest. Its taste was similar to lemonade, so not particularly interesting, but the glass bottle had an interesting feature. It had a marble in it, which sealed the drink shut, using the pressure of the carbon dioxide inside. A special tool was provided to push the marble down and allow drinking, as well as two nodes to hold the marble in place. It took skill to stop the marble blocking the bottle's neck, but Chiyo had picked it up quickly. She walked over to a nearby table, putting the tray down, before walking back to collect the box, pausing only to look into Jeri's eyes, quickly breaking Jeri's intrigue with the box as she realized she had been noticed.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. Shizue smiled, shaking her head at the girl. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let her stay home from school. Ryder didn't seem to be in a life threatening state any more, only a painful one by the sounds of it.

"You better be," Chiyo answered, lifting the box. Jeri swore she heard something go "oof" inside, but she decided against inquiring.

Chiyo placed the box aside her on the floor, before breaking open the bottle's neck and settling down to eat her food. Beforehand, however, she, after glancing around to check no one was watching, dropped half of the balls into the box.

Jeri raised an eyebrow as out of the corner of her eye she saw the girl put half of the balls in the box. _What a strange girl…'_ she thought, as she prepared to serve another customer.

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo Prefecture**

**08:07 JST**

"Mari, wait up!" called Rey as Mari began to move faster than her upon leaving the hospital. Mari didn't even look back; she merely kept walking, as if deep in thought. The occasional tear splattered on the pavement, unheard to all but Rey's extremely sensitive hearing.

Rey grimaced, kicking one foot into the ground and having a pair of red and blue wings whip out from her back as her partner's tails wrapped around her arm. She flipped over in the air, landing in front of Mari and turning to face her as her wings retracted back into her body, somehow fitting and at the same time leaving no evidence of their presence, not even on her clothes. Mari paused upon seeing the girl.

"Can we talk?" Rey asked, noting her friend's expressions moving between sadness and anger.

Mari frowned, shaking her head. "No," she answered, surprising the redhead.

"Come on, it helps to talk," Rey said, flashing a smile in a vain attempt to cheer the girl up. Mari frowned, walking past Rey and continuing along the street. Rey watched in surprise, concerned by her friend's sadness and current behaviour. "I think you're being a bit hard on Ryder," she said, as Mari paused in her walk, turning to face Rey.

Mari frowned. "Why exactly?"

"Well…he's only trying to make things right," Rey insisted, walking closer to Mari.

"Rey, no offense but…please for once stay out of other people's business," Mari answered coldly as Rey's expression dropped into one of surprise.

"What?" she asked.

"This is between Ryder and I…you will only make things worse," she continued. "And I need to go home, I need to think…alone," she answered, turning and walking away.

Rey was about to speak again, but paused. She broke into a frown as she looked to Realmon on her shoulder; the yellow fox frowned in response.

"I hate seeing them like this," Rey moaned. "I have to do something," she added.

Rey was then surprised as a dark shape appeared in front of her, although not as much as someone who was unused to this unusual ability held by Renamon and their variations.

"You shall do no such thing," DarkRenamon answered.

"Huh, why?" Rey asked bewildered as to why everyone wanted her to stay out of the course of events.

"My Tamer needs time to think, and I fear that you will make things worse. I suggest that you speak to Ryder."

Rey frowned, looking down to the ground and reluctantly nodding. "Fine," she answered. DarkRenamon went to turn, before a thought occurred to her. She turned back to Rey, who looked up to her wondering what she was planning to ask.

"Rey, something bothers me. Why exactly are you so interested in being involved in getting Mari and Ryder together?"

Rey frowned, looking sadly to the ground. "I want to see him…them…happy…whatever it takes," she answered. DarkRenamon nodded, smiling and vanishing into thin air. _Even if it's not with me…'_ Rey mentally added, before shaking her head. _'Who am I kidding anyway?'_

She turned to walk back towards the hospital.

* * *

_**Katou Restaurant and Tavern**_**, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo Prefecture**

**08:06 JST**

The peace that had descended on the restaurant, apart from the general chatter of those serving and the customers, was quickly disturbed by a loud thump of something hitting the glass window at the front of the tavern, and bouncing off. Jeri, along with most others, glanced up to see a white fairy dizzily recover from flying into the window and walk through the adjacent door. She walked over to the Digimon.

"Are you okay Calumon?" the girl asked, concern in her voice.

"Oooh…my head hurts…" he replied dizzily, before leaping onto her head. "Yay!" he cheered. Chiyo felt that she was going to choke at the over-cutesy nature of the sight, but held back her last onigiri from being ungracefully deposited on her plate, instead promptly swallowing it. She settled back in her chair, sighing. She noticed a red and yellow digimon had joined the cutesy sight, although this particular digimon sat on the counter now. It resembled an Elecmon, but the colouring was slightly different, with yellow rather than green colouring.

"Jeri, I sense a Digimon," he warned, concern in his voice.

Jeri glanced to him, curious as to why her D-Arc hadn't been activated if the Digimon was correct. "Really? Are you sure it isn't Calumon?"

"Hmm…maybe," Elecmon answered.

"Everyone knows when I'm around!" Calumon cheered. Chiyo rolled her eyes, as she glanced to the box. If she were to be discovered, she might jeopardize her plans.

"Psst…" she whispered as she looked down, pausing only to glance over to Jeri and the pair of digimon.

Frowning at the lack of a response, she tapped the box with her shoe, getting the creature inside's attention.

"What?" came a quiet reply, Chiyo briefly glancing up again to check she hadn't been noticed.

Jeri, thankful that she hadn't been noticed from her slightly hidden position behind the counter (her step-mother giving her odd glances), raised an eyebrow at how this girl was talking to a box. She'd seen people do similarly insane things in the past, not least Takato, but this girl didn't look like she was that kind of person.

"Are you done?" Chiyo whispered.

"Yeah," replied the creature quietly.

"Good," Chiyo answered, before looking back up. Noticing that Jeri was cocking an eyebrow at her, she shot the girl a glare, Jeri silently shaking her head and smiling in apology, and Chiyo rolling her eyes. These Angels and Tamers truly were stupid if they believed that she would fall for such a fake apology.

Jeri, blushing slightly in embarrassment and feeling that she had gone beyond her bounds in her current role within the tavern, decided to divert her attention elsewhere while she waited for another customer. The blaring of a television proved sufficient to distract her from the odd customer, as she began to watch a news report.

"…_**Which culminated in the death of the perpetrator by an unknown assailant two days ago, has yet to be explained by the government, causing outrage in citizens at the lack of information. It has not yet been established whether the boy who shot the perpetrator has been arrested or not, although he has been reported to be in hospital, recovering from a major injury in a later battle."**_

Jeri frowned; Ryder hadn't had a very good few days at all. Fearing that the person he had become closest to in this world was dead, twice, followed by having to murder someone and then ending up in a coma did not make for a happy life. She hoped that he would manage to escape without any court trial and hence imprisonment, but she knew that it was wishful thinking, unless of course Yamaki managed to have an effect. However, she did ponder whether the courts would sympathize with his actions; he did prevent further deaths after all. She sighed, as the next story began on the news.

"_**And finally, in Osaka a gas explosion in a residential area has killed two people. Police are currently searching for their daughter, one Chiyo Suzume', who has not been found following the explosion."**_

Jeri raised both eyebrows in surprise at the photo displayed as she turned to the table, her surprise furthered by the absence of the girl. The door-mounted bell chimed as the door swung on its hinges, a figure quickly vanishing.

"What's wrong dear?" Shizue asked, putting her hand on Jeri's shoulder as she noticed the girl's surprise.

"Um…" Jeri began, trying to grasp the situation. Was she imagining things? What was in the box? Could it have been a Digimon? She really needed to talk to the others, but for now… "No, don't worry."

Shizue frowned. Was her daughter lying to her? She would inquire about it later, she decided, as the door-mounted bell rang once again, and more customers arrived.

* * *

**Nonaka Residence**

**08:12 JST**

Renamon frowned sadly as she looked out upon the garden surrounding the house from her position on its roof. Rika currently sat next to Takato on the wooden step alongside the corridor to the house. Kudamon watched, frowning, as Kristy tried to entice Guilmon into yet another game of tag. Renamon frowned; she had yet to tell the saurian about the result of their actions in their night together, but Kristy wasn't making things any easier. She got the impression though that Guilmon was simply distracting Kristy from interrupting Rika and Takato's private conversation, a feeling enhanced by Guilmon's occasional longing looks up to her on the rooftop.

Why was she afraid of telling him? Did she really still consider him to be too childish to deal with something like this?

Renamon sighed; she knew from her conversations with him, and those of others with him, that despite his naïve exterior, Guilmon could actually be very thoughtful. In truth, what he seemed to lack was a grasp on the world, as opposed to lacking the intelligence to think about it. But she wasn't sure how he'd react to her news. Would Guilmon react like Takato, fainting and being shocked? Or would he instead not comprehend the effects of the previous night? She hadn't actually asked him beforehand, being preoccupied with returning him to Takato's residence without his noticing. It wasn't the first time they'd talked and kissed in the hideout, but it was the first time it had gone so far. She once again cursed the dog-bunny known as Terriermon for creating the program that had caused this, but she knew that it wasn't directly his fault.

She frowned again as she noticed Guilmon sniffing the air, before wandering over to the bird table, an eager and curious Kristy following. Renamon's eyes widened in alarm as she, not displaying her anxiety, gracefully leapt over to land nearby. Guilmon turned to her, smiling.

"Hi Renamon," he greeted. "What's wrong?" he then asked, noting her slightly saddened expression and confirming to Renamon that he had become one of the few who could read' her.

"Nothing," she answered quickly, a little too quickly she then decided, cursing herself for her lack of subtly.

"Okay," Guilmon answered, turning back to the birdhouse and sniffing it.

"What do you think it is Guilmon?" Kristy asked curiously.

"I'm not sure," the dinosaur answered, continuing to move his nostrils.

"Perhaps it is the birds?" Renamon suggested.

"Huh?" Kristy asked.

"I have been observing this garden for the last few hours, and I noticed a new breed of bird using the table," Renamon bluffed. _How does Takato manage to do this all the time?'_ she thought.

Kristy gave Renamon an odd look, as Guilmon paused. "Oh, okay," he answered cheerfully, before turning to Kristy as Renamon breathed a sigh of relief. She'd managed to buy herself some time to think things through properly, which she was thankful for. She noticed Guilmon now beginning a game of hide-and-seek, a thankful variation to their normal games of tag, with Kristy and Kudamon. Naturally, Kudamon ended up being the seeker, while Guilmon and Kristy hid, the former in an obvious place, not entirely realizing the concept of the game. Renamon smiled, walking back towards the house and her usual rooftop seat, near where the house took a bend in the L shape of this particular part.

She paused as she noticed a figure standing near the doorway, cup of herbal tea in hand and a concerned smile on her face.

"Do you need to talk to someone?" she asked, Renamon noticing the knowing expression and tones. Renamon's expression changed to one of surprise, as Seiko looked across the garden. "I tend to notice a lot of things, and am quieter than people expect me to be. And I think that the one thing you need right now is someone to talk to."

Renamon frowned, nodding as she followed Seiko to a nearby seat, calmly sitting down opposite the woman. Seiko glanced out over the garden again, her eyes pausing on the blue-wearing Gogglehead sitting alongside her daughter, his arm around her waist as she leaned into him. They seemed to be talking, what about she had no idea, but she also knew that whatever it was, it was none of her business to intrude. She looked back to the Kitsune sitting across from her, the concerned expression on her face lightening into a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry; I don't plan to judge you. We all make mistakes, after all," she reassured.

"Thank you for your kindness," Renamon responded. Seiko nodded.

"Any time. For protecting my daughter against the threats she faces every day, it's the least I can give you."

Renamon nodded, looking down to the table before back up to the woman. "I suppose I'm just scared. A rare emotion for me, I usually know that between myself, Rika and the rest of our group, we can take any threat, but this is one fear that is not like all of that. I'm fearful of how people, not least Rika, will react to my actions and their result."

"If they are truly your friends, they will understand. And I believe that they are, as a group, despite some minor conflicts, you've all learned to look past it for the good of all, and I'm sure you will continue to manage that," Seiko answered, before looking out to her daughter. "I'm proud of all of you, not least Rika, in how you've managed that. I've seen Rika go from being closed hearted and cold since she lost her father and her mother began to become occupied with her career, to opening up to almost everyone, not least Takato, and I know that wouldn't have been possible without you and him by her side. And I know that she will continue to make us be proud, and they will make the right decisions for all of us."

Renamon frowned at the irony: making the right decisions was the one thing that Rika didn't think she'd done, given the aftermath of her actions.

"I also see her and her mother getting along better lately. I feared that it was lost, when her father left, Rika seemed to place the blame on her parents. I don't blame her for it; Rumiko could have been more open. I guess that since Kristy was far younger when their father left, she never became attached enough to feel the same pain. But…I sometimes wonder if it is because Rumiko had Rika, and to a lesser extent Kristy, at such a young age. I'm not judging her on that either; I myself was young when I had Rumiko, but…I do wonder what our lives would be like if he never left."

"What was he like?" Renamon asked, before realising she was overstepping her bounds and adding, "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

Seiko frowned. "Rika's father…was not a particularly nice man. He wasn't a bad man, but…he was dragged into a relationship with Rumiko when she got pregnant with Rika. I suppose they made it work to some extent, but then they had a fight, and he left…it's something we would rather forget I'm afraid."

Renamon frowned, looking down. "Do you know where he is now?"

Seiko shook her head. "I'm not sure. Please do not tell Rika this but…if we were to try, we could probably contact him, but I know that Rumiko would rather not see him again, and I don't believe that it would help Rika if she were to see him again. But if she ever really wants to see him again, I would attempt to contact him."

Renamon nodded, looking back across to Rika and Takato, both having been silent except when they occasionally exchanged one or two words. Rika was still leaning on Takato, as both of them looked deep in thought.

"So when are we going to tell them?" Takato asked Rika, in a voice barely more than a whisper. Rika moaned softly in annoyance, it wasn't something she wanted to think about.

"I don't know," she complained, placing her hand on her belly.

"I mean, we are going to have to tell them at some point, aren't we? It is going to be noticeable."

"I know that Gogglehead but…both my mother and grandma had children at a young age, I don't want to seem like I'm just continuing the family tradition. I don't want them to look down on us either. That's a fear I know you have too Takato."

"Yeah, I know. I still can't believe we're having a kid…I mean, we _are _kids," Takato continued, his voice still in whisper range due to fear of Rika's sister or grandmother, or the youngest Nonaka's partner, overhearing.

Rika groaned, sitting up and looking at him with her violet eyes, a sense of determination injected into them. "Look Takato, can you please stop talking like that? Isn't this difficult enough already, without you blowing things further out of proportion?"

"Yeah, I guess," Takato answered nervously, glancing down slightly at the floorboards.

"I know that you're daunted by this, I know I am but…you're not helping things by thinking that what we've done is wrong."

"Huh? Isn't it?"

"No, of course it isn't Takato," Rika responded in a matter-of-fact way. "People can think of us what they want, but we did what we did, and to be honest…although I was worried about it just now…I'm really sick of people throwing down their judgments on others as if they know better, be it on us, or on Ryder for killing someone, or for anything," she added, before gently grabbing Takato's hand and looking into his eyes. "Right now Takato…right now, we've got far too much to care about to add more on our plate," she continued, before her voice softened. "And I know that I need you by my side…because…because I'm scared Takato. Scared to death. Maybe even worse than when it's seemed really bleak in battles."

Takato watched her eyes, her firm gaze wavering as he pulled her forward into his arms. "I know…I'm scared too…"

Rika chuckled sadly. "Yeah, but you're not the one who's going to have a person coming out of them."

Takato nodded, as she moved away from him again, still with her hand gently gripping his, a thankful relief from the painful grips of the previous day.

"Tell ya what; let's just set ourselves a day when we tell them. And we'll tell them all at once, that way it'll be easier and we can deal with it all at once, get it over with," Takato suggested.

Rika nodded. "Easier said than done though…" she answered, before chewing her lip as she thought for a way they could do what Takato had planned. "Hmm…maybe you could invite your parents over here for dinner this Saturday?"

"Okay, I'll ask them later today."

Rika smiled teasingly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that my mother isn't cooking, we don't want to poison them too," she answered. "Although that would make things easier…" she added. Takato smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, it would keep them distracted at least."

"Well, while it's nice to see you two in love and everything…" began a new voice, prompting Rika and Takato to turn to face Seiko. "I don't think I can let you miss a whole day of school," she continued.

Rika frowned, while Takato hid his disappointment. Rika was about to object, before she noticed Seiko's gaze. She sighed, looking back to Takato. "I hate to admit it, but we kinda do…we've got an exam today."

"Yeah, Mrs Asagi will make things a lot worse for us otherwise," he joked, although knowledge of previous experience glinted in his eyes. "Maybe we could go in late though, I mean, we were actually visiting an ill friend, so we may as well."

Seiko rolled her eyes. Sometimes it seemed like children would use anything as an excuse to miss any school.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Some more development of Rika and Takato's emotions, and at the same time, we have an interesting meeting between Chiyo and Jeri. Mari's rash reaction to Ryder, and snapping at Rey, will be something she comes to regret, but that's for another chapter. It's something to be explored before the plot speeds up a bit more.

However, obviously I've noticed that there hasn't been much actual action recently, and I also know that the actual fighting action will still be a while away (although major events, such as Rika and Takato telling their parents, should still be interesting). A spin-off fic (as previously mentioned in the previous chapter) called Stratagems, may or may not have already been released as you read this.

Next time…

Who is Chiyo? Will Rika and Takato manage to tell their parents?

Find out in The Trick To Putting Aside Other Emotions for Someone', Chapter Seven of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	7. The Trick To Putting Aside Other Emotion

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Just a note, from now on, I'm using quote marks (double apostrophes) instead of single apostrophes for thoughts due to problems displaying single apostrophes on I'll find a new way of designating telepathy, although it may simply be referenced in the text that it is telepathy.

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 7**

_The Trick To Putting Aside Other Emotions for Someone_

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**08:18 JST **

**5****TH**** JULY 2010**

Ryder instinctively looked to the door upon feeling the flow of time being obstructed. He felt tinges of pain running along his back and arms as he pushed himself up slightly in order to see it better, now with a pretty clear inkling as to who it was.

Rey stepped through the doorway, Ryder looking hopefully to her before she shook her head, closing her eyes as she did so in order to avoid looking at his reaction. She couldn't bear to see that, even if she knew that she already knew what it would be.

"I'm sorry," Rey said sadly. "I tried," she added, trying to justify herself, but the echo of Mari's words still resounded in her mind.

"_**Rey, no offense but…please for once stay out of other people's business."**_

Rey frowned, as she walked forward to comfort a frowning and saddened Ryder, before she hesitated, recalling another thing that Mari had said.

"_**This is between Ryder and I…you will only make things worse."**_

She kept her distance as she walked around to Ryder's side, sitting down silently on the seat and crossing her arms, frowning as she closed her eyes in thought.

Ryder looked nervously to her. Even in a situation like this, in the past Rey had been more talkative. What was bugging her?

Ryder frowned. It was Rey. It could be _absolutely anything_! The things she must have seen…he pondered whether in the same situation; he could've remained so level-headed. And how did she even manage to live with the truth?

That was why he hadn't told Mari. That was why he hadn't told anyone. How could anyone live their lives once they knew? So why did he tell Rey? What made Rey worth confiding in?

Rey frowned, how could she push herself into a situation she wasn't involved in? Mari was right; it wasn't any of her business. Ryder and Mari had to sort this out on their own; she'd only be making things worse. She felt Realmon's tails gently brush against the back of her neck, in an attempt at reassuring her. What was she doing? Why was she still here? Why hadn't she just jumped yet? Wasn't she risking…risking everything? What if she changed history?

When Rey first arrived…when she saw the D-Reaper…she began to wonder what she was doing. She could so easily damage time. Prevent herself being born. What would she do if she did? She knew that she'd have to change one thing eventually, of course, but she'd know when that was happening, and activate the paradox machine. But…if it were an accident…she'd be deleted from existence before she could use the paradox machine.

She once again wondered how she would pull off what she had planned. Surely time would try to travel in as straight a line as possible? Surely it would prevent her attempts? She hoped she wasn't wasting her time, changing history, putting herself through so much stress and sadness, just to fail. She couldn't stand…she couldn't imagine going back there, and telling them she had failed. What would they do? She was their last hope, their last chance to fix things. Fighting had never worked; they had been beaten every time. The Artmon never stopped. They just surged onwards. Thousands, even millions, would just simply blast away at them. MegaGargomon and Imperialdramon were always painful to watch, as explosions ripped up and down their forms and eventually it overcame them. The running…the running was always the worst part. Knowing that they were only one sound away from destruction.

_Click._

"Rey?" Ryder asked, snapping Rey out of her trance. The sounds she was hearing, the sounds of battle, warfare, death, depression, sadness and hopelessness…they all faded. Rey looked back to Ryder again, frowning.

"Sorry," she answered. "Was just thinking about everything."

"Oh, okay," Ryder answered. Was she thinking about his situation with Mari, Or about the future? Or was it Rika's current pregnancy with her? It could be anything. "Did Mari say anything when you saw her?" he asked, looking eagerly to Rey. If there was something, just one lodge of doubt in Mari's mind…maybe…maybe just maybe he still had a chance to get things back on track before true catastrophe.

Maybe Mari really was that angry with him? He didn't really know. Did he really touch on such a sensitive point? She'd never seemed to overreact so much to him referencing her parents' death before. Was it because she had nearly lost another loved one?

Mari really was an enigma; he only hoped he would have a chance to really know her. To learn why she did that, even to help her. They both needed help.

Like two children, lost in the storm.

Ryder focused his gaze on Rey again, the girl having hesitated before her reply. He looked over her, contemplating her situation. Contemplating all of their situations, particularly given what he knew.

They were all lost in the storm. And there was no rescue coming, nor no lighthouse to guide them. They'd be cut to death on the rocks if they weren't careful.

"_Ah, so poetic," _Ryder thought, rolling his eyes at himself.

"She just said…" Rey began, hesitating as Mari's words echoed through her head.

"_**I need to go home, I need to think…alone."**_

"She said…that she needs to think."

"I see," Ryder answered, hiding his disappointment. He had been hoping that he could at least find some solace in Mari's words, maybe some hope. He wished that someone like Kristy or one of the other younger Tamers were here right now, they were always the best at cheering people up with their optimism. Maybe it was fake optimism. But…he just needed that right now. Some hope to cling onto, some semblance of reality still existing in his life. Hell, he'd been here for five weeks, and already he'd fallen in love, maybe a bit too fast, fought against a huge crystal thing and its Royal Knights, learnt that those he believed to be little more than a TV show were real, fought against a strange human with powers well beyond him, learnt of powers that both he and his love had, fallen out with her and been knocked into a coma.

Oh, and he had died twice _and_ had come back to life again.

The rest of his life just couldn't compare to this. Even when he became a Tamer, that was still mundane. Well, compared to this it was. But he always wondered what his life would be like had he have stayed. Every generation of Digidestined or Tamers would always have some dramatic happenings near the end. Maybe Donmon was supposed to dark digivolve? Maybe they were meant to meet a new Tamer, or a new enemy.

But that was all gone now, and he was where he was. He'd have to learn to resign himself to that, if he ever hoped to get anywhere. And he had…well, did have, Mari to help him. He could help her. Maybe that was it. Maybe she was the reason he hadn't gone insane yet.

"_Sure as hell isn't anything else keeping me sane here," _Ryder thought, frowning. Mari was like, a rock, something to grab onto in the storm. And now he'd lost it. Hell, he didn't have any idea what was going on even when she was with him, but at least she kept him remotely grounded in reality, something that he had a tendency to drift from.

Ryder paused in his thoughts. How could he possibly love someone so much having only known them for five weeks? Was it the whole First and Second Angel thing? Or was it something else entirely?

Rey frowned as she closed her eyes again, stopping her continual stare at him, analyzing his eye movements; trying to figure out what he was thinking, what to do, how to act, whether he'd like it if she stroked her hand carefully down his chee…

Rey grabbed the armrest of the chair with her hand tightly.

"_Snap out of it Rey…you're making things worse again…"_

Realmon frowned at her Tamer's actions, as she brushed her tails across the back of Rey's neck again, in an attempt to reassure her. It once again failed, as Rey looked down.

"_I can't help…how can I help? I want to help, but…Mari told me to stay out of all this…"_

"_**My Tamer needs time to think, and I fear that you will make things worse. I suggest that you speak to Ryder."**_

Rey's eyes opened as she recalled DarkRenamon's words. She was right…she could understand why Mari was concerned. And she could help…DarkRenamon had suggested a way. And it was what she wanted to do.

Rey looked to Ryder, who by now was simply staring blankly into space at the ceiling, a glum frown on his face. She weakly smiled, reaching out and placing her hand on the back of his gently, catching his attention as he turned his head to her, awaiting her words. Rey cursed herself when she saw the slight confusion in his expression, why was she acting like this? Hell, the last person, probably the only person, to do this to Ryder was Mari herself, why was it her place?

She withdrew her hand quickly, deviating her gaze from him. What was she doing? Why was she acting like this? She was Rey Matsuki! She was stronger than this! If she had fought in an apocalyptic war, she could easily put feelings aside for someone.

Couldn't she?

"Rey?" Ryder asked, pondering why Rey had been so quiet, almost silent, even after attracting his attention in order to talk to him. What was she worried about?

Rey looked back to him, frowning. "Sorry…"

"What's wrong?" he asked. Rey was about to reply, dismissing his question, but Ryder pre-empted this. "Come on, you can tell me. Hell, I told you my biggest secret, it can't be bigger than that. Although…"

"I just…can't…sorry…I'll tell you sometime…maybe I will…" Rey answered desperately, trying to deviate her gaze from him, avoiding his reaction. She didn't want to see his reaction after she'd lied to him. Ryder was the kind of person to whom respect and trust was everything, and she was betraying both.

She felt a hand on the side of her head gently, guiding her view back to his eyes. She heard slight gasps of pain from him in the process, before she looked into his eyes.

They paused, staring into each other's eyes, each for their own reasons: Ryder for trying to figure out what was on Rey's mind; Rey for just staring on, into his deep brown orbs, not wanting the moment to end but fearing how it would. Inevitably, Rey was the first to look away, quickly standing up and avoiding his gaze as she checked her D-Vice.

"I better get moving," she decided. Ryder frowned, what was going through her mind to bug her so much? He wanted to figure it out so much, but he had lost his chance.

Realmon glanced across, trying to judge what her Tamer was thinking from her expression. What was she planning to do? She couldn't keep hiding things forever, but she had to hide things at the same time, else she risked burning so many bridges that she could never find her way back. She knew that Mari couldn't look at her the same way if she knew; Ryder sure wouldn't be able to either.

Rey wandered across to the door, pausing as she turned to face him.

"I'll…I'll see you later, okay?" she said nervously. Ryder nodded, frowning.

"See ya," he replied, before Rey kept her glance for longer than she should. She turned, walking away and slightly shaking her head.

Ryder sighed. Things had just gotten so much worse.

* * *

**Stevens and Flynn Residence**

**08:32 JST**

The door clicked open, before being distractedly pushed into the wall. A set of keys were tossed onto the kitchen counter, as Mari stepped forward, kicking the door closed. She reached the sofa, and fell onto it, groaning with frustration as she buried her head into a pillow.

DarkRenamon materialized, looking over her Tamer and being uncertain about how to proceed. What was she meant to do? Mari continued to scream into the pillow, the sound muffled by it. DarkRenamon felt an urge to step forwards and comfort the girl, but at the same time she stopped out of her knowledge that Mari needed to vent her frustration right now.

At the same time though, she couldn't help but feel scared at how Mari was acting. The pillow was swept across the room, knocking a collection of magazines off a side table and causing them to spill down onto the floor. DarkRenamon quickly moved over to stabilise the pile again, before looking back across to Mari, who now had her head buried in the sofa.

Mari screamed again, every single piece of pent up frustration at how her life had ended up pushed into it. The loss of her parents and the sheer loneliness she felt while working for SDCO, the deaths of Ryder, her being buried by a falling building, and then witnessing her partner killed. Even the death of Taiki had frustrated her, in the horror of seeing an actual death (and the fact that the last death she had seen was that her parents), in Ryder's fainting and her having to reassure him, and to how some of the Tamers had condemned him for it. She'd put so much trust, so much respect, so much love, into this boy, only to have the whole thing blow up in her face, just like everything in her life had. And the worst thing was knowing she had a part to play in wrecking it all.

What could she possibly do?

She felt tears begin to pour down her face, the reddening from anger turning to reddening from sadness.

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**08:34 JST**

Rey had begun a pattern of aimless wandering, not really sure where to go. She couldn't go back to Mari's. She couldn't go back to Rika's, since she needed to give her future mother and father a chance to talk. And she sure as hell couldn't go back to Ryder. What was she meant to do? Half of her wanted to just punch in a random time and get away from all this. The other half just wanted to be in her mother's arms, the mother she had grown up with, in the future.

She hadn't felt the real grasp of her mother for a whole year.

She groaned as she came to a dead end, slamming her fist into the wall, before burying her head against it. She didn't care who saw any more, she was frustrated beyond any frustration she had felt before.

"Need to talk?" asked a voice. Rey was about to tell her partner that she didn't, until she realized the actual source of the voice. She turned to face Dr Imai, pausing as she looked to the older woman, who looked eagerly back.

Rey frowned. "No," she answered, tapping the button on her time device and vanishing.

Dr. Imai's mouth widened in shock, looking on ahead at the thin air that replaced Rey. Was she seeing things? Was Rey ever there? What was going on?

_This job is driving me insane…wonderful…'_ she thought sarcastically.

* * *

**Super Happy Luxury Hotel, Shibuya Ward**

**09:00 JST**

The revolving door swivelled round as a new figure entered the modern hotel. A smoothly varnished floor, consisting of perfectly arranged floorboards, met a pair of purple and black shoes. The unusual fashion statement the girl was making contrasted greatly with the elegance of the flushed wood and marble-esque walls of the hotel, looking well above what she could afford. But, despite all this, she had a smile on her face. Anyone who knew her, and few did, would've noticed the absence of her partner, DarkBiyomon, but she showed no distress about it, as she walked up to the counter, dragging a suitcase behind her.

The male receptionist, wearing a smart uniform that looked completely out of place on him, a fact which Chiyo inwardly chuckled at, looked out from behind his magazine, and sat up, looking over the counter at the girl.

"Welcome to Super Happy Luxury Hotel," he greeted, with a forced optimism in his voice.

"Hey, I need a room for the next few months, and I've got 20,000 Yen," Chiyo said bluntly. The man gave her a questioning look, was she really serious? That wouldn't even pay for a room for a week in the more economy-styled hotels, let alone a month in this particular hotel.

"Our prices are 25,000 yen per night," he answered.

Chiyo smiled seductively, inwardly cursing herself for how she used this particular technique. Sure, it made everything so much simpler, but she did ponder how it would make others see her.

Then again, what did she care?

Her eyes turned into watery pools, as her face was lit slightly, illuminating her youth as the receptionist's eyebrows rose, looking over at her with a new gaze. At least it was working, she did wonder what the reaction she would get would be if it didn't.

"Oh, but I'm sure there's something you could do…" she said, her voice taking on a far more deep and adult tone.

The receptionist paused for a second, as Chiyo deepened her gaze, her usually silvery-grey eyes taking on a purple hue periodically. The man's eyes glowed purple for a similar length of time, before he turned, smiling (although he wasn't sure why) as he began to type away at the PC.

"_Seduction always works like a charm," _Chiyo thought, an actual smile gracing her face for once.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

I plan only to have ten more scenes in this particular day, some of which are very short (and others of which are longer, but are longer for a reason). Chiyo is going to be a very interesting character, if not disturbing and sinister at the same time. She's going to be playing the long game, not rushing in like Taiki.

Next time…

Now that Chiyo's interesting (and slightly disturbing) power has become clear, what does she plan to do to the Tamers? Where will Rey end up? Is there any hope left for Ryder and Mari? Will Renamon ever tell Rika, or will her pride keep her back?

Find out in "The Trick To Doing Something Goggleheaded", Chapter Eight of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	8. The Trick To Doing Something Goggleheade

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Just a note, from now on, I'm using quote marks (double apostrophes) instead of single apostrophes for thoughts due to problems displaying single apostrophes on I'll find a new way of designating telepathy, although it may simply be referenced in the text that it is telepathy.

Thanks once again to Crazyeight for beta reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 8**

_The Trick To Doing Something Goggleheaded_

* * *

**5****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Super Happy Luxury Hotel, Shibuya Ward**

**09:11 JST**

Chiyo smiled as she opened the hotel room door, looking in eagerly at its size as she pulled her suitcase in behind her. Despite using her technique, it still wasn't the top of the range room, but then again, that would be far too obvious. Right now, she needed to be inconspicuous, and her encounter with one of the Tamers had already threatened to jeopardize that.

She closed the door and walked through the room to the window, slipping it open before looking down to the ground below. Responding to the signal, a black shadow began to fly towards her, flapping its wings like a bird, but being larger than any bird anyone would expect to see in this city.

The bird landed in Chiyo's outstretched hands, smiling to her as she smiled back happily. "So it worked?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice. She had never been a fan of her Tamer's powers, in particular not that one. Chiyo smiled, nodding.

"Like a charm," she answered.

"How long can we stay here?" DarkBiyomon asked, watching her Tamer's expression.

"As long as we need," Chiyo answered, putting DarkBiyomon down on the table and walking over to the bed, lifting the case onto it and opening it. DarkBiyomon eyed her carefully as she begun to unpack her things, the bird still unable to judge whether her Tamer was doing the right thing. DarkBiyomon had decided a while beforehand, however, to go along with Chiyo in whatever she planned. Chiyo had been the only one to truly show any kindness to her. Hell, DarkBiyomon was the only one that Chiyo ever showed any kindness to.

"What do you plan to do?" DarkBiyomon chirped, looking across the room as her Tamer paused, turning as she fell back on the bed, sighing when she appreciated how comfortable it was. She kicked off her shoes, putting her arms behind her head as a rest and staring at the ceiling, before closing her eyes and beginning to speak.

"I have a few ideas, but I have to observe them first. Digital Watch and my own powers only got me so far; I still have to find out a few things. And I also have to pay a visit to someone."

DarkBiyomon nodded. "Who?" She asked, tilting her head.

Chiyo smiled playfully, sitting up and winking to her partner as she continued to unpack her case. "My secret," she answered. DarkBiyomon frowned.

"Aw, why do you keep everything from me?" DarkBiyomon asked. Chiyo was continuing to unpack her case, as clothes and various other objects were thrown onto the bed.

"Sorry, but my mind is really strange, and I'm not sure you'd want to know the full extent of it. Still, I have a rough plan…" she said, smiling at the last part as she looked to her partner.

"Which is?" the bird asked.

"Destroy the Angels, and have some fun in the process," Chiyo answered. "And I have a few ideas of ways to torment them beyond their worst nightmares."

"For one affiliated with love, you can be cruel at times…" DarkBiyomon noted. Chiyo smiled, appearing unaffected by how her partner described her.

"Love is cruel," she answered.

* * *

**Nonaka Residence**

**10:55 JST**

"Try not to trip over your own feet on the way home, okay?" Rika teased the mop-headed brunette, who grinned back in his usual way, and then replying and leaving her unsure whether he was taking her seriously or not.

"Well, I'll try, never seems to help though."

"Are you serious or what?!" Kristy asked, raising an eyebrow. Rika moved down to whisper in her sister's ear.

"I have no idea either."

Takato chuckled, turning to his red, dinosaur like partner. "Come on Guilmon, otherwise Mrs Asagi will kill me when we finally get to school."

"Really? Do you want me to protect you Takatomon?" Guilmon asked, cocking his head curiously at his Tamer. Takato sighed in annoyance, Kristy and Rika laughing, and Kudamon and Seiko both showing a small smile.

"It's a figure of speech."

"Oh, okay…" the dinosaur answered, before turning his head to face the fox, currently standing silently leaning against the house and staring towards the ground. "Bye bye Renamon," Guilmon said, Seiko glancing to the fox to see her reaction. The Kitsune became aware that someone was talking to her and glanced up distractedly, looking across to the saurian.

"Oh…bye," she answered. Guilmon seemed not to notice her currently preoccupied nature, as he followed his Tamer away along the path, heading back home to prepare for the afternoon at school. Kristy happily returned to the house. Rika sighed upon seeing this, closing the gate as she turned, walking back across the path to the door. Seiko watched her pass, before glancing to the fox near her, who frowned subtly before vanishing. Seiko sighed, stepping in after her granddaughters.

Rika strolled along the corridor back to her room, sliding the door open and stepping in, the silence of the house outside of when it had visitors settling in. She could hear the distant laughing of Kristy, presumably finding some way to amuse herself. Rika pondered briefly whether she was going to school, and, if so, did she have such a killjoy teacher? The Tamers had to attend on every day possible, otherwise they risked not being let out to defend the city as per required. To be fair, Mrs Asagi was generally understanding, although she did tend to have a headache whenever they needed to go and ask why others couldn't deal with it, which, to be equally fair, was also true, since they had a significantly large group. However, of those in Shinjuku, there were only a few who weren't in their school, and they were in other schools. The only Tamers out of school were those now in University, and the University that several of the older Digidestined went to was too far away to reach Shinjuku from in any hurry. Despite Hypnos' systems having improved recently, Yuggoth still proved to be about as useful as poking the Wild Ones with a pencil, and Juggernaut, apart from being used as a pulse to distribute a program, was a complete no-go.

Renamon near-silently appeared in the room, her ability to enter the room in the small time period that Rika opening the door warranted continuing to amaze her. Rika looked over to her partner, no words or expressions passing between them. They always knew what the other was thinking; it was something they had been able to do since the early days of being Tamer and partner. Rika could never, however, have guessed what else Renamon was thinking about, something with Renamon was thankful of.

"Renamon," Rika began, looking to her partner, only periodically moving her glance to look through the translucent door to ensure that no one else was watching. Renamon turned to her, and suggested a new way of communicating.

"_Yes Rika?" _she asked telepathically.

Rika nodded, passing a weak smile. _"Do you think that everything will be okay?"_ she asked, her eyes taking on a concerned look. Rika was thankful that, apart from the ever-present but mostly silent being that was Harmony residing in her mind, this conversation would be completely private between the redhead and her fox-like partner.

Renamon frowned. Rika had been more or less her usual so far that day, apart from when she paused before arguing with her sister of course. But having been by Rika's side for so long, and observing her faint behaviour and facial expressions, the fox knew that her Tamer was still uneasy with her current situation. Even to Takato, she didn't show the true extent of her concern, although it was clear from her reaction to Takato's concerns about what their parents' reactions would be that she was not concerned about their parents. But what was she concerned about then?

"_Do you want me to be honest, or tactful?"_Renamon asked, in a way that from anyone else would sound like an insult. Rika frowned.

"_Honest, as always. I've never expected any less from you."_

Renamon frowned, glancing down slightly before looking back up at Rika, who noted this odd reaction. Perhaps she was having difficulty stomaching how to tell her Tamer what she really thought in a situation where it was crucial?

"_I…am unsure…although…having seen Rey; I'd say you won't be that bad."_

"_I've said that argument to myself so many times, and it hasn't helped."_

"_Why?"_

Rika looked sadly to one side, frowning. _"Sure, I may turn out right, but what happens in between? And what's to say things won't change? Rey being here I'd think would be enough to throw time out the window, let alone how she actually plans to change history...am I really going to be a good mother? And I'm a kid! And I'm feeling…alone…"_

Renamon cocked her head, before frowning. _"Rika, you know that we are all here for you, not least Takato, and we're not going to let you go through this alone."_

"_How can I be sure of that?! How can I be sure that Takato isn't going to think the pressure is too much on him?! How am I going to be sure that you aren't going to be killed in a battle?! Hell, how do I know that my parents are going to be okay with this?!"_

Renamon's eyes widened upon hearing how Rika contemplated the concept of her death, before frowning as she finished.

"_Rika, I will stand by you always."_

Rika frowned, walking over to her low mahogany table and sitting in front of it, on the floor not far below it. She closed her eyes, sighing, as she sadly turned and spoke, or at least, thought back to her partner, in a voice that would sound cold and harsh if spoken. _"I wish you could."_

Renamon frowned. She hated seeing Rika like this, and she wanted to help, but how could she? She herself couldn't think of an answer, and she was in a similar position to her partner, who moved to bury her head in the table, groaning in frustration, but not loud enough for Seiko to hear. Rika didn't want to have to deal with something like that yet.

Rika stood up suddenly, kicking the table aside as she vented her anger, watching it roll over and land upside down, the few cards on it being splayed over the floor. She groaned again, clenching her fists.

"_Why the hell did everything just get a hundred percent more complicated?! What the hell was I thinking?! More to the point, what the hell am I thinking?!"_she yelled, although no sound echoed through the room. She turned, frowning but her anger remaining in her expression as her voice took on a colder tone._ "Do you see Renamon, I can't even be sure of that anymore, and that was the one thing I was always sure of…"_

"_Rika, we are not just going to leave you,"_Renamon interjected, for fear she had been too passive at a time when Rika needed someone to help actively. Rika's expression moved into a thin line, as if angered at Renamon's words.

"_Renamon, you've seen Ryder…if it weren't for his strange ability to evade it, he'd be dead by now!" _she answered, before she looked back over her partner._ "We're fighting in the middle of such a risky war that I can't rest my hopes on anyone, even you…I could lose anyone any day, without warning…" _she moaned, before frowning, realizing how she was sounding._ "I don't want to lose any of you, but I know that I easily could. I need to know…I need to know that someone will really be there for me, and I know that no-one can possibly promise that."_

"**Hey, I can!"**

"_But you're just a voice in my head! What the hell can you really do?"_

"**A voice in your head that's been pregnant before,"** Harmony answered. **"Trust me, I know what you're going through, and I want to help."**

Renamon frowned, as Rika paused in her response. Harmony decided she wasn't going to let Rika talk herself out of this one.

"**Rika, if you can't even accept help from yourself, you're screwed."**

Rika and Renamon's eyes widened at the harsh terms, not expecting the usually fairly respectful Harmony to speak so bluntly to Rika. Harmony decided to continue, lest she sound a bit too harsh.

"**Rika, I'm not taking any more crap about this, not least from you. You're stronger than this! Hell, you're stronger than anyone I've ever been incarnated as. Well, maybe except one or two."**

"_Then help me how you can," _Rika answered, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair. _"Not sure how you can though."_

"_Harmony, if you do not mind me asking, what were your previous lives like?"_

Rika, or rather Harmony, frowned, looking across to the fox again. **"They've been complex…mostly I've been a usual, run of the mill woman in the society of whichever time we're talking about, which in the past has always been a problem since women didn't have that many rights. Having you as my bodyguard was usually the extent of how I used my unique situation. Although I did use my powers to have a bit of fun as well," **she answered telepathically, smiling playfully about the last part. Renamon nodded, still enthralled by the concept.

"_I see…has anything really interesting ever happened before?"_

Harmony frowned, placing her hand on the side of her head as she scrunched up and closed her eyes, groaning before relaxing again. **"Sorry, my memory is always scrambled when I'm like this. I can't remember everything from every life that easily…I wish I could…my memory improves as my host matures, but I only remember patches of things."**

"_Surely a God would have the power to do that? Or at least, a part of a God?" _Renamon asked, cocking her head. Harmony frowned.

"**I'm restricted by this body…"** she answered, pausing as she felt her alter-ego's emotions sadden.**"Not saying that's a bad thing though."**

Rika frowned, before a slight smile crossed her features. _"If anyone had told me this was the position I would be in today three years ago, I'd have called them insane, and probably knocked them out too."_

"**Thankfully those days are over…more or less."**

Seiko carefully opened the sliding door, Rika and Renamon turning to the source of the noise. Seiko smiled, greeting the pair.

"Sorry for intruding, I just heard a crash or something."

Rika nervously glanced over to the table, still with its legs pointing up in the air. She turned back to her grandmother. "Sorry, getting a bit stressed with everything lately, that's all," she answered. Seiko eyed her curiously, before dropping the issue.

"Well, if you ever need to talk. Now, hurry up or you'll be late for school."

"**As if you're not late already."**

Renamon watched as Seiko left, and Rika began to prepare for her half-day of school (although in reality it worked out to be less than that). To be fair, there wasn't much to prepare beyond rebuilding her bag that she had so gleefully taken the chance to throw aside that morning, the books splayed out in a rudimentary pile in the corner. Rika stayed silent, not even communicating telepathically, but Renamon could sense that she was still at unease, despite their conversation.

Renamon frowned, stepping outside periodically as she looked over the garden, the ornate building design of the Nonaka household complimented by the oriental pond, shed and even the birdhouse. Her eyes lingered on the object for a short while, as she turned.

_I am going to have to tell her at some point. But can I really place yet another burden on her mind?'_

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**12:10 JST**

The room span as the darkness faded, the bright hospital lights causing the darkness to return again as he quickly shut his eyelids. The nausea quickly set in, as he gripped the bed, breathing deeply as his senses slowly returned to normal. Opening his eyes again, he frowned at the sight of his bat-like partner, sadly looking down on him from where he flew but a half-meter above his hospital bed.

"You okay?" the red and orange digimon asked. Ryder frowned, he wasn't really sure of that right now.

"I…just felt a bit ill…and I had a depressing dream," he answered, sighing.

"What happened?" MiniDonmon asked, cocking his head. Ryder hesitated, pausing to gather his thoughts, before looking back to his partner. He closed his eyes as he began to recall the haunting vision he'd experienced while attempting to sleep some time away.

"I'm in the sky…storm clouds all around me…in all directions…I'm falling, falling so fast, the wind sailing past my ears as I fall through wave after wave of clouds, feeling the lightning hit me and not feeling any pain…as it skyrockets towards me below, getting closer and closer and…" Ryder paused, slamming one palm into the other.

_Smack!_

"I hit the water, and I stop, still not feeling pain as it swells up around me. I begin to drop…the surface above me just falling away…and I'm thinking I should drown…I try to breathe, but I can't…I try to swim, but I can't…and yet I don't die as I spiral down into the deep darkness below, unable to shout, or swim, or do anything to get myself to safety…and then I wake up."

MiniDonmon frowned, looking over the expression of his shaken Tamer, recounting the dream with dread. "What do you think it means?" the bat asked.

"I have no idea…I mean, I know that you don't usually feel pain in dreams, but…the fact everything was so real…almost like when I was in a coma…a lucid dream…but I survived…I didn't drown…and…the darkness…it was chilling…I looked down there, and it haunted me…what was it?"

"_Loneliness…"_

Ryder sat up, breathing deeply in surprise at the voice. MiniDonmon's eyes widened in alarm as the boy gripped the side of the bed his heart rate increasing.

"What was that?!" he asked, shocked.

"What was what?"

Ryder looked up to his partner as his heart rate settled again, frowning. "I heard a voice."

"What did it say?"

"Loneliness…it said that the darkness was loneliness."

"How can darkness be loneliness?" MiniDonmon asked.

"It's a metaphor…God, am I going insane MiniDonmon?" Ryder asked, looking up to his partner, eagerly awaiting confirmation or refutation of his sanity.

"Huh? Why would you be going insane?" the bat asked, not entirely sure what his partner was asking.

"So many reasons…I'm having weird dreams…I died and came back from the dead…and even my existence here is impossible! What's going on?!"

"It never used to affect you like this Ryder," MiniDonmon answered.

Ryder sighed, looking back up to the bat. "I guess I just knew that there was something here keeping me sane…other than you, of course."

"If Mari's the one thing that's keeping you here, then why do you keep losing her?"

"I keep making mistakes…making the wrong move…saying the wrong thing…maybe she overreacted, maybe she didn't…"

Ryder's eyes glinted with determination, as he gripped the silvery bar on the side of the bed.

"So I've got to do the right thing now. Whatever the cost…" he answered, pushing himself up and groaning against the pain. MiniDonmon's eyes widened as Ryder moved into a seated position, swivelling his legs round to end up sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?!" MiniDonmon asked in alarm.

Ryder grated his teeth, feeling the excruciating pain but fighting against the growing numbness as he looked up to MiniDonmon again. "Going to see Mari," he answered.

"Ryder, are you sure? You're not really in the condition to do so, are you?"

Ryder frowned, a small smile creeping onto his face. "I don't really have a choice. Now, are you going to help me or what?" he asked, looking impatiently up to his partner for the response.

MiniDonmon nodded, smiling. "We're partners, of course I will!" he answered.

A grin crossed Ryder's face upon hearing the response. "Great," he answered, moving his hand to his D-Vice.

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**MiniDonmon Digivolve to…Donmon!**

The small bat was replaced by his far larger rookie form, pair of wings folded behind his red and orange dragon-like body. He looked up to his partner, awaiting an instruction.

"Can you pass me that crutch over there?" he asked. Donmon nodded, walking over and picking up the pole-like device, its shiny metallic structure broken only by dull plastic handles and a black plastic hardwearing bottom. Donmon walked back over to Ryder, passing it to him.

"Don't you need two of those things?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah…I'm going to need a bit of help from you," Ryder answered, Donmon nodding as Ryder pushed himself off the bed, leaning on Donmon as he used the other crutch to push himself up, gasping in pain as he placed weight back on his legs again.

"Are you really doing this?" Donmon asked.

"Call it a Gogglehead moment," Ryder answered with a grin, a grin that was hiding the pain currently surging through him.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And so we move into the final part of the 5th July 2010. A few more events to come still, and Chiyo has a long list of things she plans to do in the next few days. Suffice to say, she's going to be keeping a close eye on the Tamers. 

A Gogglehead moment is definitely the best way to describe Ryder's actions. Tai, Davis, Takato, Takuya, hell, even Marcus, have all pulled off the stupidest of acts in an attempt to accomplish something.

My writing time is limited at the moment, so don't expect updates to be that frequent. Sorry, but life always takes priority.

Next time…

Is Ryder really going to try to get home? Will Renamon ever tell Rika? What does Chiyo have planned?

Find out in "The Trick to Helping", Chapter Nine of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	9. The Trick To Helping

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 9**

_The Trick To Helping_

* * *

**5****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Shinjuku High School**

**12:20 JST**

The clock slowly ticked away, taking its gradual course around as the droning voice of the teacher failed to register as words in the boy's consciousness. He sat, in a typically bored pose, leaning on his hand, propped up by his elbow on the table. Naturally, given that algebra was of no interest to him, his mind wandered to other matters.

Glancing around the class at several empty desks, Kazu pondered where the other Tamers had gotten to. Rika, Takato, Henry, Jeri, Ryder and Mari were all absent, leaving a (mostly) quieter class behind them, without Terriermon's witty (an opinion held only by the bunny himself) remarks, Takato's stuttered apologies, the occasional mocking of Ryder's British accent, or Rika's occasional bored remarks and threats to fellow pupils. Mrs Asagi looked headache-less, appreciating the quiet broken either by Kazu himself or occasionally by Kenta or another pupil.

"Kazu, if you'd kindly expand the brackets for us rather than staring at the clock," Mrs Asagi said, breaking through the dull mists and reaching Kazu's consciousness. He looked up to the board, reading (4x plus 9)(7x plus 12), and hesitated.

He glanced to one side, looking for Henry, but frowning at his friend's absence. Looking across the other side, he looked for Ryder, beginning to panic at the absence of anyone to help him with the answer. He even, in a true act of desperation, looked for Takato, but once again there was no one to help. Kenta shrugged when he looked across to him.

"Kazu, please answer the question now," Mrs Asagi repeated, her patience quickly fading. "Or I'll be keeping you behind for detention so you can_ actually _learn this subject."

Kazu's mouth hung open slightly as he went to answer, before noticing that no words were forthcoming from his mouth. He really didn't want another detention.

The ticking of the clock and the sniggers of fellow pupils reached his ears, as he felt placed on the spot.

"_God…if you're up there…please…please save me!"_ the boy thought, his eyes looking up at the ceiling.

His eyes rolled away and back to the desk again as dread swept over him.

"_Who am I kidding?! Rika is God! How is she ever going to help me?"_

The sliding door to the classroom opened, diverting attention away from Kazu, who breathed a sigh of relief as he let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding.

His eyes widened upon seeing Rika, Takato, Henry, Terriermon and Jeri at the door.

"_It's true! Gods are omni__benevolent!"_ he thought, thanking Rika for the first time ever, even if her timely arrival was unintentional.

"Well it's about time Takato," Mrs Asagi said, looking over the small group. "Shall I presume that you are genuinely late or was it yet another Digimon battle, taking up the whole morning?" she asked, irritation lodged in her voice at the group.

"A new record Takato!" Kazu called, grinning before a glare from Rika shut him up. Terriermon chuckled at the scene.

"Uh…" Takato began, his mouth held open as he searched for an answer.

"We're sorry Mrs," Jeri apologized, realizing that Takato wasn't going to continue speaking anytime soon. "We were visiting Ryder in hospital; he's really badly injured," she added.

"Oh…I see," Mrs Asagi answered, not completely aware of the severity of the situation. She'd presumed that he only had a broken leg.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kenta asked concern lodged in his voice about his fellow tamer, albeit one he'd only known for a few weeks.

"He should be," Henry answered.

"If you call dying twice okay," Terriermon added.

"What do you mean?" Mrs Asagi asked.

"Nothing," Rika answered, before shooting daggers at Terriermon.

Mrs Asagi sighed, pointing to the classroom and the empty seats. "Sit down and get your books out please," she said, watching as each of the new arrivals apologized and headed back to their desks. As the brunette girl walked past, she called on the girl to pause. "Jeri, do you know if Mari is coming in today?" she asked.

Jeri paused, shrugging and shaking her head. "I don't know, sorry," she replied.

"Okay, don't worry," Mrs Asagi answered, returning to the board as the newcomers took their seats. Once the class had settled down once again, she resumed the lesson. "Now, Kazu, please answer this question, without further delay."

"Is the answer 2?" Kazu asked.

Mrs Asagi frowned, glaring at the boy, her irritation pushed into exasperation. "Detention at lunchtime Kazu," she stated.

"To be fair, he did _answer_ the question, just incorrectly," Terriermon commented.

Henry sighed, as Mrs Asagi looked to the bunny. "Do you know the answer?" she asked.

Terriermon looked surprised at being called out himself about the answer, as he looked to the board. "Um…" he pondered, the numbers registering in his mind. "Ah, that's easy, 28x(squared) plus 111x plus 108," he answered promptly, surprising the teacher. "So?" he asked, after the short silence.

Mrs Asagi sighed, returning to the board. "Correct," she answered, rubbing the calculation off. Terriermon grinned widely, flashing a V' sign until Rika shot daggers at him.

"Psst, Takato," Kenta asked, tapping his friend on the shoulder. "Why did no one tell us about it?" he asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to get off school!" Kazu added, annoyance in his voice.

"Um…Rey doesn't have your phone numbers?" Takato suggested.

"Why not?!" they moaned.

"Kazu, Kenta, quiet!" Mrs Asagi scolded.

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**12:21 JST**

The air softly rippled as an unknown object disrupted it, the ripples growing more and more severe as a shadow appeared, before the warp quickly vanished again. The figure, or rather, figures, groaned, rubbing their heads with their hand and tails respectively.

"Ugh, painful," Rey complained.

"I thought we were meant to avoid travelling without coordinates," Realmon asked, as her headache subsided. Rey looked to her partner, frowning.

"Yeah, we are," she continued. "Still," she began, her spirits lightening. "We got away without too much trouble…what time is it?" she asked rhetorically.

"Well, we're still in the hospital," Realmon noted, looking around at the familiar surroundings, exactly the same spot where they were before they left. No one appeared to have noticed the figures appearing out of nowhere at the end of the corridor, to their relief. Realmon suspected it had something to do with Rey rather than just being a lucky coincidence.

Rey by this point was looking at her D-Vice, frowning. "It's 12:21, we skipped about three hours. Not bad though, could've been worse."

"What are we going to do now then?" Realmon asked.

Rey paused, contemplating her options. She could head to see her mother and father, talking to them about their situation. She could go to see Mari, who hopefully by now would be more receptive to conversation. But she knew that she would inevitably end up in only one place.

"Let's go see Ryder," she decided, walking down a corridor. Realmon continued to ride on her shoulder, as her Tamer traced her steps back to the room they seemed to be spending all their time in lately.

Gently pushing open the door, so as not to disturb a potentially sleeping Ryder, Rey looked into the room. She paused in surprise, running over to the empty bed.

"What?!" she asked, looking around.

"Do you think they moved him?" Realmon asked, leaping off her partner's shoulder and onto the bed. Rey paused, looking around at the evidence, in particular a series of abandoned wires and equipment, some near to falling off their tables, as if they had been dragged aside.

"No…I think he just upped and left," Rey answered, still gob smacked by this turn of events.

"Where do you think he'd be going?" Realmon asked.

"I have a pretty good idea," Rey answered, putting her arm out for her partner to leap back onto her shoulder.

* * *

**Streets of Shinjuku**

**12:37 JST**

Anyone who had lived in Shinjuku would be used to unusual sights. The apex of Digital Activity, as well as the scene of many strange battles and events, was not a place unknown for the odd.

However, seeing a boy with injuries, limping along weakly with the aid of a single crutch and a red and orange dragon he leaned on, was still going to surprise anyone.

"Ryder, are you sure you're okay?" Donmon asked, in response to another series of wincing in pain expressions that Ryder gave. Ryder paused, breathing and nodding.

"Yeah…I'm getting used to it," he answered, biting his lip. Even he thought this was getting a bit too insane, even for a Gogglehead moment (the fact he lacked goggles on his head not escaping his mind). "How far have we come?" he asked, Donmon glancing behind in lieu of his partner.

"Not far at all…" Donmon answered, concentrating his eyes on an approaching object. "Uh oh," he exclaimed, bringing worry to his Tamer.

"What is it?" Ryder asked, gradually turning round to face the approaching figure, another figure on its shoulder. "Oh crap," he cursed, as Rey reached him, an angered expression on her face as he stopped, taking the chance to catch his breath.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Rey yelled in his face, despite standing only a short distance from him. He shielded his ears from the outburst with his hands.

"Hey, no need to shout," Ryder complained.

Rey groaned in annoyance. "What are you doing then?" she asked.

"I'm going to see Mari."

"In your state?" Rey asked, looking him over.

His wound, covered in blood-dried bandages was barely masked by the remains of his shirt; although it was clear it wasn't bleeding. He stood weakly on his legs, it was clear he was experiencing great pain from using them right now. His brown ruffled hair furthered his broken look, as Rey frowned, her anger subsiding.

"_Why is he doing this? Is seeing Mari really this important to him?"_ Rey asked herself. "You could get seriously injured by doing this, you know?"

"What's the worst that could happen?" Ryder asked, eying Rey knowingly. She frowned, sighing as she looked over him again.

"How'd you get out anyway?" she asked, eyeing him carefully.

"It was a very busy hospital, and Donmon unsurprisingly attracted a lot more attention than I did."

"This is one of those Goggleheaded things, isn't it?" she asked, looking to his forehead. "Only without the Goggles," she added, as a silence fell on the pair.

Ryder frowned, feeling as if he had been caught'. Despite the insanity of his act, he knew he had to do something. Sitting by and watching events roll past wasn't his style, throwing a spanner in the works, even if it ended up screwing up things, always seemed better. He supposed that was why he told Mari about what he had done, hoping he'd save time (and arguments) that'd have happened should it come out in the future unintentionally, and he knew that inevitably it would have. Unfortunately, the plan had failed miserably, and he was hoping he could fix it using this new plan. However, he feared that this new plan would only make things worse, particularly if he were to collapse or have a heart attack and die.

Ryder sighed; death seemed to be something he was very good at lately. He was hoping he could investigate the matter once he got out of hospital, but for now he could only ponder what was going on. Was he some kind of God or something? Or was he just not allowed' to die? To Ryder, it had looked like death had rejected him.

Ryder felt a cold chill sweep across him. What if he couldn't die? Ever? Watching his loved ones, his friends, even random people, grow old and die. Dropping like flies while he stayed as a sixteen year old?

He'd always fancied the idea of immortality. As someone who didn't believe in an afterlife of any kind, being able to live forever, being able to see all the technologies of the future that he'd been promised in books since he was a child, was a highly appealing concept. But he'd never considered the other side of it before. The emotional, social, even romantic side. His mind wandered to the concept of how being stuck as a 16 year old would affect his relationship with Mari, should they ever get back together, particularly as they grew up and would start having…

Ryder was thankful that Rey interrupted his train of thoughts before it strolled in that particular territory.

She sighed, pausing to contemplate what she was going to say. "I'm going to let you do this, because I know that even if I forbid you, you'll do it anyway," she answered.

Ryder nodded, smiling lightly as he opened his mouth to thank her.

"But…" she began, causing him to pause. "I am not letting you walk any further."

Ryder raised an eyebrow in confusion. _"What does she…?"_

His thoughts were interrupted as she turned her back to him, bending it slightly. She then lifted him off the ground with his legs held in her looped arms either side of her, ignoring his wails of surprise. Donmon and Realmon's eyes widened at the act, before returning to normal as it became clearer what she was doing. Ryder's arms flailed in an attempt to find something to grab onto, as he panicked.

"What are you doing?!" he asked in surprise.

"I'll carry you," she answered. He cocked an eyebrow in surprise, voicing his concerns.

"But aren't I a bit heavy?" he asked, looking to her face as he put his arms around her neck in a futile attempt to get a grip.

"Stop…choking…me…" she gasped out, he quickly moving his hands to her sides. Her light blush now hidden by her now purple face, as she breathed for air. "Look, I have the powers of Gods, do you really think I care that much?"

"Well, I thought it used up your energy?" he asked curiously.

"Just put your arms round me, okay?" she snapped. He nodded, putting his arms across her stomach and gripping on for dear life. She rolled her eyes at how tightly he grabbed on, even the seemingly bravest people were wimps in reality.

"Thanks for helping," he said, smiling as he looked to her, their voices softening.

"Anything for a friend," she answered.

"I've known you for five weeks, and we're already friends?" he asked, grinning.

"Oh, but you've known me for far longer than I've known you," she answered, grinning herself as Ryder's smile dropped.

* * *

**Super Happy Luxury Hotel, Shibuya Ward**

**12:45 JST**

"Seen it, they get back together in the end," Chiyo moaned, flicking through the channels.

DarkBiyomon glanced to her partner, dismissing each show she came to as she went along. Chiyo lay on the bed lazily, and DarkBiyomon sat next to her, standing up despite the fact she was on a bed.

Chiyo groaned. "Why isn't anything interesting ever on?" she asked, throwing the remote across the room. Thankfully for the hotel, it didn't hit the TV, but if it had, DarkBiyomon doubted there would be repercussions. Chiyo's powers eliminated all repercussions.

"Do your powers work on Digimon? And Angels?" DarkBiyomon asked, surprising Chiyo with the blunt nature of her question. She frowned, shrugging.

"No idea, haven't tried," she answered, before smiling in a seductive way, unnerving the bird. "Want to find out?" she asked. DarkBiyomon's eyes widened.

Chiyo suddenly did a double take, and looked away from her partner.

"Sorry…" she mouthed. "I…" she began, frowning as she sighed again. _"I hate myself…" _she thought.

DarkBiyomon frowned at her depressed partner. She sometimes wondered who Chiyo really was. Was she really the seductive, evil even, girl who manipulated others to her will using her disturbing powers? Or was she a teenage girl, lost in the grip of the powers of the Demons?

And what was the bird to do about it?

* * *

**Stevens and Flynn Residence**

**12:55 JST**

DarkRenamon's ears twitched in an attempt to pick up some form of sound in the deafening silence. Only the occasional drip of the sink, as splats of water smashed into the metal frame, interrupted the peace. But calling it peace was a misnomer; this was far from peace. War raged in the heart of the girl sitting on the sofa silently. In any other situation, her pose, leaned against the back of the sofa with her eyes closed, would look relaxed. But this was far from it, a saddened frown hung on her face, pulling her whitened cheeks down, the redness of crying long subsided and her skin temperature having dropped. Her head was tilted upwards slightly where it lay against the back of the sofa, staring up at the white ceiling.

The fox frowned from where she stood, distant from her Tamer, over by the window, the light illuminating the apartment but not reflecting the moods of those within. This was no pathetic fallacy; this was reality.

And it was horrible.

Soft sobs from Mari had become further apart; she'd reached the step beyond rage, beyond sadness, beyond depression.

Silence.

"_I made a mistake," _Mari thought. _"On purpose…" _she added, not even frowning. _"What's wrong with me? Why did I sabotage it all?"_

She looked sadly out of the window; contemplating the whirlwind five weeks she had had, bringing with them more changes than she'd ever had before.

"_I…I leapt at the chance…I put my heart into it…I grabbed at the first feelings I'd ever felt…and…and I thought it worked…but…did I go too fast? But…it felt great…the way his lips pressed against mine…the warmth…the way I saw him fight for me…for all of us…even the way he looked at me…the way I looked at him…something more…but was it just all a lie? Was it because he was the First Angel? Was it…nothing…I never had anything…I was just…blinded…"_

She felt another tear slip down her cheek, as she gripped the sofa tightly.

"_But I really wanted it…I really liked it…and I want it back…but I've ruined it…I sabotaged it…I feel so lost…always lost…"_

DarkRenamon's ears twitched at an approaching noise, hearing heavy footsteps approaching along the hall. She heard muted voices.

"Do you have any keys?"

"Like I have any keys! My pockets have fallen to pieces!"

DarkRenamon's ears perked up at the second voice, which was the last voice she expected to hear at that moment. She glanced across the room, pondering whether her Tamer had heard or not. Her stillness told her that she had not.

"Fine, I'll do it my own way," continued the first voice. DarkRenamon's eyes widened as the lock glowed, unbolting, as it swung open. Mari looked up in surprise as Rey staggered in, holding Ryder's legs as he grabbed her around the stomach, holding on for dear life by the looks of it. Donmon and Realmon followed, watching the events unfolding with a hint of comedy in front of them.

"What…" Mari mouthed, not sure whether she'd actually said anything or not in her shock.

"Special delivery," Rey joked wryly, walking over to the other sofa end and turning around. "Now let go Ryder," she ordered. He loosened his grip, carefully falling back and landing with his head on the pillow. Mari stood up in surprise, not sure what to say as she looked over to him. Rey turned around to face the pair, as Ryder waved lightly with his D-Vice arm, displaying his wound underneath his ripped shirt.

"Hey," Ryder said, optimism lacking in his voice, it instead having an uncomfortable tone.

"Wha…" Mari began, pausing as she carefully stepped around the coffee table, and her tears stopped as her expression became one of shock. "What are you doing here?" she finally asked once the ability of speaking coherently had returned to her.

"It's a Goggleheaded move," Ryder answered, before groaning in pain, prompting concern from the two girls as they both moved forward to help, before pausing again. "And it was a painful one too."

"But, why?" Mari asked.

"I…I wanted to see you."

"But, couldn't you, you know, wait a while?"

"I could, but I knew that you couldn't."

Mari frowned, glancing across to Rey for guidance. Rey nodded in reassurance, as Mari looked down to Ryder again, who had been watching her carefully to see her reaction. Mari frowned, closing her eyes and breathing out through her nose.

"Do you want to sit down?" Ryder asked, looking to her as he slightly moved his legs. She nodded silently, as she helped him move his legs around, moving him into a sitting position. She sat next to him, both silent for a short while whilst they contemplated what to say.

"I…I'm happy to see you," Mari answered, looking across to him with a hint of determination in her eyes again, that same determination Ryder had seen the day they first met (and most days since then).

Ryder nodded in response. "Same. I couldn't think of anything else whilst I was laying there in the…"

Rey, still standing, waved with her fingers to get their attention, feeling the uncomfortable nature of the situation. "Um…are you guys okay with me here?"

Mari and Ryder smiled, nodding. "Sure," Mari responded. Rey nodded, walking over to sit on the other sofa silently.

"I'll be quiet," she noted, watching the pair as they returned to their reunion. Ryder looked back into Mari's eyes, initiating another pause.

Ryder laughed lightly, resuming the conversation. "We're both so useless, aren't we?" he said to Mari, chuckling.

Mari laughed herself, Rey watching and looking on oddly. What was so funny?

"Yeah, we can't hold down a relationship to save our lives," she answered, smiling.

Ryder nodded, exhaling through his nose in an amusing, if unintended, imitation of Mari. "Look, we both went into all of this way too fast. Neither of us has been in a relationship before, and we invested far too much emotionally, and then we have to add more and more and more and more until we both go insane," he continued.

"By the sounds of that, you already have," Mari replied, smiling playfully.

"Yeah, but the point I'm slowly getting to is…let's start over," Ryder replied. "Go back to square one, have a first date again, start a proper relationship on proper foundations, and become a lot closer in the end," he explained, before eagerly awaiting Mari's reply to his idea.

"No."

"Huh?" Ryder asked, doing a double take.

"Ryder, I'm not giving up everything we've had so far. Do you really think that _any_ relationships are built that way? Our relationship is unique because of the way it happened, and I'm not just going to abandon all that just because of some silly tiff."

"Oh…alright…" he answered, not sure how to continue.

He felt Mari's arm slip around his aching back, pulling him close in reassurance. He moved his arm carefully to her back, but paused before pulling her close, instead looking to her again.

"I'm sorry for comparing myself to your family," he replied, his voice sincere and his eyes looking deep into hers.

"Look Ryder, be honest," she answered. "We're as close to family as we're each going to get in this world, and we stick together…best friends, partners, an ear to listen, someone to tell the truth to, everything."

Ryder nodded, as he pulled her into a kiss. Watching, Rey smiled.

"_And they're perfect for each other…I can't wreck that…"_

When the kiss ended, whilst Mari smiled happily, Ryder frowned, loosing her line of sight and looking aside.

"If we going to be like a family…if we're going to tell each other everything…then I've got to be more honest with you…" he began.

Mari's eyebrows rose as she looked to him curiously, wondering what he had to be honest about.

"Honest? What have you lied about?"

Rey looked to him curiously. Surely he wasn't going to tell her everything? Wouldn't that mess up her timeline? Her history? Would she cease to exist?

"A few things…a lot of things…and…I really can't be honest about everything…I literally can't."

"Huh? Why?" Mari asked curiously.

"Because it would wreck your life to know it…and I'm not sure on enough of it to tell you it yet…I'm not wrecking your life simply because I read the evidence wrong. But I promise…I promise that…it isn't anything disgusting…it isn't disturbing…and…that I love you enough to keep you safe from it…because I don't know what problems everything I left behind will cause for me in the future."

"Everything you left behind?" Mari asked.

"It all started with Donmon," Ryder began. "And how I created him."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And so I begin another round of explanations. This is going to be an interesting one, because I myself am not sure how much I'm going to divulge. Things are about to get very interesting. The next chapter will be the last of the 5th July 2010.

Next time…

How did Ryder create Donmon? Is he risking the timeline? What is the true nature of Chiyo?

Find out in The Trick To Spying', Chapter Ten of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	10. The Trick To Spying

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 10**

_The Trick To Spying_

* * *

**5****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Shinjuku High School**

**13:01 JST**

The silence of this corner of the schoolyard, underneath a tallish tree, was exactly why it attracted its current inhabitants. Away from the naïve bustle of the other pupils, this particular pair, one a redhead and one a brunette with Goggles, needed a chance to reflect. They were thankful that the others had decided to give them some peace, even if most of them didn't know why they needed it. Then again, they (thankfully) usually gave the couple peace, not least because Rika usually demanded it, and because Kazu was in detention. Regardless, they would still spend time together as a group, but after being stuck in a classroom together, albeit for less time than usual thanks to four of them arriving late, the group needed a chance for individual contemplation.

And sneezing milk out of their nose.

Rika raised an eyebrow at the odd display, chuckling as Takato looked indignant. Guilmon had burst into laughter, and even Renamon stifled a chuckle.

"**Is that even anatomically possible?"**

Takato put down the offending carton, deciding against resuming with it for at least a short while.

"So were you trying to cheer me up or what?" Rika asked, in a mix of curiosity and playful teasing.

"Heh," Takato answered, scratching the back of his head. "If you see it that way, then yes."

"**In other words, "no but I'm not admitting to my foolishness"."**

"Thanks," Takato answered sarcastically.

"**Any time," **Chaos answered calmly. **"All the time…"** he added sinisterly, reminding Takato of his alter ego's omnipresence. By now, anyone listening in would be very confused as to how two people switched voices and personalities so easily and carelessly.

"**I still don't get it, how on earth did he sneeze milk from his nose? I mean...just…how?"**

"For a God, you sure don't know much," Rika answered dryly.

"**I didn't design humans that way!"**

"I thought humans evolved?" Renamon asked curiously, leaning against the tree with her back to it.

"**Yeah, they did. But still…just…how?"**

"**It's a miracle that Rey actually ended up the way she did," **Chaos noted. **"You know, lacking the insanity that you two have in droves."**

"Hey!" Takato and Rika objected.

"**Chaos, I've been pondering something, but since I can't stand talking to you unless absolutely necessary, I haven't raised it yet."**

"**What? Is this going to be some boring theory?"**

Harmony sighed, groaning as she ran her hand up her forehead. Chaos grinned at the show of annoyance, pleased to get such a reaction out of his counterpart.

"**Just shut up and listen!"** Harmony snapped. **"Do you think that Rey has a voice in her head too?"**

Chaos paused in his reply, pondering what she had said. **"Um…is "I don't know" an acceptable answer?"**

Harmony ignored her companion in godhood. **"I mean, if she's the offshoot of us, both Gods, doesn't that at least give her some of our characteristics? Beyond the wings and powers, of course."**

"She's never mentioned it," Rika noted. "Not even when she was being honest about the things she told us."

"Yeah, and I don't think she wants to tell any more lies than she has to," Takato added.

"So how does she know how to harness her powers then?" Renamon pondered out loud.

"Practice?" Guilmon asked.

"**Guilmon has a point, for once."**

"Hey!" Guilmon objected.

Harmony ignored her alter ego's partner, resuming her explanation. **"If she's had sixteen years to practice with them, then she must have come to grips with them pretty well."**

"**No doubt destroying hundreds of things accidentally along the way."**

"Boy am I not looking forward to that," Takato noted, smiling at the concept as he looked across to Rika, who frowned sadly. "Um…are you okay? Did I say something wrong?" Takato asked, concerned as to what he had managed to do this time. He seemed to have a knack of messing up things, regardless of how much effort he put into ensuring they didn't.

"It's not you," Rika answered, shaking her head. "It's just that I keep thinking more and more about how this'll effect our lives, both now and in the future, and that is just another thing on top of that."

Takato moved over, putting his arm around Rika in reassurance. She glanced up, before frowning and looking back down.

"Not least to think what school will be like once it starts to show, and then when Rey's born. I mean, I can't keep it hidden forever, and it's going to become public."

"Yeah, but we can ignore all the strange looks," Takato answered, before his voice turned more nervous. "Can't we?" he asked.

"I don't know," Rika answered.

"I thought just now you were telling me that we should ignore them judging us."

"Yeah, I know, but this is just another level to it all. It's piling up on top of us Takato, and it's getting more concerning all the time."

Takato's eyes flashed with determination, as he gripped Rika's hand in a show of reassurance. "Rika, you're not alone in this. I'm here, whatever happens."

"YOU JUST HAD TO JYNX IT!"

Takato cowered back from Rika's sudden outburst at his use of a phrase, which had always led to disaster.

"Uh…sorry…"

Renamon smiled, watching her tamer and the Gogglehead converse about the situation, consequently bringing a frown to her fox-like features as she contemplated how she would cope with a child.

Hell, how did a Digimon have a child anyway? In between all the fighting, running for your lives and guarding your Tamer, the latter only for a tiny minority of Digimon, where was the chance to care for a child? What would she do if she had to fight? Would the Digimon have a Tamer of their own? What would it look like?

Renamon sighed; the questions had come to her thick and fast over the past few hours. It was something she'd never expected to have to contemplate, particularly before she thought it was even possible. Her gut reaction went once again to the concept of getting revenge on Terriermon, but she fought against it, calming herself down with reasoned thought. Terriermon wasn't directly to blame, even if she wanted things to be that simple. She'd made her bed, and now she had to lie in it. She failed to see the apt nature of the metaphor.

* * *

**Stevens and Flynn Residence**

**13:02 JST**

"You created Donmon?" Mari asked, interrupting Ryder before he even had a chance to continue. Mari followed Ryder's line of sight, and that of most others in the room, to the red and orange dragon, who nodded in confirmation.

"Well…" Ryder answered, pausing before sighing in agreement. "Yes," he answered, before quickly changing his tone. "But…it was an accident…and it was his fault too."

"It was _his_ fault that you created him?" DarkRenamon asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Surely before he was created, he had no influence over himself? Since surely he didn't exist?"

"Okay, right, probably worth filling in a few gaps here before you guys all start to think I'm totally insane," Ryder replied.

"Too late," Rey muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Ryder asked.

"Nothing," Rey answered, grinning playfully.

"Right, so, anyway, in my world, there was this virtual world game called…" Ryder paused in thought, tilting his head to the left and screwing up his eyes as if trying to remember the title. "Digimon World Online…and, well, it was cool because you could…um…create your own Digimon! Yeah, and then everything kinda went down the tube."

"So you designed Donmon?" Mari asked, hoping she understood what Ryder was saying correctly.

"Yeah. As you've probably noticed, he's got elements from other Digimon in his design, like how MiniDonmon looks similar to DemiVeemon, and how Donmon looks a bit like Guilmon, but with wings, different colours and all of that. Plus, he's a dragon, but that's besides the point."

"There's a point to all of this?" Realmon asked. "Here's me thinking you were picking random words," she muttered.

"Anyway, in this world, you were literally able to go into this world. You know, kinda like the Digital World, but a lot more controlled and a lot better managed. Nothing ever went wrong. Well, at least until MiniDonmon got a bit overzealous. You see no one thought these creatures could ever become real. What's Digital stays Digital, or so they say."

"So he became…real?" Mari asked.

The words Ryder had said in his coma rang in Mari's head. _**"Everything became real." **_

"MiniDonmon grabbed my arm, pleading for me to stay and play a bit longer. I think he had a bit more of a personality than most Digimon there, but then I had to leave, but he was still on my arm. Next thing I know, I'm home and I've got a Digital Bat in my bedroom."

"Ryder, have you considered that he could have been able to be pulled with you because you are an Angel?" Rey asked curiously, the thought occurring to her for the first time.

Ryder looked to her, pausing as he contemplated something. He appeared to dismiss the thought though, before he replied. "Maybe..."

"So what happened once MiniDonmon ended up in your world?" Mari asked, returning to the subject.

"Well, I was surprised to say the least," Ryder answered.

"Being squashed up against a computer screen in an attempt to "send me back" is a bit more than a surprised reaction, Ryder," Donmon noted.

Ryder chuckled nervously. "Yeah, well that didn't work. Sorry again for that, I was kinda a bit more afraid of what would happen because you were real than afraid of losing you."

"So when did you get your D-Vice?" DarkRenamon asked curiously, looking down to the orange and black device on the boy's arm.

"Well, it came with me from the virtual world, but it didn't seem to work anymore. It just looked like a watch. Even without a digivice, MiniDonmon insisted on tagging along with me to school, not that I minded so long as he kept his head down. Having grown up with the TV series, I knew I was in for problems whatever I did, but I tried my best. Nonetheless, it didn't completely work."

"What went wrong?" Mari asked.

"Well, MiniDonmon deciding that he wanted to see more than the interior of a bag was the first problem."

"Heh, that was fun! Oh come on, you can't say you didn't enjoy all of that!" Donmon laughed.

"Anyhow, so he escapes from the bag, but not before one of my friends, Marvin, sees him. As you can guess, it wasn't exactly something that was easy to keep hidden, not least because it took a minute to convince MiniDonmon to hide again."

"Wow, you've certainly ended up a lot less hyper then," Realmon noted, looking across to the dragon.

"Nah, I just ate a little bit of Ryder's chocolate and got a little bit insane."

"You ate my entire lunch! And two of my books!"

"How was I meant to know?!"

"Stop arguing!" Rey yelled, standing up and defensively putting her hands out to the pair, attracting the attention of all in the room. Clearing her throat, she sat back down calmly, looking back to Ryder. "Continue," she prompted.

"Err…right," Ryder replied, deciding that it was probably worth moving on a bit. "Well, anyway, MiniDonmon and I, along with Marvin who became interested in him, became quite close friends over the next week…although as you can understand I found it strange that I hadn't got anything in the way of a digivice. And then it happened," Ryder said, forebodingly, pausing as he sipped water from Mari's glass, placed on the table. All eyes were on him, as irritation began to grow after his pause.

"Care to continue, or is this just for dramatic effect?" Rey asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Heh, dramatic effect. Hell, I'm a writer at heart…anyway," Ryder continued. "There was this in-training level Digimon that biomerged into the real world, and MiniDonmon went nuts. I chased after him, but we encountered it. Arkadimon," Ryder paused, as Mari interrupted him.

"Arkadimon? But wasn't he the one who attacked you as a rookie level?" Mari asked, recalling Ryder's previous explanation.

"Yeah, but this time round, he was only in-training. Suffice to say, given this particular Digimon's abilities, MiniDonmon was left injured in my arms, and I kinda feared for my life. And then my D-Vice activated suddenly, and Donmon was born. Arkadimon wasn't destroyed though, he escaped, only to come back and attack us again."

"Did you ever destroy him?" DarkRenamon asked.

Ryder frowned sadly, shaking his head. "No…he's still out there somewhere. I hope my friends are alright, that's going to be a very difficult battle for them." "What were your friends like?" Mari asked.

"And when did they get their Digimon?" DarkRenamon asked.

Ryder frowned. "A gate once opened lets things flow freely. This virtual world…Digimon escaped from it, and when the Admins tried to stem the flow to the real world, the Digimon instead escaped into the previously uninhabited plane that we later called the Digital World. Douglas was the first surprise, since I thought I had one up on him when I showed him my Digimon. I didn't think he could match that…until that very same evening when Gaomon bioemerged and Douglas became a Tamer. Needless to say, Gaomon is a bit more level-headed. I then began to show others MiniDonmon, picking them carefully…"

"By which he means picking Ivy," Donmon clarified.

Ryder grinned lightly. "Thanks Donmon…anyway, some people I showed were scared, others were amazed. Ivy didn't really react at all; except for showing me a Digimon of her own, Lunamon."

"You didn't exactly have the best of luck at this whole being the first at something' business, did you?" Rey teased.

Ryder shook his head, returning to his story. "Next up, there was Marvin. Given he hadn't got a Digimon until that point, despite being the first one other than me to see MiniDonmon, he was eager to get one, and fate didn't disappoint. Leormon was a bit over-eager, but was the kind of Digimon who would keep on fighting until the battle was won. And then we thought we had a team, of sorts, and it lasted about two or three weeks, until MiniDonmon started to notice some odd Digital Patterns irradiating from this girl. Turns out Melissa was hiding a Digimon, Lalamon, from us, not that we really had any way of saying that no one could hide a Digimon. Lalamon is kind and non-violent, so no wonder she didn't want to risk losing her."

"So that was the complete team?" DarkRenamon asked, an inquisitive gaze to her.

"Well, so far as I know. Maybe we were meant to pick up one or two new members along the way, maybe not. Anyway, that's all in the past now," Ryder answered, looking back to Mari, fighting the tingles of pain as he put out a hand. "I just want to move on really…if I can't get home, then I want to be here, with you," he said.

Mari frowned, pausing, before looking back to him. "Ryder, thanks for being honest, but…"

"Please…please…" Ryder pleaded, his voice changing suddenly as he felt things slipping away from him. "Can we be together again? I don't want to lose that!"

"Yeah we can, but…how did you do all of that? I mean, it's a whole separate world, but you surely the laws of physics still apply? How did you design a Digimon? How did you make him real?"

"I just…made him…in this online creator thingy," Ryder answered, pausing for the words.

"I see…kinda makes you a God, doesn't it?" Mari answered, smiling lightly, but with hints of curiosity on her face.

"Yeah…suppose it does…"

"Imagine being a God," Mari continued. "Looking down on everything with the power to control and change everything. All to your will." Ryder looked up to the ceiling as he raised an eyebrow to it. "Playing with life like it's a video game, beyond the restrictions of reality," Mari continued, gazing off into space at the concept, before snapping back out of it and looking to Ryder. "What would you do?"

Ryder continued to stare at the ceiling, as if looking at an unseen object.

"Ryder?" Mari repeated, the words echoing in Ryder's brain, but not quite registering as his eyes widened. "Ryder?!" Mari asked again, Ryder blinking as he looked back to her.

"What?" he asked.

"Um, you kinda phased out there…what's wrong?"

"Uh…just thinking of the concept of being a God, that's all."

"Oh."

"Sorry, haven't been paying much attention. Are you two a couple or what?" Realmon asked.

Ryder looked to Mari, the girl smiling and nodding in response, and back to Realmon. "Yeah," he answered.

"Finally," Rey breathed a sigh of relief, standing up. "Now, we need to get you back to the hospital," she added.

"Aw, can't I at least change first? These clothes are just rags now!" Ryder answered.

Rey rolled her eyes at him, sighing but at the same time smirking as she nodded. "Okay, but hurry up!" she answered.

"Yes mother," Ryder begrudgingly replied. Rey groaned in irritation, while Mari chuckled.

* * *

**Shinjuku Upper High School**

**15:20 JST**

In a contrast to the attitude of their previous school, pupils wandered out of the doors of the high school, leaving the Monday school blues behind for the few hours as it would seem until Tuesday, when the boredom would begin again. But the courses had become more serious, as had the pupils to some extent, and no longer were they the running, cheerfully laughing children they were beforehand.

One pair in particular had done something that was not at all like children, and now they were facing the repercussions.

"Takato," Rika began, the group of Tamers, almost always separate from the rest in most activities, pausing when they arrived at the school gates in order to bid adieu to each other. "Are you coming over my house now?" she asked, tilting her head, her tone not matching her curiosity, instead having an insistent tone.

Takato frowned, shaking his head. "Sorry, my parents want me to help out at the bakery, I haven't helped in a while and my mum says I owe them."

Rika frowned, saddened by the lack of her chance to talk to Takato. "Fine," she answered, not hiding how peeved she was very well. Right now, she really wanted to talk to him more about the baby, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of this situation without telling his parents, and she knew that neither of them was ready for that yet. She had a silent hope that there would be a bioemergence so he could get off of work, but that would be up to fate to decide.

Takato pulled Rika into a hug, then a kiss, trying to cheer her up. "Love you," he said, slightly nervously as to how her reaction would be. He felt bad not being able to talk to Rika when she needed it, but he knew his mother would kill him unless he came up with a realistic excuse. His mother, however, had become able to tell whenever he was lying, so this would not work unless he told her the truth, something he was not ready for.

"Okay," Rika replied, pulling away from Takato again. He frowned, looking across to his fellow tamers. Terriermon waved an ear, grinning.

"Aw...if only they would get a room," he teased. Rika rolled her eyes.

"I have to go practice martial arts," Henry said, ignoring his partner. Jeri nodded, giving him a peck on the cheek while Kenta and Kazu gagged at the amount of kissing and lovey-dovey stuff being passed around, despite being well used to it by now.

"Love you," Jeri said, smiling as Henry nodded, turning and walking away.

"Terriermon's right, you guys need to get a room," Kazu added, continuing to gag.

"Shut up," Rika muttered.

"I'm going to go own Kenta at another game of cards," Kazu stated, no one but Kenta paying any notice.

"Hey!" Kenta answered, MarineAngemon adding his own annoyed chirp.

"Don't deny it; you haven't won a game in weeks."

"That's because you stole my best cards."

Kazu shrugged. "Borrow, steal, are they any different?"

"Takato, I'm going now, I'm sick of listening to morons," Rika said, turning to Takato to speak. She then turned, walking away as he nodded, watching her go off towards the other direction to Henry.

"Hey, we're not morons!" Kazu and Kenta yelled in tandem. Jeri giggled at the scene, as Rika paid no notice, the shadow of Renamon following after her.

"Hey, listen to me!" Kazu yelled. Rika continued to ignore him. Kazu sighed. "Man, she has issues. I thought she got over all of that."

"She's just stressed," Jeri noted.

"Yeah, but that's no reason to call us morons," Kenta argued back.

"Rika's just in a bad mood today," Takato defended.

Kazu sighed, putting his hands behind his head. "Geez, can't she just chill?" he asked. "Whatever," he muttered, having received no reply. He looked to Kenta. "Come on Kenta, I need to steal…win…the rest of your cards."

"Great," Kenta said sarcastically, as the pair turned, walking away in the direction of the park, heading across the road.

Takato looked back to Jeri, waving. "Well, see ya," he said, heading off in the direction that Henry had gone moments earlier. She nodded, waving.

"See ya," she said, before frowning.

She looked around at the pavement, and the empty school yard beyond the gates. She frowned.

"Here was me hoping I'd have someone to talk to about that Chiyo girl as well," she muttered, turning and beginning to walk along the way that Rika had gone.

Cars whizzed by, as an odd calm settled on the area. The sun still stood relatively high in the sky, night still being a way off thanks to the long evenings they were experiencing. It was only going to be a few weeks until the summer holidays began, but she knew that anything could happen in that length of time. On the same level, nothing at all could happen as well. After all, 2009 had been very quiet, whereas 2010 by now had comparatively been a riot. But she doubted they would be in for a quiet few months from now on. Rika was pregnant, and still had to tell her parents. Ryder was in hospital, and Rey continued to amaze, not least with the revelation that she was actually Rika and Takato's daughter. Jeri was slightly concerned that Rey could somehow be affecting time adversely by her presence in the present day, but nothing had seemed to come of it so far, except for her fading out of existence when Ryder was dying.

She frowned, recalling that particular puzzle. How had Ryder survived death itself? It was an ironic fate to some extent, he having killed someone only the day before, and still recovering from the shock. They had studied it in Literature class, and it was called dramatic irony. But still, this was no book, this was real life, and he'd been badly hurt, almost fatally if not for death's repelling of him. She hoped they would find out the root cause of Ryder's death-defiance, but it was only one of many mysteries puzzling her right now.

One of them was Chiyo, the girl from earlier. Who was she? She'd been putting food in a box, not an uncommon act for someone with a Digimon in the box. If her parents had died, and her position was unknown, it did seem odd that she was not distraught. Indeed, the only emotion she had really expressed was vexation at how Jeri herself was staring at her strange actions. How could someone have their parents die and not care about it? When her birth mother had died, she'd been distraught for months, years even, but Chiyo didn't seem to even remotely care. Did she get amnesia from the explosion? What was she doing in Tokyo?

Jeri sighed; she knew that, if Chiyo were at all important, her questions would be answered in due course.

She was unaware of a pair of blue eyes, watching her from the distance.

Chiyo frowned from where she stood hidden slightly behind a building in an alleyway within view of the school. She had been hoping to follow the whole group, to see them all at once, but clearly this was to be to no avail, and the fact that Jeri, and soon all of Japan, knew who she was made things no easier. DarkBiyomon frowned as she looked up to her partner from where she stood next to her in the alleyway, out of sight, her large and non-human form likely to arouse suspicion otherwise.

Chiyo sighed, running her hand through her black hair and frowning as she leaned against the wall of the building. Pausing for a second, she stood up again, looking to DarkBiyomon.

"I'm going back to the hotel, I'm sick of spying and having to stay hidden enough for one day," she decided, beginning to walk away. DarkBiyomon nodded, flying into the air as she followed her Tamer.

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**16:07 JST**

"I know it wasn't a good idea!" Ryder insisted, getting a bit peeved with how Yolei was talking to him. Since he'd arrived back at the hospital, his wounds now worse and the ex-Digidestined beginning to trickle in as they paid a visit, he'd had nothing but criticism over what he had done, almost all of it from Yolei who had taken the chance to berate him. Joe, as usual, only gave minor medical notes, and Dr Imai had already dismissed Ryder's actions as something she couldn't have helped. "I wanted to see Mari."

"We all know you meant well, but I'm not sure it was such a good idea," Joe noted. Joe, Yolei, Kari, Davis, TK and Izzy had arrived, along with Mari and Rey who were already there. Joe had tried to abstain from inspecting how Ryder had survived medically, and Izzy had tried to abstain his curiosity from trying to find out how he had survived on a Digital Level, something that TK had chuckled at.

"You do know it's not going to make any difference whatever you all say?" Kari asked, a hint of irritation in her voice as the group looked to her. "Gogglehead's just have their moments, I know that especially from my brother and Davis."

Davis chuckled. "Couldn't be more right there. Sometimes when you're right in the heat of battle, or emotions, you've got to do something really stupid just to see if it works out!"

"Oh brother," Kari moaned, as did most of the group, looking to Davis who was now pointing to the air in a dramatic pose with a grin on his face.

"Geez, you're worse for dramatics than Ryder," MiniDonmon noted.

"Davish, I don't geddit," Veemon asked. "Ryder doesn't wear any goggles."

Speaking of what Ryder was wearing, he was now decked out in a not-so-new set of clothes. Above his blue jeans was a black shirt with dark grey and grey horizontally stripes, the stripes not conforming to any pattern and instead being almost completely at random in terms of their widths. Strewn on a nearby chair was a dull green jacket, and his D-Vice continued to reside on his wrist. His brown hair was now neatened up a bit…well, as neat as a mop of brown hair can get.

"The Gogglehead is just the leader," Patamon noted. "Whether or not they have Goggles or not."

"Yeah, and they're always the ones who come up with the stupid ideas that work in the end, isn't that right Davis?" TK teased, smiling.

"The end justifies the means," Davis answered.

"Isn't that usually phrased as a question?" Gomamon asked, unceremoniously dropping Davis off his metaphorical pedestal.

Ryder rolled his eyes at the group, smiling as he looked across to Mari, sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling back as she gripped the hand she was holding a bit more.

Dr Imai smiled, watching the group. _"These kids continue to amaze me…they can both act so stupidly and so maturely within the space of a few moments, sometimes even at once. I just hope that isn't their downfall."_

* * *

**Nonaka Residence**

**16:10 JST**

Rika, silent apart from her calm breathing, sat on the porch steps of her home, looking out over the pond, birdhouse and garden behind the house. The tranquillity continued to contrast with her internal conflict, the uncertainties about her ability to look after a child still crowding her mind. No-one else in the world had to deal with the same kind of stresses all at once, be it the baby, the knowledge that they would be under attack, or the fact she still would have to attend to her taming duties as required. She doubted whether she would really have the will, or the confidence, to tell her parents about the baby that would soon invade their lives, and because of this she contemplated how much worse it would be for Takato, lacking her natural confidence she prided herself on in life. But even that had become eroded away by this, and this wasn't exactly fighting the Devas. There was no enemy to beat, no solution to come up with, just her, Takato, and a child on the way who she already knew fairly well.

Rika sighed, feeling her hair ruffled by the gentle wind flowing through the garden. Her hand was gently placed near her stomach, in a way that it would not be immediately obvious to Seiko or Rumiko what it symbolised. She pondered the child growing inside her; how it could possibly be the same being as Rey. It was just unbelievable, someone she had known as a friend now turned out to be a person who was actually born from her in a process she didn't entirely want to contemplate yet, having heard painful stories about it. Nonetheless, the relationship between her and Rey was strange, a mix of the natural and unnatural, time travelling qualifying for the later. She thought that about a billion paradoxes would have come into force by now, but nothing had happened. Something very strange was going on for sure.

A light breeze once again flowed through the garden, although this time it was because of a less natural cause, as Renamon materialised to her front.

"Rika," she greeted, her usual apparently stoic face having hidden meaning to those who could interpret it.

"Evening," Rika answered, nodding.

Renamon nodded, frowning. "I have to show you something," she responded.

"Huh? What is it?" Rika asked. Renamon didn't reply, instead walking gracefully over to the birdhouse and, rather ungracefully, ripping off one of the panels, notably one that was loose already. Rika watched as her partner carefully took an object out of the cavity in the birdhouse, before walking silently back to Rika, only revealing the object at the last moment.

Rika looked down to the object, a black ringed elliptical object with red and yellow alternating colouring between the black rings. It took a while for its symbolism to register in Rika's mind, her mouth dropping as she looked up to Renamon's face again. No words were said, Renamon simply nodded.

"_I did not see this coming," _Rika thought, mentally groaning at the concept of another thing to add to her list of problems.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And so I finish writing this particular day, after a fair few chapters based around only three days. Ah well, got a fair bit of drama out of it, and now things are going to gradually escalate before they explode into conflict. Chiyo is by no means going to give up on spying on them, and she has a few other errands to attend to as well.

Next time…

What will Rika do now she knows Renamon is in the same position as her? How long will Ryder take to recover? What does Chiyo have planned?

Find out in "The Trick To Keeping A Secret", Chapter Eleven of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	11. The Trick To Keeping A Secret

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 11**

_The Trick To Keeping A Secret_

* * *

**TUESDAY, 6****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Guilmon's Hideout, Shinjuku Park**

**08:03 JST**

The morning was already bright by the time that Rika reached the small concrete hut hidden just off the tree-lined paths of the park. The park was rather quiet, those who would normally be able to visit on a weekday being at home still, and those going to work and school too busy commuting to be able to stop off in a park. The sounds of traffic horns and a gentle breeze rustling through the trees were audible, lacking the laughing children and arguing teens you would normally have. Nonetheless, some made a special point of meeting up here, chief among which were the Tamers, who used this particular spot as a sort of meeting place. There was no agreement on it; they just seemed to use it as a meeting spot. The Tamers as a group were far less coherent than the Digidestined of the TV series, and now real life. Sure, Takato acted kind of like a leader, but as Rika had noted several times back in the early days, there was no vote on it. He had proved his skill as the leader several times, albeit lacking the natural determination and courage that Tai and Davis emitted, the former more than the later.

Currently, a red haired girl sat on the steps of the hideout, awaiting another Tamer who was all too familiar to her, for numerous reasons. But for now, she was occupied in her thoughts, contemplating once again what she had learnt the previous day. The past few days, she had learnt so much, perhaps too much for such a short time period. But she knew that her life would never be the same ever again.

Renamon and her had discussed the matter of the digi-egg the previous day, not going into too many details on the nitty-gritty of it, although Rika did not need to know that. Renamon had expressed surprise at how accepting Rika had been of the fact, but Rika was not about to judge Renamon having made practically the same mistake herself.

Nonetheless, whoever was to blame aside this was just another thing on top of a growing pile of concerns for the girl. Be it the child in her womb, the digi-egg hidden at her home, or the Demons that threatened to destroy all she cared for, everything was against her right now. The worst thing was that for once, she felt alone in all of it. She hadn't felt that alone since their early days, in particular, after IceDevimon had inadvertently caused her to disown Renamon. Although she didn't notice at the time, Rika had felt so lonely in all that time. She had dismissed the emotion when she was feeling it, but now she knew it all too well.

The thing was, she had no reason to feel it. Beyond the omnipresent voice in her mind, that of a God who she was a part of (although, unusually, the voice was actually her as well: Harmony had suggested it was simply the human mind's way of coping with the stresses), she had her near-omnipresent Digimon partner, Renamon, and her usually-present partner-in-love, Takato, not to mention the other tamers and Digidestined, be they annoying, like Kazu or Davis, friendly, like Kari or Jeri, or just insightful, like Henry or Izzy (although the latter she considered to be a bit too much of a computer nerd to be truly insightful).

So why did she feel alone?

Maybe it was because she knew it was all so tenuous. Occasionally she had wished for a normal life, oblivious to the real dangers that the city's hidden residents presented. Because with knowledge came fear. Fear of losing everything she held dear.

Anyone she loved could say whatever they wanted, be it "I'll be there", "I will always protect you", or those two cursed words, "whatever happens", because in the end, it meant nothing. Ryder had been lucky not to die, and his death had highlighted the true nature of their lives. All it would take would be a rampant Mammothmon, a powerful Demon, or just a car accident, and those words would fade to mean nothing.

What would she do if Takato died? He could say he'd be there as much as he wanted, because it really never meant anything. What would she do if Renamon died? She could say she'd protect Rika as much as she wanted, because it really never meant anything. What would she do if her mother or grandmother died?

Rika paused in her thoughts; she'd never even contemplated the last one before. She'd been fearful for her parents during the D-Reaper, and likewise when the Demon Lords attacked, but she'd never truly contemplated the potential aftermath that their deaths would have, and not at all the potential aftermath that their deaths would have with the prospect of her having a child as well.

Rika frowned, that reminded her of another of the risks. She was now living her life for two people, and she knew that nothing was keeping her alive beyond Harmony's empty words. Ryder was an Angel, a godly being himself, but he had died. Nothing was protecting them. If she died, her child, Rey, died too, with untold effects on reality, as they knew it. Even if she weren't to die herself, she knew that her unborn child was fragile, and that she could no longer take the same risks she used to take in the most dire of situations, such as leaping off the side of the pit in an attempt to stop the D-Reaper from destroying everything, an attempt that was only limited in its success.

Another fear, or at least a worry, dominated her mind. Even if Takato weren't to die, even if none of them were to die, how could she really be sure he'd stay? Maybe not straight away, maybe only once the pressure of fatherhood got to him, but a faint yet growing worry plagued the mind of the young woman. Takato wasn't exactly the most determined or confident of people. To be perfectly honest, both of them knew who really "wore the trousers" in their relationship. Takato had shown himself to both be a coward and a hero in situations akin to this, but never this major before. But this wasn't a battle, a war or a kidnapping. This was a child; something so innocent, and yet so sinister. Something that shouldn't turn their lives upside down so much, instead being something that should always be treated as a blessing, but undoubtedly would in the end manage to flip everything on its back regardless.

Rika clenched her right hand into a fist. What was she doing? How could she doubt Takato? Why hadn't she told Takato about her real worries? Weren't they meant to tell each other everything?

Rika glanced across to her partner, the fox looking up in readiness for hearing, be it with words or telepathy, what Rika had to say. Rika shook her head.

"_Almost everything at least," _she thought, recalling the digi-egg once again.

Renamon frowned; Rika must have had some reason to look to her in such a way. Renamon was almost completely certain what it was that caused the glance, but she knew that pursuing the point to be completely certain would get no answer.

Renamon was glad for one thing right now; Rika wasn't going to tell anyone about the fox's secret. Renamon knew that Rika had enough to think about right now regardless.

With the concern of telling Rika now evaporated, Renamon's mind was able to think about other things, such as how to tell Guilmon, or the rest of their group, about her own secret.

A thought occurred to her as she dismissed it initially. The thought refused to budge, as Renamon gazed down at her tail, swishing it round to one side as she considered a fact she had overlooked.

"_Is Realmon my child?" _she asked herself, her eyes widening. She frowned, holding back the rash guess. She knew she was not alone in her race, and she knew that Digimon were now able to breed, so she couldn't jump to such conclusions without more evidence yet. She would have to find out more before she did so, because the consequences of jumping to conclusions had been illustrated in the past many times.

She couldn't help but consider contemplating the thought, however.

A call from nearby awakened her from her thoughts, as she looked up to see Takato running up towards them, Guilmon bounding along in front of him, the pair as cheerful and near-unaffected by the painful realities as ever. Rika, despite wanting to, couldn't smile. Renamon's faint smile at seeing the "innocent" Guilmon was short lasted, as she recalled that that word was no longer usable to define him.

"Good morning Takato," Rika asked, lacking the cheeriness that he had had when greeting her. Takato stood on the lowest step, near where she sat two steps above.

"Are you okay?" Takato asked, his optimism vanishing as he noticed the girl's dour expression and pose.

"I was sick this morning, what do you think?" she answered bitterly, looking him in the eyes.

"Oh…sorry," Takato stuttered out in response.

Rika exhaled through her nose, her expression saddening. "It's not your fault…not entirely at least…I guess I just have to get used to it," she answered, moving to one side on her step and gesturing for him to sit next to her, which he did, stretching his legs out down the steps and reminding her that in the past few months, he had overtaken her in height to be about two inches taller. The silence drew on, the peace of the park contrasting with the inner conflict of all of those by the hideout with the exception of the red dinosaur, who was currently contemplating why Renamon was being so quiet, and hadn't yet greeted him that morning.

"Are you okay?" Guilmon asked. Renamon looked up, snapping out of her thoughts and looking down to him where they both stood on the inclined grass.

"Yes Guilmon," she answered, her voice continuing as always with its wisdom, depth and maturity, that which she had held (apart from a few examples of taunting within battles) ever since she had first come to this world.

"You don't seem okay. What's wrong?" Guilmon continued, Renamon lightly smiling at his amazing perceptiveness, adding yet another confirmation to her theory that Guilmon was actually incredibly bright and had a huge capacity in terms of intellect, but simply lacked practical knowledge of the world to apply it to, and his time was usually diverted by his incredible hunger.

Renamon frowned again, however, as she looked down to him, their eyes meeting and a silent pleading for acceptance of no answer passing between them, without even requiring the telepathy which Renamon and Rika would use. Guilmon frowned, before sitting his bottom down on the ground below in a clumsy manner.

Renamon's hand gently landed on his head in a show of reassurance, Guilmon smiling as he looked up to her, feeling her hand press down his bat-like ears before they sprung up once again. He closed his eyes, feeling the fur cross his reptilian skin as his nostrils silently flared, taking in the smells of the area, from the faint distant musk of pollution to the distinctive smell of Renamon above him, all identified as separate smells in his mind and categorised as threats, friends or background smells. It would take a great level of skill to avoid this talent, one that seemed to be even more able in sensing enemy Digimon than Renamon herself, who was always considered to be the one with the best instincts in the group.

"So how are we going to tell them exactly?" Takato asked, interrupting the peace that had descended, a rare peace compared to their hectic lives, be it with battles, hospital or school.

"They're coming over for dinner on Saturday, aren't they? You did ask your folks, didn't you?" Rika replied, looking to him with curiosity, and being concerned about his answer if it were to be in the negative.

"Yeah, I did, but that's not what I meant. I meant how exactly do we phrase it? Do we just randomly throw it in to the conversation, or do we like, set it up beforehand?"

"You're over thinking this Takato."

Takato chuckled. "Heh, I know, rare for me eh?"

Rika nodded, sighing as she looked down to the stone step below. Takato had, even if unintentionally, reminded her of one thing that she was not looking forward to this week. Seiko had expressed pleasure about the concept of having dinner with Takato's parents, the meeting between Tamer's parents being few and far between as they were. She had also promised to avoid letting Rumiko cook, something that the model had initially objected to before she accepted the fact. Seiko was a good cook, and it did surprise Rika that it hadn't really rubbed off on her daughter, apart from some occasional moments of brilliance during the D-Reaper crisis when she, under the watchful eye of her mother of course, made a meal that wasn't half bad. Nonetheless, she hoped that Rumiko would learn to cook properly (and consistently) at some point, before one of them was poisoned. Someone getting food poisoning that Saturday would deviate from the true purpose of that day, albeit that potentially being a blessing in disguise. The evening would at least cement the relationship between each of their parents, before they would have to truly become involved in Rika's pregnancy. Doubtless, there would be arguments, and Rika was afraid of their consequences. Would they blame her? Would they blame Takato? She didn't want to see either of them taking all of the blame for the other, they were both involved, as Takato himself had said, and as Rika had, at least reluctantly at first, agreed.

Takato, feeling the nervous silence that had descended since his last comment, glanced to his watch, or rather his D-Vice, checking how long it would have to be before they had to set off for school. It was curious how meeting up with Rika here every morning had dramatically improved his punctuality, but he still had some days where, for whatever reason (and his reasons varied from his intermittently working alarm clock to tripping over his own feet), he was late, occasionally causing Rika to be the same. He knew that, after the previous day, he didn't want to be late today, lest Mrs Asagi keep him in detention for several days. There was once again their reputation with the teacher to consider in order to ensure she gave permission for them to go fight as required when a Digimon would biomerge, something which they had to be careful to keep.

Then again, Takato doubted that their teacher not giving them permission would stop them.

Takato stood up, turning and putting out his hand to Rika, flashing his usual grin. "Come on, we don't want to be late again."

Rika nodded, taking his hand and standing up, before returning with a witty comment of her own. "No, you don't want to be late Takato, I don't particularly care."

Takato smiled, nodding. "Sure," he answered, a faint hint of sarcasm in his voice. Rika had expressed annoyance before at having her lunchtime or evening "stolen" by Mrs Asagi before, and it was clear she wanted to avoid it where possible, even if she expressed indifference about the matter. Takato noticed Rika's mood, and pulled her forward into a kiss, Renamon and Guilmon silently watching as Guilmon moved into a standing position again to facilitate walking.

Feeling his lips part from hers again, Rika looked up into his eyes, as he spoke.

"Cheer up," he said, smiling.

"Such insightful words," she answered, noting the lack of the lengthy pep talk she was expecting.

* * *

Chiyo dropped the pair of binoculars as she watched the pair of Tamers walk away, hand in hand as their partners followed promptly after. She frowned at having to keep her distance from Guilmon's powerful sense of smell, which could easily have picked up the slight variation in her scent due to her differences from a normal human. Her partner would just as easily arouse suspicion, and Chiyo knew that if the Tamers were to see her, they would try to figure out who she was. She did not want that yet, she had other things to attend to before she could confront them. She had to set up a plan that, while taking a long while to give results, would be all the better for the reconnaissance she would get in the first stages. She knew that several of her kind would rush straight in without a moment of thought, and she would not make that kind of mistake.

Her mind briefly questioned why she was doing what she was doing, but her mind then pushed it well out of the way again. They were not thoughts she should have been having, and nothing for her to concern herself with.

Friday was the day, and she would be ready for it. She had a very important meeting to attend.

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**08:04 JST**

"Good morning," greeted a voice, forcing the boy's eyes open with its presence from its previous equilibrium between being conscious and unconscious. Ryder looked over to the figure standing nearby, holding a brown tray in her hands. Her green jacket loosely mirrored Ryder's own, currently strewn on a nearby chair, albeit the colours on hers being more vivid. Her black shirt, blue jeans and black and blue D-Vice on her wrist finished off her outfit, her auburn hair tied behind her head in a loose ponytail.

"Ooh…normal food?" Ryder asked, his voice raspy from his dry lips.

Mari frowned, shaking her head. "Nope…hospital food I'm afraid."

Ryder groaned, pushing himself completely up as he looked around at the five other figures in the room. At the foot of his bed, loyal as ever, was his bat-like partner MiniDonmon. Behind Mari, standing silently against the wall, was DarkRenamon. Standing off to one side watching as Mari gently woke him was Rey, Realmon on her shoulder in the usual pose. Mari placed the tray on the bars crossing his bed, making Ryder feel as if he were in a retirement home.

Mari sighed. "Sorry," she answered. "Wasn't allowed to bring in anything of my own."

Ryder looked down to the cornflakes, quickly becoming soggy, and glass of water, feeling tinges of regret at how his life had turned out recently, the cereal illustrating his mood perfectly. He looked back up to Mari, who attempted to cheer him up with a smile.

"You'll be able to eat more normal food soon, but for now Dr Imai wants to be certain that you're completely human."

"Huh?" Ryder replied, Rey and Mari having already noted the irony that Ryder was by no means human.

"Yeah, I know that you are, well, pretty much anyway, but she's concerned that you may have been adversely affected by your death."

"In what kind of way?"

"Well," Rey began, speaking up for the first time. "What if this like, drained your energy each time? Or it put unnecessary strain on your organs by being started and stopped repeatedly? I mean, having your heart return to beating is all well and good, but the heart has to actually be able to function to be able to beat again continuously."

"I see," Ryder answered dully, feeling a bit irritated by being treated like a freak show attraction. "I presume you're going to school today?" he asked Mari, looking over to her.

She sadly nodded, frowning as Ryder's gaze moved across to Rey, who answered the question without being asked.

"I think I'm going to skip ahead a bit, I can't waste too many days of aging."

"I see," Ryder answered, sighing. "How long am I going to be in the ICU?" he asked.

"Dr Imai said they will be moving you to a normal room later," Mari answered. Ryder nodded.

"Good, because I really want a television. You have no idea how boring this is."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And a bit more slice-of-life' stuff, mainly continuing to deal with Renamon, Rika and Takato's feelings at this present moment. The next chapter will be set on the 7th July, so I'm moving on a bit each chapter. There will be a battle in the next chapter, although I'm not sure how much detail I plan to go into on it.

Next time…

Who does Chiyo have a meeting with? How will Rika and Takato's dinner with their parents go? Will Ryder die of boredom?

Find out in "The Trick to Being Interviewed", Chapter Twelve of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	12. The Trick To Being Interviewed

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 12**

_The Trick to Being Interviewed_

* * *

**WEDNESDAY, 7****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Shinjuku Upper High School**

**12:02 JST**

The next day, class once again continued as normal, with the exception of Ryder of course. A dull Maths lesson had given way to a dull English lesson, although in this case they were learning the English language rather than looking at English literature.

"The verb "to be" translates into English as "to be", Mrs Asagi droned on, she herself lacking any enthusiasm about the lesson. In fact, only one person in the room was actually interested in what she was teaching them, although it was for the wrong reasons.

"_Why am I doing this lesson? Everything translates automatically for me!"_Mari thought, groaning as she leaned on her hand, placed on the desk. Nearby, Kazu and Kenta were currently looking subtly at Digimon cards and chatting, leading to Mrs Asagi choosing them as her next "victims".

"Kazu, please conjugate the verb "to be"," Mrs Asagi called, as Kenta looked up in surprise, not expecting to be picked. Naturally, everyone turned to face him, making him feel yet more uncomfortable and under pressure.

Kenta decided to make an unintelligible noise as his mouth hung open. "Uhh…" he spluttered, causing Kazu to burst out in laugher at his friend.

This was a mistake, since it merely attracted the attention of the teacher. Kazu pondered whether she extracted any pleasure from torment like this, but there was no evidence on the woman's face. "Kazu, do you have the answer?"

Kazu looked up, now the new centre of attention as he heard snickers from others in the room. Rika smiled widely at the scene, their teacher's tormenting of Kazu and Kenta always brightened up the lessons.

"Um…" Kazu began. "No?"

Mrs Asagi sighed in annoyance, turning across the room to one of their newest pupils. "Now, Mari, as a native speaker of English, please conjugate "to be."

Mari nodded, feeling a touch of irony and pointlessness to her task but continuing regardless, albeit with a periodic questioning look to Mrs Asagi. "I am, you are, he is, she is, us be, they are, I am being, I was, you were, he was, she was, us was, they were, I have been, you have been, he has been, she has been, us have been, they have been, I am going to be, you are going to be, I will be, you will be…do I have to go on?"

"No, that will not be necessary. Thank you Mari."

"Oh come on, she's American, of course she knows English!" Kazu yelled in annoyance.

"Kazu, do you want to be in detention until you're twenty-nine?" Mrs Asagi asked.

"No Mrs," Kazu answered, eager to avoid yet another detention.

"Good," Mrs Asagi answered, returning to the board again as she forced the class to copy down reams of notes, most of which would be never looked at again, not least by those in the class who already knew English.

Mari resorted to idly attempting to toss the pen into her pencil case using her angelic powers, with little success as it cluttered to the ground, forcing Mari to embarrassingly lean over to pick it up as Mrs Asagi watched from the corner of her eye.

Rika raised an eyebrow at Mari's attempts; was she trying to train herself in lesson? She pondered what the worst that could happen could be, before realizing that, with their particular powers. It could potentially be devastating.

Rika sighed, leaning on the desk again as she rushed down the next set of notes, noting that, thanks to the presence of Harmony in her head, she never needed to learn another language anyway. The god-like voice had a habit of translating everything perfectly into whatever language she wanted milliseconds after she heard what the foreign language was, a situation she presumed Takato had as well with Chaos. It was by no means as elegant as the "Babel fish" solution of Mari, Ryder, and presumably the other angels, but it made very little difference in day-to-day life on its effectiveness.

Takato glanced across to her, concern on his face as Mrs Asagi rubbed the notes from the board before Rika could finish copying them down. Rika, an uncaring look on her face, shrugged: she didn't mind. However, Mrs Asagi noticed this glance, and used the chance to ask Takato the next question.

"Takato, translate the sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" into Japanese," she asked, pointing to the sentence now written on the board.

Rika smiled, albeit a smile quickly turning to concern, at Takato's initial reaction to being suddenly picked by Mrs Asagi, sitting up straight as his eyes went wide, before trying desperately to think of the answer.

"_Chaos, translate it!"_ Takato asked, panicking that he would be in for detention.

"**Why should I?"**

Rika frowned; by Takato's staring off into space and his long pause without any action, it was easy to reason that Chaos was being difficult again. A glare to Kazu and Kenta shut up their sniggers, but a similar glare at Terriermon failed to do the same.

"_Hey, we're the same person, aren't we?"_

"**Doesn't mean I can't annoy you though."**

"_But, you'll be in detention too! Please!"_

"**Jeez, I've been talking to you in your head for what, three years. Heh, how do you not get how this works by now?! DUMBASS!"**

Takato gripped the sides of his head to protect himself against the shouting, not remembering that he was actually only hearing the words in his head.

"Stop shouting!" Takato yelled, causing everyone but Rika to look around in surprise at Takato's strange pose and behaviour. Rika simply rolled her eyes; Chaos had a habit of taking "uncooperative" to its conclusion.

Mrs Asagi blinked at the boy, pondering whether he had finally had a mental breakdown. Takato, noticing he was being watched, chuckled nervously as he looked around, no-one else hearing Chaos laughing within his head.

"Takato, are you okay?" Mrs Asagi asked, her tone of voice displaying that her true concern was not about whether Takato was okay but instead about how long it would interrupt her lesson.

"Erm…" Takato replied, glancing across to Rika who simply shrugged in response. What, was she meant to give him advice? Takato looked back to Mrs Asagi. "I may be hearing things."

Mrs Asagi sighed, leaning on her desk; Takato had truly reached the pinnacle of his insanity. "Do you want to go to the nurses' office?"

Takato paused in thought. Sure, there was nothing actually wrong with him, and sure, he'd probably be turned straight back to class, but getting out of class for any length of time, despite the maturity that being in the top of the school ladder gave, was still a good thing in his eyes.

"Uh…" Takato began, before being interrupted in his chance to get twenty minutes away from the drudgery that was learning English when it was an unnecessary task.

The sound of seven digivices filled the air. Mrs Asagi sighed in annoyance as she saw the familiar sight of Kazu, Kenta, Rika, Takato, Mari, Jeri and Henry climbing to their feet, Terriermon gaining a look of determination.

"About time!" the dog-bunny cheered.

"Finally, I thought I was going to die of boredom," Kazu exclaimed.

"Yeah," Kenta agreed, MarineAngemon mirroring him with a chirp.

"Renamon," Rika spoke in her usual commanding way as she called for her ever present partner, the yellow form quickly blurring into reality nearby as the non-tamer pupils looked on, still amazed by the creatures known as Digimon despite having seen them a multitude of times before.

Mari's stance was less confident, this being only her third battle, the previous two of which had ended in someone she loved getting fatally hurt. The parallels between DarkRenamon and Ryder in those battles were striking; both had died in an attempt to protect her, although Mammothmon presented far less of a threat to her than ReverseGinRyumon had. But both had been killed, and both had also returned, although in DarkRenamon's case she had intervened rather than the revival occurring via unknown reasons. DarkRenamon's hand on her shoulder reassured her, as she glanced back to the dark Kitsune's face. DarkRenamon nodded, speaking quietly into her ear.

"Ready?" she asked. Mari nodded.

"I can get Guilmon on the way," Takato noted to Rika, as his girlfriend nodded in response to the usual strategy choices.

"Let's get moving before our threat makes a mess of downtown Tokyo," Kazu declared, raging enthusiasm rampant in his voice.

"Stop right there!" Mrs Asagi yelled in desperation, the Tamers and their classmates all looking to her in surprise, as eager smiles dipped to disappointed frowns. "You are not skipping another lesson," she insisted.

"But the Digimon…" Kazu began.

"You have said it yourselves that your group is now huge. Why can others not deal with it?" Mrs Asagi asked.

"Mrs, this could be anything, these things don't tell us the strength of the opponent," Henry noted.

"Yeah, it could be anything from Kuramon to Armageddemon!" Terriermon insisted.

"But it never is, is it? I know from experience and the press that you rarely deal with anything that major, and whenever there is a threat like that, it is always preceded by a long build-up." Mrs Asagi asked. "You can't keep missing so many lessons, and you always have about ten members turning up at every battle," she added, finalising her point.

"But…" Kazu began to object again.

"I'll go," Mari decided, her voice determined as the class looked to her. Her pose was perfectly confident, her eyes gazing directly at Mrs Asagi's without glancing aside.

"**Military types…"** Harmony said, sighing as if she had prior experience.

"But…" Mrs Asagi began. Mari, in a rare show of someone other than the normal troublemakers interrupting their teacher, replied promptly.

"I have no need for this lesson; I am a native speaker of English. If there is a threat, I will contact the others and you will allow them out to combat it, agreed?" she asked. Mrs Asagi raised an eyebrow; this was an odd side of Mari to see. The woman sighed, deciding to accept this compromise.

"Fine, but return as soon as possible," she answered.

Mari nodded, glancing aside to DarkRenamon to check her partner was in agreement. Catching the affirmative nod, she looked to the other Tamers.

"Rika, I'll ring you if it's anything important, okay?" she said. Rika sighed, sitting down and nodding, as her fellow Tamers reluctantly did likewise.

"Good luck," Jeri wished, Mari nodding in response as she walked to the door and out, heading for another battle as the black shadow quickly darted after. Mrs Asagi sighed, returning to her lesson as she began to write more on the board. Unbeknownst to her, Rika stared at Renamon standing silently next to the board, looking to her with a blank expression as it became clear to the girl that her partner was invisible to all but the most perceptive.

"_Rika, are you sure you are okay with this?" _the fox asked.

"_Yes,"_Rika replied. _"As much as I hate to admit it, Mrs Asagi is right, if something major was going on, we'd have noticed by now."_

"_Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always gotten there first, and is waiting for it."_

"_**Very philosophical."**_

"_It is from Terry Prachett…I find myself regularly with spare time to read in,"_ Renamon replied, a subtle smile on her face as she revealed her pursuit that she used to pass her unoccupied time. Rika was already aware of Renamon's reading habits, although she had never gone into detail on what exactly she would read.

"_So are you suggesting we should go to fight before it's too late?" _Rika asked, curious as to what Renamon was implying.

"_I am only advising that we don't assume that all our enemies will be visible."_

Rika nodded, frowning as she returned to a subject that had been on her mind. She looked up to her partner again, their telepathic link returning as thoughts connected them temporarily.

"_Renamon, when are you going to tell Guilmon about the digi-egg?"_

Renamon answered without hesitation, uncertainty and fear, although Rika could tell she was experiencing all three. _"I do not know."_

"_You are going to have to tell him at some point."_

"_I am aware of that Rika. I still have to think some things through."_

Rika frowned, nodding before pausing when she realised she was appearing as if she was nodding to thin air to most people in the room. Feeling uncomfortable enough, she was made more anxious by her next thought that occurred to her, unfortunately escaping to Renamon before Rika could think it herself, the disadvantage of a physic link. _"How exactly did it happen?"_

Renamon, for once, visibly frowned, before looking back up to Rika, well aware that it was a slip of the tongue on Rika's part, albeit in this case a slip of the mind. _"I am sure you are well aware."_

Rika nodded, glancing down to herself. At least it wasn't visible yet; although she knew that as soon as it was, she'd have a lot of questions to deal with. She sighed, irritated by the further levels of complication in her life when it was already complicated enough as it was.

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**12:12 JST**

"Hit me."

"Uh, okay, if you say so."

"Ow! MiniDonmon, I meant give me another card!"

"But you said "hit me"!"

"That's what you say in Blackjack when you want a card."

"Oh."

"Right, now hit me," Ryder asked.

MiniDonmon moved forward, ready to carry out the attack.

"I mean the card!" Ryder insisted quickly.

"Oh, right," MiniDonmon answered, laughing nervously as he picked up another card, flapping his small wings and flying it over to Ryder who carefully moved it into his hand. MiniDonmon returned from where his cards were face down on the bed.

"Hmm…I'll stick," Ryder answered.

"Right," MiniDonmon replied. "What do we do now?"

"You turn your cards over," Ryder replied. MiniDonmon did so, unveiling a ten and a six.

"Right, what now?"

"Well, do you want to stick or get another card?"

"Another card," MiniDonmon replied, taking a card from the deck and turning it over, revealing a six, which he put next to the others.

Ryder chuckled, unveiling his hand, a nine, a two and an eight. "Tough luck buddy," he answered.

"No, that adds up to only nineteen! I got twenty-two, I win!"

"MiniDonmon, in this game, you have to get as close to twenty one as possible without going over."

"Really?" MiniDonmon asked.

"Yeah," Ryder replied.

The pair paused, as MiniDonmon looked down to the cards again, sighing.

"Can we play a game that I understand?" he asked. Ryder rolled his eyes, nodding.

"Card games really aren't your forte, are they?"

"Ironic that I'm derived from one then, isn't it?"

"Heh, fair point," Ryder replied.

Ryder was interrupted by a bleeping from the device on his wrist. Carefully raising it to his face, he frowned at the display.

"A Digimon?" MiniDonmon asked.

"Yeah…looks like it's in Odaiba too…" he replied.

"What should we do?"

"I'll leave the Digidestined to handle it. Hopefully it won't be anything _too_ big," he replied, frowning at the concept that things were rarely that simple.

"Okay," MiniDonmon replied, frowning at the realisation that he'd be out of the battles for a while. "Right, the game is crazy eights…" he began again, looking to the cards.

"Mr Stevens," said a new voice in the room. Its commanding tone contrasted with the casual tone that this particular patient felt. Ryder had been moved from the ICU to a new room, one that was smaller but far less clinical. A pair of beds were lined up pointing away from one wall, and a large pane window at the end let plenty of light in. Various surgical instruments were scattered around, and, apart from an anaesthetic drip, Ryder was now wire-free. The other bed was strangely unoccupied, although Ryder had begun to suspect that the hospital didn't think that anyone would want to share a room with a Digimon. Ryder looked across the room to the door, where he saw two familiar figures, and three unfamiliar ones.

A blonde man in his usual greyish suit, stood with a stern expression on his face, hiding his somewhat tactical relief that Ryder was still alive. He seemed to have many potential secrets he held that Hypnos could use, not least the fact he was an Angel, something that had plagued Yamaki's interest since he had heard of the fact. Alongside him stood his co-worker and partner Riley Ootori, wearing a white buttoned up jumpsuit normally worn when working in the control room. Alongside them, were three more unfamiliar figures. Armed disturbingly with guns was a pair of top-level police officers, clearly displaying the police department's lack of confidence as to the abilities of both he and his Digimon. It was to some extent not a poor choice, since meetings between officials and Digimon had a habit of turning sour, usually due to a bioemergence or the villain emerging conveniently at that moment. Alongside them, with an aged expression and a pair of small-official glasses, along with several papers in a brownish folder, wearing a grey-black suit and a blue tie with a white shirt and grey pants, was someone who looked remotely familiar to Ryder.

"_Someone from the show?" _Ryder pondered. "Yeah?" he answered.

The man in the suit cleared his throat before continuing to talk. "I am here to talk about the events of recent days. I am Chief Cabinet Secretary Eiichi Nakazawa."

"Yamaki's boss?" MiniDonmon asked bluntly, not wanting to waste time with candid reasoning of who it was.

The Chief Cabinet Secretary's eye line moved to look at the small bat near Ryder on the bed, a brief glance of surprise crossing his face at the creature. Clearly, despite his remit covering the creatures, he rarely actually saw them himself, instead delegating the role to Yamaki. "Yes," he answered.

The officials had now moved to be positioned around Ryder's bed, making him feel somewhat surrounded and worried about the oncoming discussions, a clue manifesting in his mind as to what they would be about.

"How are you feeling?" Riley asked, noting Ryder's condition.

"Meh, have been better. I'm on an anaesthetic drip though."

"I heard about your little escapade on Monday," Yamaki noted.

"An escapade?" Eiichi asked, his tone concerned as he turned to his subordinate.

Yamaki frowned, realising that this was something he did not wish to talk about, but had inevitably brought on the subject of. "Ryder vacated the hospital in order to visit a friend after waking up, before being returned to the hospital with worsened injuries."

"Hmm…I see…what exactly motivated you to do that?" Eiichi asked, a brief look of surprise on his face at the concept of a patient walking out of the hospital.

"I wanted to reconcile with my girlfriend before it was too late," Ryder answered. Yamaki frowned, it sounded like a poor excuse, and he was sure that Eiichi would see it that way.

"Sounds like a very irresponsible act. Were you aware of the risks?"

Ryder frowned, his expression taking on a hardened tone as he glared at the secretary, surprising Riley by how confidently he talked to her, clashing completely with his inner feelings of concern.

"_Okay, like Mari has always told you. Be imperative, speak straight and don't hesitate. Take the higher ground, and don't let them forget their place," _Ryder thought, taking a brief breath. "Mr Nakazawa, I do not believe that I have to answer to you on any of my actions," he began. "I have my own motivations and reasoning behind my acts, and they will take place regardless of the Japanese government's requirements, understand?"

Eiichi paused, his face not showing his surprise and concern about the way that Ryder had spoken back to him. Unbeknownst to him, Mari had shared a few pearls of wisdom with Ryder about how to speak with authority and imperativeness, something she had required as a government agent working for SDCO, particularly when it came to escorting (sometimes forcefully) citizens from the bioemergence sites.

"I question whether I can trust the Tamers if they choose to act against the government," Eiichi replied.

Ryder frowned, still feeling inner chaos but not letting it show as he continued speaking. "Mr Nakazawa, the intentions of the Tamers are against any use of the Digimon or Digital abilities for transgressions. Unfortunately, as I have seen, the government continues to mistake the true nature of Digimon as being a threat, a stereotyping akin to assuming that all British spend their days playing cricket, a farcical generalisation with little grounding in reality," he continued. "Regardless, the end goal of the Tamers is to prevent conflict between humans and Digimon, and this may occasionally conflict with the intentions of the Japanese government. I would like to have the confidence to know that the government is aware of this."

Eiichi and Ryder locked eyes periodically, Eiichi frowning, before a slight reassuring smile crossed his features. Yamaki and Riley watched with concern, even the police officers were surprised by the turn of events.

"I am pleased to see that the Tamers have such a mature and reasoned membership, although I do question their respect for seniors."

Ryder chuckled. "Meh, where I come from, respect is earned, not automatically given by seniority."

Eiichi nodded. "I see. Now, returning to the business at hand, I am aware that you were responsible for the death of one Taiki Araki on the 3rd July. Am I correct?"

Ryder glanced to Yamaki and Riley, who nodded in response. "Yes, I killed Taiki Araki."

The police officers glanced to one another, unaware to whether they were here to arrest the teenager.

"I see that you confess to it as well."

"Sir, I have regretted it so much since I committed the act. Taking another life is not a step I ever wanted to take. I am fearful enough of death myself never to want to impose it on someone else."

"Nonetheless, it would be seen by the courts as murder," Eiichi noted.

Ryder frowned, sighing as he fell back on the pillow. "So I'm going to jail, huh?"_"Or the death penalty? Given my apparent ability to avoid death, that would be a lot easier. Does it count as a death penalty if you come back again?"_

Eiichi frowned, glancing out the window at the city, stretching away. "I have reasoned this matter with other government officials. It is a complex situation, because it is reasonable to assume that your actions prevented further deaths. If we can argue that a soldier may kill to prevent deaths, then may a civilian do the same?"

"Not unless the number of deaths is significant enough," Yamaki noted. "Otherwise the government would be openly advocating murder in revenge."

"Exactly. However, I believe that, given his actions, particularly those of genocide prior to his death, Taiki would have presented a major threat should he have escaped," Eiichi replied, before sighing. "This is a situation I never expected to arise from Hypnos."

"Sir, with all due respect, I question how you group these children with Hypnos," Riley spoke up, causing Eiichi to look over to her. "Hypnos has simply served as additional reinforcements for their group, they have no official status."

"Perhaps they could be officially part of the government?" Eiichi suggested.

"No," Ryder spoke, his voice solid and sharp. Eiichi looked to him, surprised by his prompt and definite response. "I am not having the Tamers become part of the government. They would lose their independence. The Tamers are a group separate from the government; our actions would directly conflict with the government's intentions."

"I doubt you want the destruction caused on the governments' books as well," Yamaki noted, looking to his superior.

"A fair point," he replied, before frowning and turning to Ryder as a thought occurred to him. "Do the Tamers have a structure?"

"Huh? Like what?" Ryder replied, curious as to what Eiichi was asking.

"A hierarchy, with a leader, and stages below," Eiichi replied. Ryder smiled, shaking his head.

"Nope, nothing like that. Well, unless you count the Goggleheads, but then again, there are four of us now, so not really a leader these days."

"A Goggle-head?" Eiichi questioned.

"Some of us wear Goggles, and it's become tradition that the leader of the group wears Goggles. It has progressed to the point where the inverse is true, the leader of a group is a Gogglehead regardless of whether they wear Goggles or not. Nonetheless, the leader is an unofficial designation at best, and within the various groups there are different attitudes towards the leader in terms of how much control and responsibility they have for the group."

"This all sounds very strange, completely different from what I am used to," Eiichi answered.

"The Tamers are not intended as an official organisation," Riley noted. "So they have no need for a structure," she added.

"I see," Eiichi noted, before sighing. "Mr Stevens, I have come to the decision that the government will condone your actions on the basis that it prevented further death. However, I request that you be more careful in future. This could have been a major international incident."

"Huh? Why?" MiniDonmon asked.

"You are a foreign national, am I correct?"

"Yes," Ryder answered. _"More or less," _he added in his mind, reflecting on the trans-dimensional nature of his citizenship.

"You are also a public figure growing in prominence. Although it may be possible to cover up the situation this time, further incidents could prove troubling. If the public learns that the government is openly permitting murder, then there would be outrage. Not least about the concept that the Tamers are permitted special cases for murder."

Ryder frowned. "I see," he replied. "Thank you," he added. _"Although I do wonder how we will deal with the other Demons if and when they appear," _he thought.

"I must say that I have a new respect for your group, although the government shall still view you with concerned eyes."

Ryder chuckled, smiling. "Didn't expect anything else really," he answered.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Okay, I intended to get to the battle in this chapter, but I'm already over my usual word count by about half of it again, so I'll save it for next time.

Next time…

What type of threat will the Digidestined have to deal with? How will they deal with further Demon threats? Will MiniDonmon ever learn how to play blackjack?

Find out in "The Trick To Dealing With A Bioemergence", Chapter Thirteen of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	13. The Trick To Dealing With A Bioemergence

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 13**

_The Trick to Dealing With A Bioemergence_

* * *

**WEDNESDAY, 7****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Rainbow Bridge, Minato Ward**

**12:20 JST**

As the fog rolled in, despite it being a midsummer day, some suspected adverse weather sweeping through Tokyo Bay. Leaping across the bay was the spectacular Rainbow Bridge linking the areas of Odaiba and Shibura Wharf in Minato Ward. But despite the winds, the fog failed to be blown from the bridge, instead expanding to envelop the centre of the top deck of the roadway. Cars stopped in annoyance, tooting their horns as the drivers criticised each others' driving, none proceeding to drive through the fog.

A few seconds after a resonant growl from within the fog, a pair of yellow eyes with black pupils lit up within the mist. Most of the drivers looked across to the fog, curious as to what the sound was, and how it was causing the hold up.

The mist was suddenly swept aside, the beast revealed for all the now screaming and fleeing drivers to see. A black, quadruped, dog-like figure stood growling on the bridge deck, a greyish mane coming forth from the back of its neck. The majority of its body was black armour, but gaps around the jaws revealed brown skin and sharp teeth. Equally sharp were the metallic blades coming from its feet, above solid grey toes. A black armoured tail swung around, and, as a curious feature, either side of its head on its shoulders, were two extra dog-like heads, their eyes lacking the concentration and determination of the main head.

High above, standing precociously on the edge of the tall, grey, suspension bridge tower, was a figure watching the scene below with a frown. Her deep black hair was slightly swept by the wind, and next to her, acting as a method to transport to where she now stood, was a black and purple bird.

As if going through a much-practiced motion, the girl looked to the device on her wrist. She frowned, as the data appeared on the Digimon below. She read it back to her partner.

"Cerberumon, Vaccine Type, Champion Level, with the attacks of Emerald Blaze and Portals of Darkness. Pah, what a pathetic attempt at an evil Digimon," she said. She rolled her eyes, looking to the sky in annoyance. "Roll on Friday, I'm bored enough now."

The beast glanced up, as if hearing her voice, as his eyes trained on her form. He growled, racing forward along the roadway, slamming in the roofs of several cars in the process before pushing himself off one of the cars into the air, leaping forth for her. She watched absently as he drew close, before faltering and tumbling to the ground.

"Stupid Digimon," she muttered, noting how the Digimon had attempted to leap the full height of the tower.

"Do you want me to attack?" DarkBiyomon asked.

"I have no intentions to intervene; I have other things to see in this battle."

DarkBiyomon paused looking at her Tamer periodically, before looking back to the battlefield below, as Cerberumon climbed to his feet and looked up to the top of the tower again. He growled through his teeth, seething at how he had been unable to leap to her height. His drew his jaws apart, preparing to fire a blaze of green flames in the human and Digimon's direction.

"THUNDER BLAST!" echoed a voice, as Cerberumon was struck by a wave of electricity. He scowled as the electricity subsided, a new figure appearing on the bridge nearby, another figure on his black, armoured back, covering a blue and white dragon-like form below.

Davis leapt off of Raidramon's back, not taking his eyes off his glaring opponent, in a way contrasting somewhat with his school uniform, a green jacket with a white shirt and grey pants. "Right Raidramon, we're here first, let's make this one quick before my teacher kills me for sneaking out."

"Right," Raidramon replied, planting himself firmly on the ground as Cerberumon raced towards him, sharp jaws opened. Raidramon looked on in concern, preparing his attack. "THUNDER…" he began.

Cerberumon's pace suddenly doubled, as he sunk his teeth into Raidramon's neck, the other quadruped screaming in pain.

"Raidramon!" Davis yelled. Raidramon seethed through his teeth, attempting to fight the pain and charge an attack to free himself from the other Digimon.

"THUNDER…BLAST…" he groaned, a ball of misaimed thunder simply colliding with the ground nearby.

"Let go of him!" Davis yelled. Chiyo rolled her eyes at the boy's pathetic cries; did he really expect Cerberumon to give any mercy?

"STAR SHOWER!" yelled another voice, as a series of stars came from nowhere and collided with the vaccine dog-like Digimon, who roared in pain and annoyance before looking to the skies for the attack's source, releasing Raidramon from his grip in the process. A flying, armoured, horse-like figure swooped through the air with a human on his back, coming to a land near the human on the deck already. Raidramon had begun to nurse his wounds, primarily a serious bite to the neck.

"Thanks for that TX," Davis said, as TK leapt off his partner's back, wearing a uniform almost identical to Davis'.

"Did you really think you could fight this one alone?" TK asked, ignoring the running theme of Davis giving him a similar name but different.

"Yeah, we've dealt with them before! I had it all under control," Davis replied, pumping his fist. "Isn't that right Raidramon?" he asked.

Raidramon groaned in pain, looking to his partner. "You didn't even swipe a card Davis, what on earth were you doing?!" he asked in annoyance, displaying his higher form's usual frustrations with his Tamer.

"Oh, sorry, I got caught up in the moment," Davis replied, scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously. TK sighed at the sight, turning back to their foe, who growled to them, seething once again through clenched jaws.

"He's going to…" Davis began, as the jaws opened and greenish flames formed at the back.

"EMERALD BLAZE!" Cerberumon roared, propelling the fires forward towards the disparate group in a long and quick moving streak. Davis leapt at TK, pushing the pair of them to the ground as the flames swept by, Pegasusmon swooping into the air to avoid it. Unfortunately, one Digimon, still in pain from his previous attack, was left in the line of the attack.

"Raidramon!" Davis yelled, wasting no time in getting back to his feet. TK righted himself quickly, before the jaws opened once again, now aiming for the pair of them.

"EMERALD BLAZE!" Cerberumon roared, Davis and TK leaping to the ground in opposite directions as the blast skimmed their heads.

Chiyo groaned at the sight. "They are even more useless than I thought they were. Hopefully Cerberumon will wipe them out for us and save us some time."

DarkBiyomon looked to her partner, the girl grating her teeth at the sight in annoyance.

"Come on, one of you four actually use your single brain cells!" she exclaimed, holding back her voice so as not to be noticed. Davis, meanwhile, climbed to his feet, TK doing likewise.

"EMERALD BLAZE!" roared Cerberumon, the flames cascading across the deck of the bridge and slamming into a car. TK wasted no time in grabbing onto Pegasusmon as the flying horse drew close, pulling him into the air and away from the ground-based blaze. Seeing this, Cerberumon turned his sights, sweeping the ongoing flames towards Davis, who ran for it, feeling the heat lick at his heels as he ran towards Raidramon, who looked weakly at the flames sweeping horizontally towards him, alarm growing in his mind as he shared a glance with his Tamer.

"_Sorry…"_Davis thought, leaping to the ground and skidding under his partner's stomach, rolling to a stop on the other side as the flames collided with Raidramon, a continual stream focused on him slowly weaning to a stop as the flames brightly burst around him. Screams of pain silenced with a thud, a far smaller figure hitting the ground. Davis tried to catch his breath, as TK grated his teeth at the sight from his position in the air on Pegasusmon's back.

"What the hell did he do that for? He made Raidramon take an attack!" TK asked his partner, not disguising his annoyance at their so-called leader. Pegasusmon didn't reply, he wasn't sure on whether Davis had done the right thing or not.

Davis panted, looking across to DemiVeemon who slowly opened his eyes again, he himself panting for breath. "You…okay…buddy…" Davis asked between breaths.

"No…" DemiVeemon replied, groaning. Davis frowned, pushing himself to his feet and carefully, and slightly dizzily, walking over and picking up the small Digimon and placing him into his arms.

"Sorry," he said, DemiVeemon nodding and frowning.

"…kay…" he answered weakly.

"EMERALD BLAZE!" roared the voice again, the flames skyrocketing towards them at high speed.

"Davis!" TK yelled. Pegasusmon didn't pause in his actions, instead quickly knocking his partner off his back, flying in the way of the blast and being thrown back thirty feet into a solid steel pillar. He groaned in pain, sinking down the pillar as Patamon finally landed on the ground, feeling worse for wear.

"Ugh, rough day," he complained. TK groaned as he clutched his back from the short intended fall Pegasusmon had been forced to give him.

Chiyo rolled her eyes at the scene, self sacrifice and heroism seemed to be replacing tactics in this battle. It sickened her.

"Thanks TK, Patamon," Davis said, standing up and looking across the bridge deck at Cerberumon, who still roared at them. TK pushed himself to his feet once again.

"Any time…but when I have a headache," Patamon replied, awkwardly flying over to them with one damaged wing.

"Save the jokes for later, we have to get out of here or get backup," TK commented.

"Where are the others when you need them?" Davis asked. TK took out his D-Terminal, preparing himself to type an email.

"I told them I'd email them if it was anything big," he replied. "But I never got the chance," he added.

"You just had to run straight into battle, didn't you?" Patamon asked, looking to Davis and DemiVeemon.

"Yeah," Davis answered, his usual enthusiasm dampened as he nervously eyed their enemy, who glared at them, growling as he waited for his chance to attack. Davis raised an eyebrow at this, curious as to the current actions of their latest predator. "Why isn't he attacking us? What is he afraid of?" he asked. TK glanced up from his email, looking across to the enemy.

"You have a point there," TK agreed.

"Yeah, we're wide open here," Patamon added. "Why doesn't he attack already?"

Cerberumon's eyeline deviated, glancing up to the tower and the girl still standing on it, watching them.

Chiyo gasped, realising that Cerberumon was now looking directly at her and DarkBiyomon. Her cover could be blown in a matter of seconds.

"What?!" Davis exclaimed, seeing where Cerberumon was looking to. A girl, and a silhouette of a Digimon looking remarkably like Biyomon, stood precociously on the edge of one of the suspension bright towers. But the girl looked nothing like Sora.

"A Tamer?" TK asked, confused at the sight as he completely forgot the email.

"Am I seeing things?" DemiVeemon asked.

Cerberumon suddenly growled, leaping forward and racing towards them at top speed. "Look out!" Patamon yelled, causing the two humans around him to react just in time and leap away from the rampaging dog. After he passed them, he dug his claws into the road surface, quickly bringing himself to a stop before turning to face them, at much closer range.

"Uh…oh…" Davis exclaimed. "Any ideas TS?" he asked, TK knowing that now was not the time to scold him about him using a different name.

"Uh…" TK began, glancing down to his D-Arc clipped to his belt, and reaching down into his pocket quickly, drawing out a set of cards. Fingering them carefully to avoid dropping them, he scrolled through looking for his most used card. The slight smile of determination that appeared on his face upon finding the digivolution card was dampened into a frown upon seeing Patamon's weakened state. That type of tactics wasn't going to work, and they had no time to call for backup any more. _"Maybe with a recharge…" _TK began in his mind, formulating an idea, but time was up.

"EMERALD BLAZE!" Cerberumon roared. The two humans and Digimon looked up in horror as the flames screeched towards them, paralysed in fear.

Out of the blue, a burst of wind triggered a wave of water leaping forth from the bay below and across the bridge. The torrent of water swept through the blast and extinguished it, before the wave splashed across the roadway and back into the bay on the other side. A quickly approaching voice yelled "SYNCRONICITY!" to coincide with the wave.

"Whoa," Davis exclaimed at the awe-inducing sight, as TK turned to face the source of footsteps approaching along the roadway. He looked to see Mari, clutching tightly onto the mane of her partner Youkomon, as the girl caught her breath, panting from the high amounts of energy used in a move with no guarantee of success.

"Did you do that?" TK asked, his eyes wide. Even Cerberumon's eyes had widened at the sight, unsure what was going on. DarkBiyomon was pleasantly surprised, whilst Chiyo simply scowled.

"Bloody Angels…" she muttered. "Pulling off so many last second wins," she added, spitting her disgust.

"Barely," Mari replied, climbing off her partner and stepping down onto the roadway. Youkomon looked to her, and Mari nodded in response. Youkomon's flames flared up, as she broke into a run.

"Yeah Youkomon, go show that doggy who's boss!" Davis yelled, pumping his fist.

"Why are you so happy? You lost miserably," TK asked, dampening Davis' enthusiasm.

"FOX WHEEL!" Youkomon howled, becoming a huge roaring disc of orange flames, far larger than usual, and hurtling towards Cerberumon.

"Yeah, but that doesn't stop me…" Davis began.

The sound of a riotous explosion silenced both TK and Davis as Youkomon collided with Cerberumon, data thrown everywhere along with dust and tarmac.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt," DemiVeemon noted.

Mari frowned sadly. _"Probably for Youkomon too…" _she mentally added, considering the state of her partner.

The dust began to settle, revealing just one form remaining. Mari breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her partner safe and sound. More or less at least, there were signs of physical exhaustion from running all the way here, and then going straight into full battle at full strength in an attempt to win in a single attack.

Youkomon looked to Mari, as the data became scattered in the air. "Should I absorb it?" she asked, Mari nodding as she began to walk over to her partner.

Youkomon nodded in response, as the blue specks of data gathered and were drawn into her form, her tails and fur ruffling from an unseen breeze. Finally settling, Mari smiled as she put her hand gently on her partner's face.

"Great job," she complimented.

"Thanks," Youkomon answered, nodding.

"I'm sure that Veemon could've done that if he wanted to," Davis noted, interrupting the scene. TK and Patamon groaned; even DemiVeemon rolled his eyes. "What? Putting all your energy into one attack, how hard can it be?"

"We are so thankful that you're not a Digimon, Davis, by the way," TK joked.

Davis chuckled. "Yeah, but imagine it, Davismon!" he exclaimed, pointing to the air, reminding TK of what they had seen not long beforehand, something they could no longer see.

"Hey, that girl's gone!" he said in surprise, deviating everyone's gaze from Davis' antics and up to the tower, where, sure enough, the girl had vanished along with her Biyomon-like partner.

"But, where to?" Davis asked, looking around the tower in curiosity to see if her figure was still hanging onto the side, but no such thing was to be seen. "Did she fall?"

"Not likely if her partner is a bird," TK mooted.

"She must have escaped when we were distracted," Patamon noted from where he sat on TK's head.

"But who was she?" DemiVeemon asked from his position still in Davis' arms.

"What are you all talking about?" Mari asked, as she and Youkomon walked over to the four of them, concern on her face.

"Just now, there was a girl standing up on top of the suspension bridge tower," TK answered, pointed to the tower as Mari moved her eyes to face it. "But she's vanished," he added.

Mari looked up the tower. "Hmm…hope she's alright," she noted. Youkomon nodded in agreement.

"She had a Digimon with her," Davis noted.

"Yeah, and it looked kinda like Biyomon," TK added. Mari looked to the pair.

"Really?" she asked, pondering a thought that had occurred to her. TK nodded.

"Yeah, but it wasn't Sora though," TK replied.

"Why's that?" Mari asked.

"She didn't look like her. Sora has much shorter hair, and she would've helped us out in that battle, not just stood by and watched," TK replied.

"I see," Mari answered, frowning.

"If she is a Tamer, I am sure we will see her again," Youkomon noted, reassuring them.

"Yeah, our lives have a habit of working out that way, don't they?" Mari commented, sighing. "I've got to get back to class, you guys okay here?" she asked.

Davis nodded. "Yeah, we've got to do the same."

TK frowned, looking around the roadway. There were several cracks through the tarmac, thankfully none too deep, and a dent in one of the towers from where Pegasusmon had hit it. Alongside the charred remains of cars hit by the fiery blast, there were scorch marks covering the surface of the road. A short distance away, cars had been abandoned, their owners having fled the scene at the first opportunity.

"_There has to be a better way than this," _TK contemplated. _"A better way than fighting."_

* * *

**23:45 JST**

"_**The light, the radiance."**_

"_**The holy daughter and the cursed son, fighting a war that can never be won."**_

"_**The darkness, all consuming, all powerful. Surrender to it."**_

"_**Where there is much light, the shadow is deep."**_

"_**Purify all you can, but the stains will always return."**_

"_**Fight on dear child, because it is the only point of you."**_

"_**You will die, and I will live."**_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

A little teaser at the end there, along with the first battle in a while. Hopefully this was written well, I think it was definitely quite interesting. The Digidestined have been rather absent recently, and this story arc beginning now will start to bring them back into the fold once again. 

Next time…

Is there a better way of dealing with enemy Digimon? What does Chiyo want? What is her planned meeting "on Friday" all about?

Find out in "The Trick To Confrontation", Chapter Fourteen of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	14. The Trick To Confrontation

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 14**

_The Trick to Confrontation_

* * *

**THURSDAY, 8****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**REAL WORLD**

**Kamiya Residence, Minato Ward**

**06:50 JST**

The sun was already beaming through the window as the girl roughly awoke from her silent sleep to the sound of her bleeping alarm clock. Her shortish brown hair was ruffled by a restless night, and she groaned as she realised it was morning again, and she would have to get up. She, out of habit, leaned out and pressed the button again. The soft nasal purring of both her Digital and real cats both curled up on the foot of the bed quietly wafted through the room, as she rubbed her eyes sorely, closing them in an attempt to get more shuteye.

The sound of the alarm clock once again caused her to groan, the last five minutes of _snooze_ having gone by in a flash. She groaned, disabling the clock and sitting up, her mouth feeling dry and rough as she looked across to her D-Arc, pink with a white ring, displaying nothing on its LCD screen. She sighed, pushing herself up off the bed, as Gatomon opened an eye, observing her Tamer wearing her pale pink pyjamas.

"Is it morning already?" she asked, irritation in her tone.

Kari sighed, nodding. "Yeah, unfortunately."

Gatomon groaned, rolling over as she opened her eyes, looking across to her material counterpart. "How does she stay sleeping? Kari makes enough noise to wake someone in a coma," she noted.

Kari chuckled, smiling. "Miko sleeps as long as she wants to regardless of whatever's going on," she explained. Gatomon smiled.

"Wish I could do that," she replied. Kari nodded, turning and heading down the hallway to the shower. Gatomon yawned, settling down to sleep again, knowing that either Kari would wake her, or she would find Kari later upon waking up. The sound of a shower being turned on reached her ears, as she struggled to return to the land of nod.

Kari sighed and moved back as she felt the blast of unbearably cold water hit her, quickly adjusting the taps in vein in an attempt to find a medium between tremendously freezing and unbelievably hot. Finally finding something at least remotely similar to what she wanted, she began to contemplate what she had heard the night before as her dreams surfaced to the forefront of her mind. She paused in surprise as she recalled the words.

"What on earth was that about?" she asked herself. "The light?"

"_**The light, the radiance." **_

"_**The holy daughter and the cursed son, fighting a war that can never be won." **_

"_**The darkness, all consuming, all powerful. Surrender to it."**_

"_**Where there is much light, the shadow is deep." **_

"_**Purify all you can, but the stains will always return." **_

"_**Fight on dear child, because it is the only point of you."**_

"_**You will die, and I will live." **_

Kari shivered at the last of the memories passing through her head, despite the now boiling water pouring down on her. Unlike most memories of dreams, these words were vivid, so clear in her mind.

"I will die?"

What did this mean? She'd heard references to darkness all her life, and it'd even been suggested that she was directly linked to the light. But what exactly did this latest "visitation" mean?

Kari sighed, turning off the shower as she stepped out of it, proceeding to pick up a towel.

"Maybe I should talk to someone about it," she wondered. "Unless they think I'm going crazy, of course. Then again, I've imagined stranger before, and they've believed me."

Wrapping the towel around herself, she gently opened the door and walked out into the hallway, heading back to her room again. Gatomon gently purred as she slept, once again mirroring Miko. Kari smiled at the scene, hearing her mother shifting around and preparing breakfast in the background. Kari dried herself off. The thoughts still resisting dismissal.

"But what could it be?" she thought, frowning. "Is it the Demons who are warning me? Is it someone else entirely?"

Kari sighed; it could get very irritating when she was left to deal with the "light" side of things while others lived their usual lives. She still wasn't sure exactly why she'd ended up being slightly different; there was no clear reason for it. Was it really to do with the Crests?

Kari opened her drawer, collecting her various clothes from it, before moving to the closet to attain the remainder of her school uniform, which she placed on the bed. She sighed, gone were the days when they could wear whatever they wanted to school. With Upper High School, at least for them, came uniforms, in this case a green blouse with a sailor-style collar and a green pleated skirt.

As she dressed, she pondered more about the topic on her mind. Why did none of the other crests have special powers? All Azulongmon had ever said was that her crest was "special". She hated that.

Why was it that no one could ever be specific about anything?

Then again, she had learnt since then that even the Sovereigns were ignorant of the true reality. Heck, she doubted that even Harmony and Chaos knew everything. It just felt like something much bigger was going on here, something that could harm all they held dear if they weren't careful.

Kari sighed, now she was just scaring herself.

"Kari, are you okay?" asked Gatomon, looking up to her partner with concern.

"Huh…oh, yeah, I'm fine," Kari replied, her voice lacking enthusiasm. "Why?" she asked, her voice badly obscuring her curiosity at how Gatomon knew that something was bugging her. However, Gatomon, like most partners, did have a habit of being able to tell when their Tamer was in a mood, even if it didn't show. They were able to see the subtlest of hints, the tiniest movements, and the slightest frowns…

"You've stopped changing."

And the obvious clues too.

"Oh," Kari replied, pausing before she pulled up her skirt, sighing as she checked her uniform in the mirror. Nodding that it was correct, she turned to her partner, who was now fully awake and awaiting a response. "I had a bad dream."

"What about?" Gatomon asked, her ears twitching. Kari's dreams rarely bode well for anyone, particularly since they tended to foreshadow upcoming events.

"I heard voices," Kari replied. "They said things…terrible things…speaking of darkness, and death…my death."

"What?" Gatomon asked, fearful for what this could mean. "That's terrible!" she added.

"I know."

"What exactly did they say?"

"That's the thing Gatomon, I remember it all perfectly," Kari answered, quietly sitting on the bed next to her partner. Miko continued to sleep, her dreams presumably full of mice and fish to catch. That's all that Gatomon could contemplate about her far less intelligent counterpart.

"Really? That's odd."

"Yeah, normally I forget the details of my dreams very quickly, but this time…I can remember everything."

"So what did the voices say?"

Kari breathed out through her nose, recalling the exact details. "The light, the radiance… The holy daughter and the cursed son, fighting a war that can never be won…The darkness, all consuming, all powerful. Surrender to it…Where there is much light, the shadow is deep…Purify all you can, but the stains will always return…Fight on dear child, because it is the only point of you...and then, finally…You will die, and I will live."

Gatomon's eyes widened at the exact nature of the voices, Kari nodding to show that she shared the same worry. "What are you going to do?" Gatomon asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe I should talk to the others."

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll figure something out. Unless they think you're crazy, of course."

Kari chuckled, smiling. "That thought had already occurred to me."

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**11:02 JST**

"Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored…"Ryder boringly muttered to himself, the boredom beginning to boringly overcome him in a boringly boring way to the boring extent where easing the boredom required the boring repetition of the boring word "bored" and all its boring forms.

"Want to play cards?" MiniDonmon asked. Ryder frowned, shaking his head.

"No, too bored."

MiniDonmon sighed, fluttering over the doorway in the vain hope that some form of interesting visitor was coming. Ryder sighed, leaning down in the bed and staring up at the ceiling with a frown.

MiniDonmon peeked out into the corridor, looking down the mostly silent passage and seeing a thoroughly average day for the hospital, particularly for this part of the ward where the majority of people were inpatients here for long term care.

He suddenly felt everything go black, as a soft furry mass grabbed him. He tried to scream, but no words escaped his muffled mouth.

"Keep quiet," a female voice, unfamiliar to him, sounded.

Ryder looked over to the door, curious as to what was taking MiniDonmon so long. He sat up again, cocking his head in confusion.

"Uh…MiniDonmon?" he asked, wondering what had happened to the little bat. He really didn't want to have to explain to a nurse again that the pest control people weren't needed.

A figure stepped into the doorway, Ryder raising an eyebrow at her odd attire. Rising out of a pair of purple and black shoes were a pair of dark grey tights, running up into her purple skirt. Above that, beyond a line of exposed midriff, was a red shirt, the white sleeves being the only variation of colour on them. Her youthful face held a grim expression, whilst her dark brown, almost black, hair ran down to sleeve height loosely. It was an unusual outfit, not the kind of thing most teenagers wore. She stepped forward as she closed the door, quietly locking it.

"Excuse me," Ryder asked, curious as to this girl's intentions. She paused, staring at him periodically, before advancing towards his bed, cementing Ryder's concern about her.

"Uh, MiniDonmon, I need your help…really…really quickly now!" Ryder called in alarm, as the girl smiled sadistically upon arriving at his bed. Ryder pondered where exactly he'd gone wrong in life to get in this situation.

There was some respite in the fact she was undeniably attractive. Thankfully, Ryder had been taught recently that restraining his immediate attraction to a person was a good thing.

"Move your legs, now," she ordered, her voice monotone in doing so. When Ryder didn't follow through with what she had asked, instead raising an eyebrow in a questioning expression, the girl resorted to moving his legs herself, ignoring his winces of pain as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Quiet cry-baby," she muttered spitefully, as he opened his mouth to object. "Or you'll regret it," she added, putting her finger on his mouth in a "shh" pose. She smiled as he looked at her in confusion, before she moved her hand away. "Got that?" she asked.

"Uh…" Ryder began.

"It's not a question."

"Oh…" Ryder answered, silencing periodically as the girl looked to him with an expression eking with spite and bitterness. "Um…" he began, hesitating when she spoke up over him.

"I can't be bothered with all of that crap Ryder Stevens," she stated. Ryder began to open his mouth to ask how she knew who he was, before she overrode him once again. "I know who you are, I know what you are, and I know that you are going to give me answers or this is going to hurt. Got that?" she replied. Ryder's mouth turned into a thin line, as he grated his teeth.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Ooh, what's the matter, can't the First Angel handle a little girly? Well, all the Angels always _did_ have a thing for you."

"What do you want from me?" Ryder asked, oddly feeling as if he was about to be killed. It was the standard cliché in this sort of situation in every sci-fi and drama he had seen.

"I want more answers than I already have, and so I decided to go to the person who knows them," she answered. "And you are going to give me answers," she continued, glaring into his eyes with a piercing stare that spoke volumes about her determination to her current task.

Ryder glared back at her, hoping that he was at least nearly matching her glare. "And if I refuse?" he asked coolly, now truly feeling as if he had landed slap-bang in the middle of a cliché.

She smiled sadistically, punching her left fist into his ribcage, her smile widening as he groaned in pain and clutched his side, turning over slightly and curling his legs up. "Pathetic," she muttered.

"You know…" Ryder began, his voice strained by the pain he was currently experiencing. "Someone is going to come here at some point."

She smiled again, shaking her head with a grin. "Unfortunately for you, no nurses or doctors will be attending this room in the next hour."

Ryder's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Why?!" he exclaimed.

"I take sexual politics to its conclusion," she answered, Ryder pondering what on earth she was talking about, and wondering exactly what kind of situation he had ended up in. He dearly hoped it wasn't _that_ kind of situation.

"I'll scream," Ryder threatened. "Someone will come!" he added.

The girl smiled again, clearly enjoying this game. Her hand went out, clutching his injured right side and twisting it only slightly. She rejoiced in the tremendous pain he received.

"You see, if you don't give me my answers here, you will die, got that? I have killed before and I have no reservations about killing again."

"_Oh the irony," _Ryder thought, wincing in pain. Then again, if he did die, he had no guarantees that he'd survive just like last time, so he decided to play along for now. "Even if no nurses or Doctors come, my friends might!"

"Then they will die too," she replied.

Ryder had a feeling that the situation was becoming increasingly desperate. "Who are you?" he asked.

"You do not need to know," she answered. "Now, tell me about Mari!" she ordered.

"What? What do you want to know about Mari for?" he asked, alarmed.

Ryder bit back his pain, trying not to scream out for fear of dying again. He had no idea what this girl could do, but she sounded pretty serious about it. "Alright, alright," he answered, his voice full of alarm. "She was born on the 3rd December 1993, in Newburgh, New York. She lost her parents to a Monochromon at age 13, and worked for SDCO for three years after that until she met me six weeks ago and moved to Japan. Her partner is DarkRenamon; they became a pair on Saturday."

The girl's mouth turned into a thin line, as she gripped him again. He groaned in pain.

"What do you want? I just told you about her!" he asked, his voice bitter and annoyed.

"I don't want to know that crap; I could find that all out easily. Hell, I already know most of that," she answered.

"So what do you want to know then?" Ryder asked bitterly.

"How her hair feels when she kisses you. How she gets angry at you for leaving a glass on the table without a mat. The path she takes to school. Those things that irritate her the most about you. I want to know the little things beyond books and research…"

"But why?"

The girl threateningly moved her hand over the wound again, as Ryder quickly withdrew the question.

"Okay, okay, just stop it!" he pleaded. She smiled. "She hates it when I go on and on about videogames, she can't stand when I don't leave the keys on the top, or when I leave the television on, or leave her bedroom door open when she goes to bed. And she also hates it when I kiss other people."

"See, now you're getting the right idea," she answered, a smile moving onto her face.

"But why the hell would you want to know all of that junk?" Ryder asked.

"I have plenty of reasons. Now…" she continued, moving her hand over Ryder's side. "Tell me the same kind of thing, but about Rika and Takato," she ordered.

"What? Why would I know…?"

She growled in annoyance, punching her fist down into his ribs. "I know you know!" she answered. "Stop kidding around with me!" she added.

Ryder frowned, breathing deeply to recover the air punched out of him. "Okay, okay…I'm not sure on the minor problems, but I know that the fact that Takato dreamt of Rika before they met bugs her."

"Perfect," she answered, smiling. "You've been a great help," she replied. "So far," she added, making it clear to him that this confrontation was far from over.

Ryder felt a tingling feeling that something was approaching the room, and felt tinges of relief at the concept he could soon escape this situation. The past few weeks had been both the best and worst of his life, and he didn't want them to continue.

"Now, moving on to the other couples…"

The door handle moved, interrupting her from her interrogation. She growled in annoyance, looking through the door at the figure who was attempting to enter. She chuckled.

"Aw, your little "secret admirer" Rey come to save you from the big bad weird girl?" she teased, looking back to him. "How pathetic…"

Ryder said nothing, simply glaring back at her as his mind ticked over on her comment, finally prompting him to reply as the door handle continued to move. "What do you mean, "secret admirer"?"

"You know, it's not only Mari who hates seeing the guy they like kiss others. We all hate it…even Rey…" she said.

Before Ryder could object, she had pressed her lips against his, forcing him into a kiss and smiling at his alarmed expression. Rey and MiniDonmon burst into the room as the lock exploded from its hinges, the pair looking on in shock at what was going on. The girl pulled away, smiling widely at his shocked expression.

"I know that you love difficult situations," she replied, standing up and walking over to the window, her fist smashing through the pane and glass shattering to the concrete several storeys below.

She looked back to Ryder in the room, giving a periodic glare at Rey.

"Deal with this one," she taunted, leaping out as a black shadow grabbed her. Her form vanished from sight, along with the shadow. Rey ran over to the window, looking out for some sign of the girl and preparing to follow, before a glance back to Ryder painted a horrible picture.

"Ryder?" she asked, her eyes widening in alarm at the blood now smearing his shirt. "What happened?" she asked.

Ryder breathed deeply, trying to recover his breath. "I want to know that myself," he finally replied, frowning.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

An interesting interaction between characters here, one that has more significance than it initially appears.

Next time…

What does she want with this information? What's with the voices Kari heard? What does Chiyo plan to do on Friday?

Find out in "The Trick To Intimidation", Chapter Fifteen of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	15. The Trick To Intimidation

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated)

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 15**

_The Trick to Intimidation_

* * *

**THURSDAY, 8****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Shinjuku General Hospital**

**11:50 JST**

"The bleeding has stopped," Dr Imai said, turning as she walked over to a concerned Rey and MiniDonmon. MiniDonmon's small arms held tightly onto Rey's reddish hair as he peeked over at the conversation, using his wings to balance himself. Rey expressed no protest to the minor discomfort, although she probably would have had her mind not been elsewhere, as she nodded in response to Dr Imai.

"Can I see him?" she asked, looking over Dr Imai's shoulder to the door to the room. Several doctors and nurses were currently exiting, some with tools, and scattering about the hospital in preparedness for their next jobs. Ryder was just another patient, although the circumstances of his injuries were notably different to most. It was rare that people were assaulted in the hospital. The actual damage done by that strange girl to the boy was not major, but the bleeding had started up again, and this had been cause for concern to Dr Imai, not least because Ryder was now set back in his recovery.

"Yes, but he may be a bit woozy again," Dr Imai replied. Rey nodded, sighing as she faced the prospect that he'd be separated from reality, even if it were just school, for some time yet. She didn't doubt that he would have a while to go before he could join in another battle, not least given the mental anguish he'd experienced in the last one from killing.

"He's going to be in here for longer, isn't he?" she asked knowingly, looking aside before her gaze wandered back up into Dr Imai's eyes again, the older woman's face drawn down into a frown from the girl's question.

"Probably," she answered, looking across to the hospital room door, before a feeling of uncertainty came across her. Ryder's recovery had been strange; the majority of patients sustaining Ryder's injuries from the past few days would have been expected to need to stay in hospital for at least a month and a few weeks, if not more, followed by a long hard course of physical therapy. Then again, medical knowledge was also telling her that Ryder should've been long dead by now, so she had begun to doubt its relevance in this case.

Her eyes wandered back to the girl, who had taken on a sour expression from her concerning news. Fumiko decided to reassure the redhead that the results of this latest injury would not prove too harsh or long term.

"We have to remember that he's making a quicker recovery than most, so, if all things go well, he could be out in a few weeks time. He'll have crutches for a while, of course."

"I see," Rey answered, knowing that Dr Imai was unaware that the time element was not the girl's concern. Rey had almost all the time in the world; too much time perhaps. Rey glanced to the door, prompting Dr Imai to step aside.

The grim, cleaning product smell of a hospital corridor faded somewhat as Rey stepped through the doorway, looking to the figure in the bed. Her mind contemplated how this had become a familiar situation for her recently, not least because to her, the last time she'd been in the hospital was an hour ago, despite it being several days for anyone else.

She smiled bravely upon seeing Ryder again, he returning a similar smile. They were fake smiles. They all knew that. Whoever that girl was, she'd managed to worsen Ryder's injuries, and continue his current run of bad luck recently. Not only that, but she seemed to have intentions to cause havoc for them, a fact suggested in particular by her remarks and her kiss.

Rey felt her anger rise; what sort of fun did that girl get out of messing around with other people's relationships? Why did she think it was her place to get involved in other's lives?

Rey sighed, her anger evaporating as she paused in her thought, her focus turning to herself. She could hardly criticise the girl for getting involved in other people's lives, when that was exactly what she had been doing herself. She had asked herself many times whether this was all really worth it. Were the disruption, the distress, the deceit, all worthwhile costs for the outcome she wanted?

Rey frowned, as images flashed through her mind of the War she was currently on a break from. Seeing the pain of her parents, the suffering of her friends…the enslavement of the whole world. That was something that was worth preventing, whatever the cost.

Ryder raised an eyebrow at Rey and her hesitancy. Was she contemplating something? Ryder couldn't blame the girl; she did seem to live with a lot of things that most people would be crushed by. Nevertheless, it was an oddity for a person to enter a room and simply not speak, even with a pair of eyes watching her carefully.

Ryder decided to begin the conversation, in the hope that it would bring Rey back to reality. "Well…this day is going well," he began.

The glaze cleared from Rey's eyes as she looked down to him in the bed, her mind pausing to register the words, continually distracted by the unexpected turn of events.

"That's one way of putting it," she answered glumly, looking across his wounds. The dried blood surrounded his wound, framing the cut for all to see with ease. Thankfully for him, they had simply removed his shirt this time, rather than cutting it, although the blacks and greys crossing the fabric were now wet, drenched with blood where the item was left over a chair nearby. Rey exhaled through her nose, she'd seen enough injuries in her lifetime to fill a horror movie. Her gaze wandered back up to his face, he meeting her gaze again. "Who was that girl?" she asked, wondering whether Ryder had had any previous encounters with this particular miscreant. Perhaps she was the Ivy he had mentioned?

Then again, she didn't seem to be the kind of person that Ryder would have interests in, nor did she fit the descriptions that Ryder had given before, albeit they were rather sketchy.

"I have no idea. She threatened to injure me severely or kill me if I didn't do exactly what she wanted," Ryder answered, a concerned look on his face at the prospect of death, or additional pain beyond his current aches.

"But…you can't die, can you?" Rey asked, cocking an eyebrow. She had got the impression from recent events that Ryder was protected from death by an unknown force. What reason did he have to be scared of fate?

"I don't exactly want to go ahead and test that, Rey," Ryder answered, a grim expression on his face as Rey acknowledged his fear, a fear that he could lose his new ability at any time, to his peril.

"Ah, true," Rey answered, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, pausing only to gently move Ryder's legs aside with minimal pain to him, something which Ryder found ironic, given that the strange girl had done a similar move almost an hour earlier, albeit in a far more harsh style. After having to go through that, Ryder was thankful for the care she took in minimising his pain.

Rey brushed her reddish hair aside from her eyes, noting to herself that after a long while time travelling, a hair cut would soon be in order before she ended up blinded by her hair. Her mind came back from its tangent as she looked over to Ryder again, expressing her confusion as to the exact reason why the girl had attacked him. "So what did she want?"

"She just asked a bunch of questions…which reminds me…MiniDonmon, where did you go?" Ryder asked curiously, the question of where his partner had gone to crossing his mind. Rey pondered whether he was intentionally trying to change the subject. Was there something sinister in the questions the girl had asked? What did she want anyway?

Rey felt the being on her head move as MiniDonmon shrugged with his wings. "No idea…something feathery grabbed me," he answered. "Whatever she was, she told me to shut up or die…then she just vanished in a flurry of feathers."

"Sounds like she has a Digimon partner," Ryder noted, concern in his voice. Having to deal with another Tamer in their lives, particularly one that seemed as hostile as this one, would cause problems for them. This girl knew their group; she clearly had intentions beyond simply dealing with bioemergences. Ryder had no doubt that they would encounter her again.

"Maybe…" Rey answered, pausing for thought as she put her hand on her chin. Something was definitely odd here. Recalling how Ryder had, intentionally or unintentionally, sidestepped her earlier question she looked back into his eyes. "So what questions did she ask?"

Ryder frowned, as he recalled something that he didn't quite understand himself. "That's the strangest thing; she first wanted to know about Mari. I began to tell her where she was born, about her parents' deaths et cetera, but then she said she already knew that."

"Huh? Did she? How?" Rey asked, raising her eyebrows. Mari had only been in this country for a short while, and her significance was rather lacking at present. Why would anyone have any reason to research her, not least in the detail that Ryder suggested? Heck, most of that information was buried deep in SDCO for all Rey knew, since Hypnos had yet to acquire much information on her from SDCO, particularly regarding her parents' deaths. Even Rey wasn't sure entirely to what extent Mari's parents' deaths had affected her, although she had gathered hints from Mari's reaction to Ryder's comparison between his and her loss. And of course, there was that incident when she was eight.

That was a terrible day for all concerned. Something that had so many repercussions she wished she could have prevented it happening. But she had only one thing she needed to prevent on this occasion.

"She didn't say how she knew," Ryder answered, shrugging. Rey's expression had taken on a sombre tone. Ryder pondered what she could have been remembering.

Ryder had tried to consider what Rey could be referring to by the War. What was this War anyway? A World War Three? A big evil super villain? A war between humans and Digimon? And how could she possibly plan to prevent it in the present day? Surely killing, even though that would be considered wrong, the perpetrator, would be a good idea?

For a moment, Ryder pondered whether Rey trying to stop events happening was a good idea at all. Completely unintended consequences could result from altering history. If someone had gone back and killed Hitler, the world would be a completely different place. Or maybe there would've been a lot more war anyway with no horrific example to bind' the nations together in something like the UN?

Ryder frowned. History was a complex thing.

"So what did she want to know then?" Rey asked, noting Ryder's periodic moment of reflection.

That's the oddest thing…she wanted to know little details about Mari. Mainly the little irritating things about me that annoy her, like not leaving keys on the top, or leaving her bedroom door open, or kissing other people."

"Really?" Rey asked, raising an eyebrow at the last point. Ah the irony. She pondered whether Ryder would tell Mari about the strange girl's little attempt at making his life a misery even more. At least this time around, he didn't start it. She hoped that after the previous experience, Mari would see it the same way.

"What use is that stuff to her?" MiniDonmon asked, confused by who on earth would want to know that sort of information.

"No idea…" Ryder answered, shrugging slightly, before his mind moved onto what the girl did afterwards. "But then…then she asked about Rika and Takato, and wanted to know the same kind of thing."

Rey narrowed her eyes, Ryder suddenly feeling as if Rika herself were in the room. That familiar fiery glare blazed towards him, piercing him and locking his eyes with hers, unable to look away despite wanting so much to do so.

Rey had clearly learnt a lot of her methods of intimidation from her mother. The TV series really didn't do it justice. Ryder would've preferred facing Yggdrasil again over that…anything was better than a Nonaka glare.

"_Or is it Matsuki now?"_ Ryder pondered, before being snapped back to reality by Rey's now harsh voice. _"Heck, even facing that strange girl again is better than this."_

"And what did you tell her?" she stressed, ensuring that he knew that the consequences would be ill if he were to have made a mistake. Her tone was inflected downwards, her eyes pursed on his in sending silent threats. Her fists were unclenched, although Ryder suspected that was because Rey, angry was she could be, still was sensible enough to avoid punching someone in a hospital when they had already been punched plenty of times before.

Hopefully.

"Uh…about his dream about her," Ryder finally said nervously, looking up to Rey for her reaction. He prepared himself for the loud and painful reply by masking his hands with his ears and closing his eyes tightly. This was a subject that he knew neither Rika, nor Takato, wanted anyone but their closest friends to know. Heck, he himself only knew from seeing them on the television series. It was only natural that Rey would be just as touchy about the whole issue.

"What?!" Rey yelled; Ryder's reaction justified in one fell swoop. He wondered whether any hospital staff would react to the loud yell. That was, of course, if they weren't already sick and tired of tending to him and his constant additional injuries. He suspected he was proving to be the most hassle ever caused by a patient at this hospital. Maybe even at any hospital, anywhere.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…" Ryder repeated, hoping that he wouldn't be given further injuries from this. Thankfully, a combination of Rey's slightly less severe nature and the fact he was already badly injured prevented her from lashing out like that. Ryder opened an eye carefully to see what Rey was now doing.

"Ugh…" Rey groaned as she ran her hand through her hair and scrunching her eyes in frustration from the stress. Her mother and father had only mentioned that dream once or twice, but she knew it was an issue they didn't really want others to know about. They themselves found it strange enough.

Rey cursed Ryder's knowledge of the TV show, and its omniscient viewing point. She'd wondered what the TV show would've been like to watch, seeing her parents as children. She'd had Digimon cartoons to watch as a kid, of course, but Frontier and Data Squad could never live up to the stories from her parents of what had happened for real. She'd hoped once or twice that they would incorporate some of that into the show, but it had turned out to be somewhat limited. Nonetheless, seeing ShineGreymon Ruin Mode made up for it to some extent.

As dark as it was, she'd occasionally wished for a chance to see SkullGreymon, Megidramon and Kitsunemon; the ghosts of memory, things better forgotten but known about by all concerned, leaving herself stranded without knowledge.

Then again, she did have time travel at her disposal. She didn't want to damage events too much though, given she'd already (to her knowledge) changed the shape of history.

She sighed, if only "he" were here. Maybe he could help her, or at least be company. Time travelling was a lonely experience, even with Realmon in tow.

* * *

Dark, looming clouds hung overhead, blotting out the rapidly vanishing evening sun. Her heart had pulsed so quickly; everything in the last few hours had happened so fast. The cracked buildings around her were silent, the air quiet beyond distant blasts. The smell of burning constantly reached her nostrils, as she glanced back to the remainder of their group gathered not far away, pondering curiously what they were talking about.

She had swung her head back round to face him, a determined look on his face as he held it out, the device, the one that she now wore on her wrist. His words ran past her as she listened intently, occasionally glancing across to David and Mari to see their reactions. Mari was still surprised, but the events of the day were showing their toll already as they pulled down on her eyes. She refused to sleep, her hair twisted by warfare and stress. David's matted brown hair was lightly ruffled by the wind, as he listened to what Ryder had to say, an expression of confusion on her face.

Right there and then, Rey had wondered why Ryder had chosen her. Why, of all the people there, was she the best person to go back in time? Why not Mari, or Ryder himself?

"Got that?" Ryder had asked, Rey biting her lip as she nodded, pondering her next question.

"Uh huh…but…can I take someone with me? Like David, or…"

Ryder had frowned, shaking his head. "Sorry…it's limited to taking a human and a Digimon; it just doesn't have the power for much more. It's pretty rudimentary really."

"Ryder, it's a time machine, it's hardly rudimentary," Mari had noted.

Ryder had chuckled, a grim chuckle considering the circumstances. "Fair point."

"So what happens if I do take more than just me and Realmon on a trip using it?" Rey had asked, glancing across to the fox sitting on her shoulder.

"You could be stuck there."

* * *

Rey shivered at the concept. Although she had plenty of friends in this time, she didn't want to face the concept of being stuck here, not least because she'd have to relieve the whole war again when she was thirty-two. Unless she was killed in the interim by one of the many threats they had faced, and, knowing time's preference for being self-correcting, that was a likely prospect.

Ryder raised an eyebrow at Rey's movements, what was she thinking about now?

Rey shook her head, shrugging off what she was thinking about as she went back to the task at hand, Ryder looking back up into her hazel eyes with curiosity.

"So…did she say anything else notable?" Rey asked, hesitating as she phrased her question. She didn't particularly want to hear about all the other taunts and nonsense that the girl had given.

Ryder shook his head at first, before pausing as a question leapt into his mind. His eyes shimmed as an idea came to mind, Rey beginning to be concerned. What was he thinking about?

"Well…there was that one thing…" he began, pausing as he questioned whether he was making a mistake or not.

"Yes?" Rey asked, noticing his hesitancy. He decided to continue when he realised that otherwise he'd be wondering what the girl had been talking about for ages, probably ever.

"Well…she called you my "secret admirer"," Ryder began, noting Rey's expression changing as surprise dawned on her. "And…and she said that all girls, including you, hate seeing others kiss the boy they like…" he answered nervously, leaving the sentence hanging at the end as he awaited her response. His eyes carefully analysed her expression, noting her reaction. The strange girl had to be joking. Trying to freak him out. Confuse him. Make him do something he didn't want to do.

Didn't she?

Rey's cheeks reddened in embarrassment, as she quickly averted her gaze. That was not something she wanted to have to deal with, not least since it was from an outside source. How did that girl know anyway? Was it really that obvious?

Rey sighed lightly. She had to talk to someone about this before it came to be too much of a problem. But Ryder was definitely not the right person.

"_Maybe Mari…"_ Rey pondered, also questioning whether that'd make her life a lot more difficult. She didn't want to damage her friendship with Mari, not least because anything she told Mari now would be subconsciously taken into account by the girl as she watched Rey grow up. Having Mari try to avert this sort of thing, or not be so close friends with her, would probably wreck time further.

Cursing herself for hesitating and making the situation worse, she forced herself to look back into his eyes, biting her lip in an attempt to retain a serious gaze as she paused once again.

"What did she mean by that?" Ryder pressed again, deciding to think about Rey's reaction later when he had a quiet moment, something which he had very often lately due to his hospitalisation.

"I have no idea," Rey replied, trying her hardest to state each word as solidly as possible, although ended up coming across rather oddly, as if she were stressing the words for no reason.

Ryder paused, looking over Rey's expression as she looked back nervously. Was he trying to figure out whether she was lying or not? Rey was thankful when he finally replied. "Okay," he answered.

Rey breathed a silent sigh of relief, although she was slightly concerned by Ryder's tone in his reply; it implied that he did not completely believe her. This could be a problem.

"Hey, where's Realmon?" Ryder asked, his mind finally noticing the particular oddity, as he changed the subject rapidly. It was very strange; he'd never seen Rey away from Realmon or her other forms for any significant length of time. What was going on?

Rey looked to him again, a frown creeping onto her face as she spoke in ambiguous terms. "She has other matters to attend to," she answered, her tone making it clear that she was not going to disclose the details of these particular "matters".

Ryder sighed. Why did everyone have to be so secretive?

"_Oh the irony…" _he thought to himself, smiling weakly.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

A nice chat between Ryder and Rey that turns ugly at the end. Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I have been very busy with life.

Hopefully my tantalising taste of the future in this chapter has made you all even more confused. I love being a writer, particularly when you can foreshadow future events, both in very subtle and very obvious ways. Both types are used in this chapter, by the way.

Next time…

Where has Realmon gone? What are these matters she is attending to? Can Ryder ever die? Has Rey irreversibly altered history?

Find out in "The Trick to Apologising", Chapter Seventeen of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	16. The Trick To Voices

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. I'd also like to thank WarBard for his suggestions of how to improve my writing.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 16**

_The Trick to Voices_

* * *

**THURSDAY, 8****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Odaiba High School, Minato Ward **

**13:27 JST**

Laughing, chatting, moaning, yawning, all filled the air, mirroring the emotion of the children in the lunch hall. Away from the white speckled tables spread around in the hall, some stood in the queue to buy what was apparently called "food". Others stood randomly around waiting for their friends to arrive before they staked out the best tables, or alternatively sat outside on a series of benches visible through the large pane glass windows.

One of those planning to sit outside was one Kari Kamiya, who had spent the entire morning with only one subject on her mind. She listened absently to the bantering of her fellow students, not particularly taking it in as she stared blankly into thin air, her mouth a thin, emotionless line as she clutched her bag lightly in her hand.

Near her, on a table, stood a white cat-like Digimon with purple tipped ears, looking up to her with a curious and concerned expression. Her wide eyes took in every element of her Tamer's distraction, from her unfocused eyes to the fact that she had left her tray on the table next to the cat. Her tail was loosely curled around her, her ears twitching, before beginning to dampen downwards in sadness.

"_Is that dream still getting to her?" _the cat wondered, emitting a quiet sigh. _"Kari can really let things get to her at times."_

Kari sighed; the voices had gotten to her. She'd never even really heard them. It was odd. Kari knew she'd heard them, but she didn't feel like she'd been there to hear them.

"_I know I'm not going insane…I know I heard them…then again…it wouldn't be the first time I'd imagined things…"_

Kari felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She almost leapt into the air in fright, her heart pounding rapidly from the unexpected gesture by a boy who was now looking to her with curious eyes, not expecting her reaction. Slowly and unsurely, he moved his arms away, pausing to watch as she gripped her heart, recovering her breath.

"Uh…Kari, are you okay?" Davis asked. Kari turned round quickly, her voice almost bitter as she finished recovering her breath.

"Don't scare me like that!" she complained. Davis cocked an eyebrow at her response, she never usually reacted like that, and he'd done that exact same move about a thousand times. Something was definitely up, and with Kari, that usually meant something really big was up.

"Um…sorry, I guess, but…what's wrong?" Davis asked, DemiVeemon looking curiously down at the display from his head. Kari frowned in response.

"Nothing…" she answered in a distracted manner, trying not to make eye contact with him. "I'm sure it's nothing," she muttered under her breath.

Davis frowned, there was definitely something bugging her. Kari walked over to the table, picking up her lunch tray with the various items of "food" scattered about on it, before she turned and began to head towards the doors into the fresh air outside, away from the stale smell of school and old dinners. Davis made moves to follow, picking up his lunch tray, but he paused upon noticing a few of his fellow Tamers beginning to arrive with their own trays. "Hey guys," he said, the words met with casual nods. Despite the audible nature of his greeting, Kari continued on regardless, absorbed in her own world. Gatomon followed, leaping from table to table, with concerned running deep into her wide eyes, before landing on Kari's shoulder as the girl stepped out into the open air, her hair blown gently up by an unsurprising gust.

"What's wrong with Kari?" Yolei asked, Poromon sitting on her tray alongside a bottle of milk. Davis shrugged, looking around at TK and Cody alongside her, Patamon and Upamon in the air and on Cody's tray respectively. All were begrudgingly wearing the same uniform that they would soon have been wearing for a whole year, hating every moment away from the freedom of their casual wardrobes (and signature outfits).

"Something's bugging her," TK noted, as Kari vanished from sight into the school grounds.

"Then why are we just chatting here, I say we find out," Patamon said, his voice half-cheery, half-concerned as the others nodded.

The four quickly followed the girl's path towards the door, the light of the warm summer's day hitting them as they stepped out into the open. Not initially seeing the girl, they began looking around for where Kari had come to a stop: if she had come to a stop that was. Ever since she'd vanished to the Dark Ocean whilst they were fighting the Digimon Emperor, they had learnt that when Kari acted strange, something was definitely afoot. It appeared to have something to do with her Crest of Light, although the physical form of that particular object was long since destroyed.

A more detailed look around highlighted Kari sitting on one of several tables laid out in the open air for students to eat on. While being significantly less modern than those in the building itself, they couldn't exactly be described as filthy either. Scanning the otherwise empty table, TK took note of Gatomon sitting in front of Kari on the table. The champion level cat Digimon occasionally looked like she was planning to speak but then she hesitated for some unknown reason upon looking back up to Kari's face. Her face conveying no recognisable emotion, Kari had begun to eat.

The group walked over to the table, Gatomon glancing up as they approached, her eyes conveying a yearning for help with the current situation. Nonetheless, they still resorted to the usual pleasantries.

"Hey," Yolei greeted, Kari absent-mindedly nodding in response. Yolei glanced nervously to the other three, wondering what to do next. "How are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Kari answered, her voice monotonous as she avoided even looking up. Her head was now rested on the palm of her hand, her other hand currently contemplating whether to take another bite out of the rice ball she had.

"Oh," Yolei replied, pausing again.

A silence descended, as the group looked down to Kari. Was she going to tell them? Invite them to sit down? Anything at all?

Davis decided that they'd have to keep trying. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. Kari didn't reply, instead groaning and burying her head in the table. Davis and the others promptly sat down, Davis carefully putting an arm round Kari. He didn't want her to react in the same startled way she had earlier. And she didn't, instead staying in her position.

"Kari?" TK asked, worried that his friend was depressed, sad, anything. Of all the people who would share their problems, Kari was one of them. What could get her into a state where she wouldn't?

"What's wrong?" Cody asked, concern in his voice.

Kari sighed, biting the bullet and deciding to tell them, against her doubts that they wouldn't take it seriously. Maybe she was overreacting. Dreams could be that way, it's not like they meant anything.

That was, if this particular dream was really a dream. Kari wasn't sure. It didn't seem like one.

Kari sat up straight again, her dry eyes showing her distress even with the absence of tears. She brought her hands to her chin, planting her elbows onto the table as she recalled.

"I heard voices in a dream last night," she answered.

There was a pause for thought, broken only by the reply of DemiVeemon. "So? That sounds pretty normal to me," he replied, his voice questioning.

TK sighed, looking to the in-training partner of his friend. Yolei beat him to it, however. "If you haven't noticed, when Kari has dreams they tend to mean something," she stated, the in-training level continuing with his confused stare.

"But I dream all the time, and it never means anything…well, most of the time," he answered, looking off to one side as he recalled his dreams, a reminiscent look on his face.

"Why, what do you dream about?" Upamon asked, mirroring his friends' wonderings.

"Food," DemiVeemon answered casually, before proceeding to eat some of Davis' lunch while those around him simply sweatdropped. DemiVeemon failed to notice this, while a silence descended, to be broken by Yolei.

"So…what did the voices say?" she asked, looking to Kari again, and once again making her the centre of attention. Kari continued her dour frown, sighing.

"That's what concerns me; I can remember exactly what they said and how they said it so clearly, but I don't remember ever being there to hear them."

"So?" Upamon asked, continuing to display his lack of knowledge in this particular field.

"Dreams only tend to be remembered for a short while after someone awakes, and detail tends to be lost even if they remember it. So Kari remembering the words perfectly is unusual, as is the fact she doesn't remember being there to hear them," Yolei answered.

"Wish I could do that, I'd love to remember the food I ate in my dreams," DemiVeemon replied, before continuing with Davis' lunch, long since forgotten by its original purchaser. TK sighed, looking back to Kari again and deciding to move on from their latest deviation back to the matter at hand.

"So what did the voices say?" he prompted.

Kari closed her eyes as she recalled the bad memory, the words brought to the forefront of her mind as she remembered what was said by each individual voice in such clear detail. As she spoke, TK and Patamon couldn't help but be reminded of when she had been possessed during the battle between WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon on her first trip to the Digital World. Her voice took on a deeper tone, a level of maturity that differed from her usual light-hearted voice. "The light, the radiance… The holy daughter and the cursed son, fighting a war that can never be won…The darkness, all consuming, all powerful. Surrender to it…Where there is much light, the shadow is deep…Purify all you can, but the stains will always return…Fight on dear child, because it is the only point of you...and then, finally…You will die, and I will live."

They paused to contemplate the words, although Cody instead asked something he was pondering. "So how many voices were there?"

"Each voice said a different line, and…they were both male and female…"

"Did any of them sound familiar?" TK asked, wondering whether she had heard one of their friend's voices. Maybe Chaos or Harmony even?

Kari frowned, shaking her head. "Nope, none of them did...so I'm really worried about what the words mean, particularly since whenever I have dreams like this, it means something really bad."

Kari's head dipped in sadness, looking down to the plastic table below. David tightened the grip of his arm around her, TK smiling to reassure her. "Kari, always remember that we're here to help you," he encouraged.

"Yeah, maybe we can figure it out," Yolei suggested, her face taking on a determined smile that they had all seen many a time, the others nodding in agreement. "What was the first bit?" she asked, Kari looking up. Kari felt slightly uplifted by the fact her friends were eager to help, although still doubted to what extent they could.

"The light, the radiance," Kari answered, not erring on the words. They were burnt into her memory by now; she'd played them over and over again in her mind.

"Sounds pretty straightforward," Cody noted.

"Yeah, it's just two words for the same thing," Yolei added. "You know, light and radiance. Well, kind of the same thing. What was the next part?"

"The holy daughter and the cursed son, fighting a war that can never be won?" Kari answered, her voice uplifting at the end in a questioning tone. Would her friends be able to help her figure out what it meant, or was it way over their heads?

There was a pause as it passed through their minds, each considering what it meant.

"Nope, nothing," Davis replied, shrugging before looking to the others to see if they had any ideas.

Yolei frowned. "Holy daughter and cursed son?" she asked. "Who is it talking about? You and Tai?"

"Give him a break," Kari said, smiling cheerfully for the first time in hours. "He may be unlucky, but he's not cursed," she replied.

"So who else?" Davis asked. "I don't think it's me and Jun, because she could never be holy, even if I am kinda cursed. And our fights always end in a victor anyway."

"Usually Jun," DemiVeemon noted. Davis huffed indignantly, Kari silently chuckling at the sight.

"Anyway, I'd think that both of the holy daughter and cursed son would have Digimon; otherwise it'd defeat the point," TK noted.

"But…who is it then?" Kari asked.

"Hmm…" Cody pondered.

"Hmm…" Davis pondered.

"Hmm…" TK pondered.

"Hmm…" Yolei pondered.

"Hmm…" Kari pondered.

DemiVeemon simply continued to eat, while Gatomon rolled her eyes at the sight. How could he just sit by and eat while everyone was having such a serious conversation?

"_Bottomless pits are nothing compared to in-training Digimon,"_ she noted, rolling her eyes again when DemiVeemon burped loudly. _"Neither are manners."_

"Suzie and Henry?" Patamon suggested, breaking the silence.

"I wouldn't call Henry cursed, even if he does have to put up with Terriermon. They seem to get along pretty well too, even if Suzie isn't exactly holy," Kari noted.

"Who else is there?" TK asked.

"I don't think there is anyone else," Cody answered.

"Unless we haven't met them yet?" Poromon suggested. TK nodded, frowning.

"Then I suppose we'll have to wait and see," he answered.

Kari sighed; deciding that moving on was the only choice left. "The next line was "The darkness, all consuming, all powerful. Surrender to it"".

"Sounds like an order to give in," Davis noted, pointing out the blindingly obvious.

"Yeah, whoever is telling you this wants you to fly the white flag," TK noted. "But who is it?"

"The darkness," Cody answered, pointing out another part of the words, before elaborating. "Kari has the crest of light, so is it the darkness telling her to give in?"

"Could be," Patamon answered after no one else replied, instead wracked by contemplation at what evil was after them now. Be it Daemon, Myotismon or the Dark Masters, there seemed to be no end to the evil Digimon wanting to kill them, and now they seemed to be facing humans now; humans that actually knew what they were doing rather than being possessed or confused like Owikawa or Ken.

Yolei sighed, putting her hands on her temples in stress, voicing her frustration. "We're getting nowhere," she groaned.

"Kari, what was next?" Gatomon asked.

"Where there is much light, the shadow is deep," Kari continued. Davis looked as if he had a realization, a light going on in his eyes.

"It's from a video game!" he cheered; glad to finally have one up on his friends in terms of knowledge. Who knew that a video game would help him in real life?

"Huh?" Kari asked, raising an eyebrow. Davis seemed to be off on one of his cheering outbursts again. What did he think he had accomplished this time?

"Yeah, I heard it in a videogame once," he cheered again, grinning widely.

"Nice try Davis, but it's actually older than that," Cody noted, Davis' expression gradually being dampened by the weight of the knowledge hitting him. "It was by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe originally, from the 18th century."

"How do you know these things?!" Davis exclaimed flabbergasted at how his one chance at knowing more than his friends where it mattered had been stolen from him in the blink of an eye.

"It's called reading Davis," Yolei snapped, frustrated by another one of Davis' attempts to prove he was smarter than all of them.

"Yeah, that and the Internet," TK added, piling on the insults thrown Davis' way. Davis sighed, looking down to the table as his enthusiasm completely evaporated.

"Okay brainiacs, what does it mean then?"

"It means that the more light there is, the darker the darkness will become," Cody answered. "Like how a light appears to get brighter when placed in a dark room over when it's placed in a light one."

Kari involuntarily shivered at the concept of darkness, Davis feeling her back tense up where his arm was still placed around it. Davis frowned in concern, was it some form of aversion to darkness that she had, or was it something deeper?

TK frowned; it was probably worth moving on now before the thought of darkness began to trouble Kari even further. He doubted that his attempt at changing the subject would make much of a difference thought. "What was next Kari?" he asked.

Kari looked up, brought back to reality again from her worried thoughts. "Oh…right…" she responded, pausing as she searched once again for the memory. It didn't take long, as the memory of the voice rushed back to her again in all of its crystal clear glory. "It said…"Purify all you can, but the stains will always return"," she quoted, looking around at the others for their response.

"Sounds like when I try to do the washing," Davis noted. Kari smiled weakly; Davis sure had a habit of messing things up, thankfully made up by the fact that he had moments of brilliance.

"_The curse of the Goggleheads,"_ she thought, memories of her brother, of Takato, and of Ryder, albeit the last one not wearing any goggles, coming to mind. A curse was definitely an apt way of describing it.

Her mind went back to the voice at hand. The concept of not being able to clean away the stains troubled her. Then again, to some extent, if taken literally, how could anyone keep anything perfectly clean forever? Was that what it meant? That dust would always return to obscure what seemed perfect.

"Does it mean that it's impossible to purify anything forever?" Davis asked, mirroring the girl's thoughts. Kari nodded, knowing that it was time to move on.

"Next was "Fight on dear child, because it is the only point of you"," she quoted. _"Why do all voices have to be so patronising?"_

"Is the voice talking to you specifically?" TK asked. "Did they sound like they were talking to you, or did it sound like you were simply overhearing them?

"I think so," Kari answered. "They sure sound that way."

"So there is no point to Kari other than fighting?" DemiVeemon asked, scratching his head as he finished devouring Davis' lunch. This conversation was beginning to go way over his head, particularly since he'd been too busy eating to paying attention.

"That can't be right," Davis objected. "I mean…there is more to life than fighting…isn't there?"

"Of course there is!" TK insisted. "Fighting is only a small part of our lives, we have plenty of other things that we do."

"Like what?!" Kari interjected.

"Huh?" TK asked, surprised by Kari's sudden interruption into the conversation, her tone harsh and questioning, as if she was searching for answers herself.

"Every day since we became Digidestined, we've been fighting…fighting to save what we love…it's the most important thing we've ever done…" she elaborated. Her voice then softened, taking on a saddened tone. "That's what the voice means…that's the point of us."

Silence descended, a silence of contemplation, a silence whilst those listening tried to think of a return, a respite to the concept. But was there one? All they had ever done in their lives was fighting; it was what gave their lives meaning. Protecting the world. But what were they fighting for now? Blindly facing new foes without knowing exactly what the consequences would be if they didn't. Were they still Digidestined, still Tamers, or just fighting machines, no better than the bioemerging Digimon in blindly facing whatever came through from the Digital World?

"And the worst thing is that inevitably we will lose everything...that's what the voice said last…"You will die, and I will live"."

"Kari's going to die?" Davis asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"How can a voice know that?" TK asked.

"Who is it that'll live anyway?" Gatomon asked.

"I have no idea," Kari answered, her mouth now in a seemingly terminal frown. "But, it scares me."

"Maybe that's the point," TK mooted.

"But how can we be sure?" Yolei asked. "Maybe it does mean she's going to die..."

A frowned silence descended once again on the group, broken only by Cody, glumly sighing. "Why do all voices always have to be so evil?"

Kari frowned, looking down at the table as her shoulders slumped. This chat had just made things worse, and clarified things she only simply suspected before. "Sorry everyone, guess I put a bad turn on a good day."

"No, Kari, you didn't," TK insisted.

"Yeah, it's good to talk about things like this," Yolei added.

"Kari, whatever it is, you're not facing it alone," Davis insisted. She looked to him, before looking around to the others as they each spoke in turn.

"Yeah, voice or no voice, I'm not standing back and watching as you get hurt!" Gatomon insisted, clenching her paw into a fist as her eyes flared in determination.

"Yeah, whatever it is, we can take it, right guys?" Patamon cheered. Everyone replied in the affirmative, cheering. Mostly.

Cody frowned, shaking his head. "We're assuming that it's a physical thing," he replied, returning the pessimistic edge to the discussion.

"Well, what else could it be?" Yolei asked, her voice still with a cheering tone.

"I don't know but…we've faced threats we can't fight back against before, what's to say it won't happen again?" Cody insisted. "We can't be sure that we will be able to help."

"We can do our best Cody," Upamon insisted.

"Yeah, we can help Kari as much as we can," TK added.

"We won't let them get you Kari, whoever they are," Davis insisted, looking to Kari and pulling her close. She smiled to her friends, nodding.

"Thanks," she answered.

The discussion over, or so it seemed, they retreated to their various meals, or at least what was left of it in Davis' case. Davis sighed at the sight, deciding against going to get more from the cafeteria.

"_Heh, he can have my lunch, after how badly I screwed up yesterday," _he thought, frowning. The previous day's battle had been harsh, and he felt terrible about how badly he had let it go. _"I'm meant to be a Tamer, or a Digidestined, or whatever…but all I did was stand by and do nothing, while I let Raidramon get injured…hell, I put him right in the line of fire."_

"God, this conversation is depressing," Yolei noted, breaking the silence that had resumed once again. "Anything more interesting to talk about?" she asked, looking around the table.

Images suddenly flashed through TK's mind, as he interjected into the conversation, sitting upright with a start as he gestured with a finger in a "eureka" moment. "That girl!"

"Who?" Yolei asked, raising an eyebrow. _"Why can't anyone ever be specific?"_

"That's right," Davis recalled, nodding to TK, his voice taking on a cheering tone. "I forgot all about that," he added, as everyone else but the two and their partners sat watching with confused expressions on their faces.

"What?" Cody asked, desperately trying to get some explanation from the two.

"There was this girl yesterday, watching us during the battle," TK answered.

"Yeah, and then she vanished, without even helping us," Davis added. "Really could've used the help too," he added, his eyes reminiscing the events, playing them through his mind once again.

"Really? Where'd she go?" Yolei asked, wondering what this had to do with anything. Was this a new Tamer? Or just a random person watching them?

"No idea, but she had a Digimon with her," TK answered, raising a few more eyebrows.

"Yeah, by the time we noticed she'd gone, Mari had turned up and we'd got distracted," Davis added.

"So this girl's a Tamer then, right?" Kari asked, looking to Davis and TK with a confused expression. A new Tamer would complicate matters. Kari's mind wandered back to the words she'd heard in her sleep. Maybe…maybe this girl was the one who said that she'd die.

Kari lightly shivered, Davis noticing and pondering what she was thinking about. He decided to ask her later.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was," TK answered.

"We should find her," Patamon added.

"Yeah, even if just to ask why she was really mean and didn't help," DemiVeemon agreed.

"We should find out who she is too," Davis finished, his voice in a cheering tone as he clenched his fist in determination.

"It's might not be that easy Davis, how _exactly_ do we find her?" TK asked. Davis sighed as he was dropped back into reality again, his cheering tone replaced with exasperation.

"Great, always pointing out the little flaws in my plans…thanks a lot…"

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

A fair bit on the ex-Digidestined this time around, along with setting up a few little things for chapters to come. Sorry for the delays lately, but get used to them for the next two or three months. I'm not going to have nearly as much free time until my exams are over, but I should be able to pen out a lot more chapters once they are.

Nonetheless, I haven't been completely inactive. Book Twelve is now planned out, an important one that I really had to plan out, and it is going to be a scorcher! Now I can properly reference "The War", so expect a few little details to be filtering down from now on.

I've also got Chiyo's plan properly set out now, with a few amendments to make it fit where it previously made no sense. The Second Demon is going to leave so many scars on so many people's lives that it's hard to tell where to begin. And it's only the second out of nine.

At the same time, I need a name for an important character, both first and surnames. This one can be of any descent, although because I love a charismatic British bad guy, with an interesting twist breaking the stereotype, I'm going to make him British. Suggestions are welcome, I won't say why I'm rejecting some of them, but I have my reasons. Partly because I want to avoid crossing over with other character names in the future of the book.

I've also now got an interesting subplot involving a certain "God" of the Digital World sketched out, and I've revised some of my timings to add to the realism. Too many similar events were running together previously and it really cramped the plot.

Anyhow, enough teasing, thanks for reading, and please review. I'd particularly like to hear suggestions of what individual characters need a bit more exploration, and screen time so to speak. Whilst there is a general structure to the plot, I have a fair bit of flexibility factored in, particularly in the next two books. Not guaranteeing any characters are going to become massively important for no good reason, but I do have plans for pretty much all the characters, from the girl trapped in time to the living deus ex machina…

The next chapter will prove important to the plot, and it revolves around a certain two foxes…and we meet an interesting new character.

Next time…

Where has Realmon gone? What are these matters she is attending to? Who were the voices that Kari was hearing? And more importantly, what do they mean?

Find out in "The Trick to Egotism", Chapter Seventeen of Dimensions Book Six: Tricks.


	17. The Trick To Egotism

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 17**

_The Trick to Egotism_

* * *

**THURSDAY, 8****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**

**13:30 JST**

A gentle breeze of a summer's day drifted through a yellow tail with a white tip, an unusual feature of a summer's day but a graceful one no less. Lightly wafted around by its owner, it's seemingly relaxed and carefree nature contrasted with the Kitsune it was attached to, deep in thought with little notice paid to the children's laughter, birdsong and buzz of traffic emanating from the world around her.

"_I am surprised at myself. After these past few days, I would expect to be able to face up to the truth and tell him, but…"_ she thought, her mind hesitating on the point, as if she were no longer sure herself about the cause of her procrastination. _"I don't know how I would face him…it feels like…a life changing thing. And I know that I am one of the first Digimon to go through such a process…how am I to know how to deal with being a mother?"_

Renamon smiled grimly, her expression hardly changing.

"_A mother, the concept still seems foreign to me. I knew of human's having mothers, being a reproductive species, but I had always accepted as verbatim that Digimon were merely created by Yggdrasil. I wonder how the Digital World is coping without His presence. We may go on thinking that everything will be better without Him, but how do we know that there isn't something we've missed, a ticking time bomb ready to cause havoc at any moment."_

Renamon sighed, her ears dipping lightly, almost unnoticeably, as she gazed down to the pathway below the tree branch on which she sat.

"_It seems as if everything has escalated lately," _she thought sadly, tilting her nose up to face the white clouds, floating amongst an ocean of sky blue high above.

"You know, despite being such similar creatures, it's still surprisingly difficult to track you Mo…Renamon," noted a new voice, stumbling on the name. Renamon glanced aside, to see a similar creature now standing on the branch, her nine tails keeping her chibi form balanced. Renamon continued to be amazed whenever she saw Realmon, particularly about how the other fox so closely resembled her champion form, Kyubimon.

"Realmon," the taller fox greeted, a far larger nod being given in response by Realmon than the slight nod by Renamon.

"Greets," the nine-tailed Kitsune replied. "Are you okay? You looked like you were thinking about something?" Realmon said, skipping formalities and jumping straight to the topic of conversation.

"Yes, I am," Renamon answered, only the subtle hint of an expression crossing her face. "I presume you know what the subject is," Renamon replied, a smile crossing Realmon's face.

"Yes, I do," Realmon answered.

Renamon frowned. She knew why Realmon was here. It was easy enough to figure out. And that was what concerned her. Nonetheless, she decided to ask for confirmation. "So are you?" she asked, looking over to Realmon on the branch alongside her, a subconscious part of her brain noting the smaller fox's similar sense of balance.

"Yes," Realmon answered, hesitating to wait for a response.

"I see," Renamon replied, not a touch of surprise crossing her features. Given the nature of recent events, the coinciding of Rey and Realmon's birth, and the similarity between Realmon and Renamon's champion form, Kyubimon, it was not much of a shock to have it confirmed for her. Renamon frowned, her nose pitched slightly downwards towards the ground below as she looked away from her counterpart.

"So what do you think?" Realmon asked, tilting her head.

"It doesn't allay my concerns," Renamon answered.

"What concerns?"

"I am not sure exactly how I am expected to deal with being a mother," Renamon replied. "And how can I tell Guilmon?"

"Renamon, you're a Digimon, you're not mother material," Realmon answered bluntly.

"Huh?" Renamon asked, truly stumped by Realmon's tone of voice. It was hardly the usual, "you'll be a great mother" kind of attitude, like that which Rey had given Rika. For once, the look of surprise on Renamon's face was easily apparent, as she turned to face the smaller fox once again.

"Digimon weren't meant to have children. But now they do, but that doesn't mean you have to deal with all the other stuff. I mean hell, outside of primary village, how do you think baby Digimon survive anyway? Because before Terriermon's patch, they sure as heck didn't have any kind of "mother" to pick them up when they fall over, and frankly, that suits us just fine."

"So what exactly do you mean? Do you mean I don't have to worry about the egg, at all?" Renamon asked.

"No, I mean you can be a mother as much or as little as you want to," Realmon replied. "Because you're not human, and I don't expect you to be. Humans may have a concept of families, but it doesn't apply to Digimon. You've earnt my respect Renamon, and you will earn my respect, and I love you for that, not for any kind of automatic bond."

"I see…" Renamon answered. "That still does not answer my question about how I am to tell Guilmon."

"I think you should just tell him, it's not going to do either of you any good if you keep procrastinating like this."

"But I see Guilmon as innocent, this…" Renamon began to explain.

"So what, you had sex?" Realmon interjected. "Are you saying I'm an accident? Are you calling my creation a bad thing?" Realmon argued.

Renamon smiled, diverting the conversation from its previous flow. "I didn't think that arguing with your mother was a polite thing to do," she teased.

Realmon "hmph'ed", turning her cheek to her mother. "Just tell him, please," she insisted.

"I will," Renamon answered, nodding. "And thanks," she added. "Even if you have now intervened in the timeline."

Realmon nodded, smiling as she turned back to her mother. "I know it is playing with history, but I just couldn't let you keep beating yourself up. It's a habit of yours, I've noticed."

Renamon nodded, frowning. Her eyed closed as she forced back a bad memory, an involuntary shudder coursing through her. Realmon raised an eyebrow at her mother's unusual behaviour.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concern deep in her voice.

"Just…" Renamon began. "Just a bad memory…" she answered, leaping to a nearby tree, facing away from her daughter. That was the one thing she didn't want to think about. The one thing she'd tried to suppress. And yet, without even trying, Realmon's words had brought the memory to surface once again. "I have to go now," she said, half-turning to Realmon.

"But…" Realmon began, before noticing that Renamon had vanished. She sighed, frowning as she looked at where the Kitsune once was. _"What was she thinking about to make her react like that?"_

She turned, leaping off the branch and landing gracefully on the ground, her tails balancing her as she landed.

"_Time to find Rey," _she thought.

* * *

**Hypnos, Tokyo Metropolitan Building, Shinjuku Ward**

**13:50 JST **

_Click_

Yamaki frowned, staring up at the screens, the large wraparound panels for once telling him that everything was okay. After the chaos earlier that week, it was a sort of relief, but Yamaki hated the clean up effort he always had to carry out, particularly when it affected Hypnos itself. Although himself and his expert technicians had become rather experienced at fixing the systems whenever anything decided that they were worth taking down, it was the physical damage that always proved to be the most annoying, particularly since it involved inviting in non-classified workers, in this case glazers, to fix it, in this case a window that Ryder had so politely smashed.

_Click_

At one point a few months prior Yamaki had decided to calculate the actual cost of the damage caused by the Tamers and Digimon in their various battles.

Upon receiving the results, Yamaki had taken but a single looked before he promptly decided that the figures were better kept away from his higher-ups, not forgetting that these higher ups were those who continued to call into question the effectiveness of the Hypnos program in dealing with the Digital Threats.

Nonetheless, he had been quietly impressed by Ryder's fortitude the previous day in arguing (which was probably the best way to describe it) with the Chief Cabinet Secretary. Yamaki knew that this wouldn't be the end of the government's interference in something that they lacked knowledge on. He wasn't surprised that they wanted to eliminate the Digimon if possible. He knew that instinct himself. The sight of huge monsters eradicating the streets didn't exactly make for suppressing public panic, nor did it help win elections. He pondered whether the recent threat, this time from a human, would act to diffuse the argument that solely Digimon were to blame, or whether it would instead reinforce it, the concept of Tamers themselves killing people (be it Taiki in his genocidal acts or Ryder in his single kill) acting as a catalyst for action to remove their Digimon from them, and imprison them.

_Click_

"Ah, Yamaki," greeted a new voice, as a pair of doors slid aside behind the blonde-haired man. He turned to face a new figure, a surprisingly young figure for an agency like this, albeit his height more or less matching that of the Hypnos chief. A shortly cut wave of black hair matched the black, government agency outfit, which would've made him look like a thousand other government goons were it not for the look of eternal confidence was worn on his youthful face, a slight grin looking oddly disrespectful to someone that should have been a higher up to him. "I have completed the analysis of the Digital Plane scan you required, along with analysing the linking effect of data between it and the lowest plane of the Southern Region of the Digital World in the time I had spare," the man spoke bright light from the doorway contrasting dramatically with the darkness of the chamber, until the doors closed rapidly. "I would prefer it if in future, you gave me a decent assignment to deal with, rather than a simple timewaster," the man insisted, his voice patronising, as he held out a disk to Yamaki. His British accent contrasted with the usual voices heard in the chamber.

Well, excepting Ryder, that was.

"Hopefully this data is correct then, Mr Thompson," Yamaki replied, a hint of bitterness in his voice at his newest employee.

"You know, Yamaki, you don't have to pretend that you don't despise me, even if I am by far your superior intellectually. A 35 year old has-been versus a 20 year old prodigy, and yet I am expected to be your underling. And I will grant you the special permission of calling me by my first name, Rayleigh, since that is how you unprofessionally address all of your employees it seems," Rayleigh replied, glancing up to the control chairs to note Riley and Tally pretending they weren't listening in on this particular conversation. He smirked, before looking back to the Hypnos chief again, his grin not leaving his face as Yamaki spoke sternly to him.

"You clearly have no idea how to act in this business, and yet you speak as if you do," Yamaki replied, his voice pressing. "Need I remind you that you are still below me regardless, and if you do not comply with orders, or you do not act in the correct manner, I will be forced to…?"

"Complain to the cabinet secretary?" the other man asked. "Which you suggest you will do, despite the fact he was the very man who employed me into this department, as part of the government recruitment drive for gifted young individuals? He would hardly want his latest prodigy to be lost to another government now, would he? Oh, hold on though, wasn't that the same recruitment drive that led to you being recruited originally?" he teased.

Rayleigh chuckled, turning as he walked away to the door again. He glanced over his shoulder, smirking as Yamaki eyed him sternly.

"This is merely a temporary job in my eyes, Yamaki, and I intend to be promoted very soon. So if you simply let me do my job, in the way I want, I'll be out of your hair very soon," he said, his confidence refusing to wane. "Think about it, at some point, I could be your superior…" he noted, as he left the room, the doors sliding closed after him, leaving the room in relative darkness once again.

_Click_

"Ugh, why do we have to deal with that egotistical brat anyway?" Tally complained, once she knew that their newest employee was out of earshot.

"He is but a mere distraction, we will have to tolerate him until he is promoted into some meaningless post in the government," Yamaki replied, his voice bitter still.

"So what do you plan to do with him until then, sir?" Riley asked, looking down to her boss and partner below the seats.

"That is my concern Riley," Yamaki replied.

"_Geez, only asking," _Riley thought, rolling her eyes as she returned to work.

* * *

**Motomiya Residence, Minato Ward**

**16:04 JST**

Davis practically leapt onto the bed in relief after a tough day in school, landing on his back with a frown as DemiVeemon leapt at him, the in-training Digimon enthusiastically cheering as he bombed Davis' chest. Normally Davis would've complained about the inevitable winding effects from this, but he was too distracted by other things to dare to scold his partner.

"Yay, only one day of school, and then the weekend!" DemiVeemon cheered, expecting his Tamer to share his enthusiasm.

"Yeah," Davis answered glumly, dampening DemiVeemon's expression into a frown.

"What's wrong?" asked the in-training form of the blue lizard. "Is this about Kari's dreams?" he asked, having been updated afterwards on roughly what he had missed whilst he had been wolfing down his Tamer's lunch.

"Not really…I just, can't stop thinking about the battle yesterday," he answered, his eyes rolling up in reminiscence as he contemplated how badly it had gone.

"Oh," DemiVeemon answered, his expression instantly dampening as he realised what Davis had been occupied with thinking about. Davis sat up, DemiVeemon sitting on the bed alongside him and looking up at his Tamer with a glum look.

"I completely screwed up, didn't I?" Davis asked.

"Well…" DemiVeemon hesitated, before deciding that being tactful was unnecessary. Davis knew what the answer was. DemiVeemon sighed as he replied. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry DemiVeemon, I just sat there and let you get injured, without even swiping any cards, and then I put you in the firing line," Davis apologised.

"But you've never had to swipe cards before, and we've always won…you were there by my side!" DemiVeemon insisted. "Isn't that what matters?"

"Yeah, but I just stood there when you were getting bitten in the neck, too paralysed to help. You got injured because of me," Davis replied.

"But Davis…" DemiVeemon began.

"I want to make it up to you DemiVeemon…I promise that the next Digimon we face, I'll be right there, helping you out, okay?" Davis pleaded, determination crossing his face as he put his hand out for the in-training level to grip.

DemiVeemon nodded, feeling the same determination that Davis was feeling. "Right!" he cheered, pressing his hand against his Tamers'.

* * *

**FRIDAY, 9****th**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Near Hongō Campus, University of Tokyo, Bunkyō Ward**

**08:59 JST**

"_**The fire of courage can never be extinguished."**_

"_**Those who risk their own lives to save others will one day run out of luck."**_

"_**The one of the Nine who will always find the strength to conti**__**nue, in spite of the odds."**_

"_**Burn brightly!"**_

"_**Death will come upon all those who laugh in the face of great heroism."**_

"_**Your friends will survive. But will you be so lucky?"**_

"_**Slumber for now…because soon, you will awake!"**_

"Waa!!" Tai screamed, sitting up with a start where he lay in bed. He promptly proceeded to lose his balance, falling out the side of the bed and landing on something solid as his groggy head tried to register what was going on.

Tai blinked, looking down at the orange that had now filled his vision, before it pushed him aside quickly and in alarm.

"TAI!" complained Agumon, gasping for breath. "You fell on me!" complained Agumon, Tai sitting up with a start and looking up to the bed.

"Tai, are you okay?" asked a new voice, which Tai knew was familiar from somewhere. Tai looking across the small dorm room to where Biyomon stood by the door, staring at him with curiosity dominating her eyes.

"Uhh, not exactly," Tai answered, pushing himself to his feet, noting his badly ruffled hair in the mirror.

"Well, at least you're up," Sora noted, joining Biyomon in the room with a bowl of cereal. "Classes start in half an hour Tai, you've got to get changed," she added, with a playful grin, looking Tai up and down, where he stood merely in a pair of boxers. "How about starting with some clothes?" she suggested, Tai noting that she was already changed into a pale blue top and a pair of blue jeans, her hair still damp from a shower.

Tai grinned a cheesy grin. "Good idea," he answered, rushing into the bathroom, the water turned on very quickly. Tai screamed at the initially hot water, as Sora rolled her eyes, turning round and walking out of the room. Biyomon followed her along the corridor and into the kitchen they shared with her fellow flatmates. She sat down at the table, six chairs spread around it. Izzy in a white shirt, Joe in a dull blue chequered shirt, and Matt in a green polo shirt, were sitting at three of them, all of eating their breakfast but one of them not paying complete attention to it. The one who wasn't was currently engrossed, as always, in his laptop, checking whatever random things the shortest member of the older Digidestined found interesting. Gabumon watched silently from the corner while Tentomon watched over Izzy's shoulder at the computer. Gomamon was currently busy eating a plate of fish, away from the others who couldn't stand the smell. Biyomon landed next to Sora, beginning on a bowl of cereal that Sora had prepared for her.

"AAAAH!!"

"Is he up?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow, although he already knew the answer.

Sora nodded, exhaling through her nose. "Finally…he woke up with bit of a start though…"

"Yeah, not the usual groggy slowly-coming-to that he usually has," Izzy noted, not taking his eyes off of his computer.

"COLD!!"

"And what's the current tally?" Joe asked, looking across to Izzy.

"29 missed classes due to oversleeping to date," Izzy answered. "Well, 29 and a half at least," he added.

Unsurprisingly, Hypnos had intervened in the university dorm selection process, leading to all six of the older Digidestined sharing a flat, split into six separate dorm rooms, albeit Sora rarely using hers. The presence of the Digimon would probably have made it difficult to have other roommates anyway.

"STOP IT!!"

"And how long is Mimi taking to put on her make-up today?" Gomamon asked, looking up from his fish.

Izzy casually glanced across the screen. "2 hours, 29 minutes and…29 seconds…hmm, all the twenty-nines…"

"Maybe that means something?" Gomamon suggested.

"It means that you're nuts and you're looking for random meaning where there is none," Matt bluntly noted, silence descending as everyone settled in to eat their breakfast, until they were interrupted by a door opening, eyes turning to face the new figure.

Tai stepped in from the corridor, shivering, despite wearing a blue shirt and greyish pants, Agumon following with concern. "Who…was using…the water?" he asked, his voice irritated, as he glared around the room.

"Hi, I was washing my face and I heard screams, is everyone okay?" asked a new voice, Mimi stepping out, now dressed in a white pair of shorts and red crop top, her hair still dyed pink but without the darker pink parts or the stars that had been a feature of it in her youth. Palmon was following her, looking curiously into the room, as Mimi dried her face with a towel.

"Mimi!" Tai complained. "I was in the shower!"

"Well you should be changed by now then," Mimi replied with a huff. "It takes me time to get ready in the morning…"

"2 hours, 29 minutes and 29 seconds to be precise," Gomamon noted.

"…And I don't have the time to fit around when you wake up!" she argued.

"And I thought it was difficult enough when they were all forced to spend a few weeks together in the Digital World," Gabumon noted, the others nodding at the concept, as Mimi and Tai each sat down to eat their breakfast, Agumon and Palmon each beginning on a bowl of cereal left out for them by an ever considerate Joe, always the first to wake up (if Mimi's early waking for getting ready was excluded).

"What was wrong with you this morning Tai anyway? You woke up pretty fast," Sora asked, looking to her left where Tai had sat down. Tai was eating pretty rapidly, nearly done with his cereal by the time that Sora asked the question, but he paused when she did.

"Uh…I just had a weird dream," he answered.

"Not turning into Takato, are you?" Mimi teased.

"Yeah, I don't think anyone could be as much of a dreamer as that kid," Matt joked.

"So what happened in the dream?" Sora asked.

"Well…it wasn't really a dream," Tai answered.

"Well what was it then," Matt asked. "A dream or not?"

"I just heard these words…like, voices, but I wasn't there…but I remember them…I remember them perfectly," Tai noted.

"So?" Tentomon asked.

"Yeah, so you remember a dream a bit more than usual, it'll go in the end," Joe added.

"I suppose," Tai answered, putting the spoon down in the bowl with a clatter, a slight squelch added to it by the small amount of cereal remaining in the bowl. He frowned, standing up. "I better get my stuff together," he said glumly, as he walked away down the hallway, Agumon following with concern.

Sora frowned, standing up and following, Biyomon following after her. The others eyed her carefully as the pair entered Tai's room.

"Time for us to get moving I think," Izzy noted, closing up his laptop.

* * *

"Tai?" Sora asked, stepping back into Tai's room, and looking across to see him currently packing various books into a bag, not looking to her as she spoke.

"Yeah?" he replied blankly. Agumon watched with concern, as Tai threw a ring binder into the bag.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked.

"Uh, yeah," Tai answered.

"Tai, something's bugging you," Sora noted.

Tai paused, dropping the folder with a frown. "You wouldn't understand," he sighed.

Sora frowned, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, gently lifting him to his feet, as he turned to face her. Closing their eyes, their lips met in a kiss, broken only for Sora to reassure him.

"Tai, no matter how insane it is, you can tell me," Sora comforted, placing her arm around him gently.

Tai sighed, nodding. "Okay," he replied, glancing down to the ground, questioning whether he had gone insane.

Was this really worth talking about, or was he making a lot of fuss about nothing? The end of semester tests his professor had been doling out to him had made him rather stressed after all. Maybe that was it.

Sora gripped his hand to reassure him. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he decided to talk. "These voices sounded like they were prophesising something," he began.

"Really?" Sora asked. "Like what?" she pressed, Tai pausing periodically. Was it right to tell her, or would it just worry her?

"That I'm going to die," Tai responded, Sora's eyebrows rising in alarm. Surely he couldn't be serious?

"Are you sure?!" she asked, her tone horrified at the concept.

"These random voices…one of them said, "Your friends will survive. But will you be so lucky?"…It sounds like it means I'm going to die," he explained.

"What, you believe some random voices?" Sora asked, cocking an eyebrow at him in a confused expression, as she gripped Tai's hand more tightly to reassure him. "Tai, we're all here to protect each other, and we're not going to let anyone die," she told him.

"Right…I forgot about all of you guys…I guess I just got swept up in the voices," Tai replied glumly, before a smile swept across his face, making him chuckle. "Yeah, those stupid voices think they are a big deal…nah, they're just the product of my overactive imagination, isn't that right Sora?" he said, much more happily now as he smirked at the concept.

"Yeah," Sora replied, her voice carrying a hint of uncertainty. _"I hope so at least…"_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Right, not much to say here. I have managed to get through a fair bit more of the plot though, which is good, as well as going into more detail on the Digidestined.

No next time preview this time round, I think I'm going to scrap them unless you guys really want them. They just waste my time in writing them anyway. But if you all want them, and say so in your reviews, I'll bring them back next time.

Until next time…


	18. The Trick To Friday

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. I'd also like to congratulate Krow Blood for being the 100th reviewer of this story.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 18**

_The Trick to Friday_

* * *

**FRIDAY, 9****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**

**07:00 JST**

Renamon awoke, or at least to the extent that she became fully conscious again, as opposed to her sleeping-alert state she used for resting in all but the most exhausted situations. The morning light bounced off the surroundings of the Nonaka household, a bright burning blotch of sun glare left in every window, every manhole cover, and every car. Renamon's apt eyes were unhindered by the glaring light, as, without taking pause to yawn or groan about her awakening, leapt from the rooftop down to the grass, landing ever so lightly below, as if an ungraceful landing would awake those dwelling within, an unlikely prospect, thanks to the soft grass and Renamon's relatively light form. And of course, there was the fact that one particular resident was already awake, for one particular reason.

Rika's mouth felt sore as she retreated from the bathroom, her eyes already being dragged together but her mind knowing that sleep was not an option. She knew that, all going well, this would be the penultimate morning in which she had to wake up early to avoid her parent and grandparent noticing her morning sickness, not least because, both of them having had children before (and at young ages as well), they would instantly see what was up. Kristy would've probably simply asked why she was sick, although Rika had the suspicion that Kristy had a far more mature and knowledgeable mind than the eleven year old usually let on, thanks in part to the general level of maturity in the house, contributed to primarily by their grandmother, by Kudamon, and of course, by Renamon. Rumiko probably counted too, but she did have her moments of kid-like "insanity". Then again, everyone seemed vulnerable to that, particularly with a sighting of Calumon, a Digimon that most women took a while to get over the cuteness of. Not Rika of course, she only realised how cute he was later on after meeting him.

Rika, her mind by now having become completely adapted to the movements and subtleties of her partner, turned her head upon hearing a gentle landing outside. An obvious frown met a subtle one, as Rika walked barefooted down the corridor, the bluish fabric of her pyjama trousers moving loosely around her leg as she walked, her pace taking on some of the characteristics she had seen in her partner in order to ensure the utmost minimum of noise was made. Harmony knew it was unnecessary, if Rika were making too much noise she would simply create a thin vacuum sphere around their body in order to block all incoming and outgoing noise, but she did not mention this to her alter-ego. Right now, that was neither the thing on Rika's mind, nor something she needed to be particularly worried about.

Rika stepped into the living room area of their home, walking through it into the large and neat kitchen, her grandmother's care in keeping everything safely packed away in its correct place clear to see. Rika wiped a ball of sleep from her eye, periodically pondering what caused it until she instantly became aware that it was called rheum, the product of various discharges from the eye that was normally washed away during the day. Rika silently noted how her recall of Harmony's memories was improving, but decided that it was worth noting at a later date. She had still yet to find a way to access anything particularly deep, such as who her previous incarnations were, short of asking Harmony herself, and the reply would inevitably be that it would be better that Rika didn't know. Rika had previously pondered whether there was a reason for this, but Harmony had simply noted that even her own memories were sketchy, returning to her gradually as Rika and their mind matured.

She opened the cupboard, noting the cereal boxes stacked up against one another and drawing one from the set, absentmindedly wandering around the kitchen, pondering whether she'd have the appetite for breakfast after seeing the reverse only a few minutes earlier. Her stomach told her otherwise, as a spoon joined a glass by a bowel, quickly deposited onto the nearby breakfast table. Cereal poured into bowl, milk onto cereal and finally water into glass, she settled down to begin eating, noting as she lifted the first spoonful into her mouth that Renamon was watching her, her eyes conveying her wanting for a talk. Talking with your mouth open, of course, was definitely a taboo in this particular household, but that wasn't a problem for the Tamer and her Kitsune partner, who had found an easy method of circumventing that particular rule.

"_Renamon, what's wrong?"_ Rika asked, noting the look of concern in her partners eyes as she continued eating, knowing their conversation was completely private. Even Renamon wasn't sure exactly how the telepathic ability worked, but it seemed to be directly related to her bond with her partner. Mari had noted the previous day about how she and DarkRenamon had begun to work on building a telepathic link of their own, with no success so far. Rika had noted how her link with Renamon had been instantaneous; perhaps Harmony's doing. Later on that day, Rika had pondered how life was different for the Angels, the four of whom she was sure on so far Of, course only three of those she knew of were aware of their status; Kristy had yet to make the connection between her necklace and those of several of her friends, perhaps an intentional process by her mind to prevent her awakening before she was ready. Rika pondered whether the Angels were meant to awaken in order, or whether they could awaken randomly. No doubt a few of their friends would turn out to be Angels, although, as Rey had told her, not all would be as expected.

"_For once, nothing is particularly wrong," _Renamon replied, her voice holding subtle tinges of her uplifted attitude after her chat the previous day with who she now knew was her daughter, albeit that chat having also reminded her of something she would rather forget. It was something that Rika, above everyone, would be better without the knowledge of. Renamon had run through the scenario many times of what could happen if Rika were ever to find out, but she hoped that would never happen.

"_Really?" _Rika replied, her eyes widening slightly. Renamon nodded subtly, though their conversation was promptly interrupted by the sound of footsteps nearby, as a fatigue-laden Kristy, her hair ruffled and her eyes as dragged down as Rika's were only a few minutes prior, walked into the kitchen, not even pausing to note Rika was there, although Renamon's presence was noted in due course, as was the fact they clearly had been in conversation only a few moments prior. Kudamon followed quietly behind, watching his Tamer carefully from his new position on the table.

"Morning," Kristy greeted groggily, receiving only nods of response from her sister and the fox as she acquired a bowl, spoon and glass, sitting down opposite the female human portion of Goddramon. Of course, Kristy was unaware of this, and Rika was still disbelieving of the fact that she was somehow a God, or rather, part of one, and that her true form was merged with Takato. She preferred not to think about it, it made things too complex, when they were already complex enough in their relationship. "So, what's up?" Kristy asked, her voice sounding more upbeat as she noted how the fox-tamer and her partner had clearly been in conversation before.

"Nothing," Rika answered, her voice monotonous.

"Sure," Kristy answered sarcastically. "It's always obvious when you and Renamon have been chatting telepathically, so what were you chatting about?"

"First of all Kristy, we weren't talking about anything. Secondly, even if we were talking about something, it's none of your business what we're talking about…didn't I tell you about this whole secrets thing the other day?"

"Oh…yeah," Kristy answered, her enthusiasm dampened as she remembered the events of the past few days. She noticed Kudamon looking at her curiously, but she shook her head, smiling it off. She didn't have it nearly as bad as her friends seemed to have it. She was of course, not aware of her sister's or the fox that was her sister's partner's current problems, but she was fully aware of what Mari and Ryder, and Davis and Veemon, had gone through. The last few days had taken their toll and, despite Kristy feeling eager to get involved in protecting the city again, she also wanted some peace.

Their conversation over, for now, they retreated back to their meals, and telepathic conversations. _"So what happened then?" _Rika asked, her face conveying no emotion, lest Kristy continue to pursue her point.

"_I had a talk with Realmon, and she confirmed some things for me."_

"_So, is she?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Makes sense, I mean, it doesn't take a Braniac to work it out."_

"_**I'm sure even Chaos wouldn't have much difficulty."**_

Noting a subtle smile by her Tamer at Harmony's remark, Renamon continued. _"Realmon reassured me that telling him was the right thing. She seemed to have the attitude that, unlike a human mother and daughter like yourself and Rey, with myself and Realmon there are no obligations or requirements of motherhood, due to the rudimentary nature of Terriermon's program no doubt. She told me that I had earned her respect, not been dealt it by default."_

"_I see…I guess I have it a lot more difficult, huh?"_

"_I am unsure. What tasks are you going to have to carry out?"_

"_I have no idea really. I mean, obviously there's taking care of Rey, but, I'm not sure how much of an extent my mother and grandmother will help with that. But, I'll still have to play a big role, for various reasons."_

"_I see. Speaking of all this, are you still nervous about telling yours and Takato's parents tomorrow?"_

"_Definitely! I think I'm going to be continually nervous about this until after we've told them, and then I have no idea what'll happen next. I mean, telling them that me and Takato had sex and I'm now carrying his child. I know that it'll probably shock his parents more, I mean, they hardly expected this, even though my mother didn't either, but our family seems to have a habit of this…which I just had to go and continue, didn't I?"_

"_I see your point."_

"Psst…Kudamon…do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Kristy whispered, Rika and Renamon pretending they didn't hear.

"I apologise, but I do not," Kudamon replied. Kristy sighed.

* * *

**Tokyo Metropolitan Building, Shinjuku Ward**

**13:01**

Chiyo tapped her foot impatiently on the floor as she leaned against the desk, waiting for the receptionist to call upstairs, to check that the person she intended to visit wanted to see her. Chiyo silently cursed him, wishing that he had just told them in advance. What was with all the secrecy anyway? What was he afraid of, being caught?

Chiyo rolled her eyes, of all the people she knew shouldn't be worried about being caught, it was him. It was in his nature, and he'd managed it effectively so far. She sighed; some people could be ridiculously over-careful. Anyway, what was the worst that could happen?

DarkBiyomon watched her Tamer cautiously, through the windows at the front of the building. Following her was clearly not an option, so she'd have to play the waiting game. And, considering Chiyo's irritable moods and strange, spontaneous acts of aggression, playing that particular metaphorical game could present a problem. Then again, DarkBiyomon had found it difficult to keep the girl from doing that sort of thing in the past, so her absence was likely to make little difference.

Chiyo breathed a sigh of relief when the receptionist finally finished on the phone, turning to her and looking at her cautiously, before speaking to her with a voice of concern.

"Go straight up. Take an elevator from elevator bank 2 up to floor 29, and he will meet you there."

"Thanks," Chiyo answered, although her voice was spiteful and irritated. As she walked away, the receptionist sighed, rolling her eyes.

"_Bloody Tamers…"_

Chiyo paused outside the elevator after pressing the button, already annoyed at the continual waiting involved in this building. The blinking lights mocked her as they showed a variety of elevators, none going in her direction. She leaned against the wall, sighing as she noticed an elevator going down turn round and head straight up again.

"_The one thing I can't seduce," _she groaned, pressing the elevator call button again, before resulting to pressing it repeatedly, her irritation growing continuously. "Just work!" she exclaimed, slamming a fist into the button.

Electricity cackled about, a bare piece of wire now peeking out from behind the smashed in panel. She momentarily pondered whether this would get her caught, but her fears were addressed upon the arrival of an elevator, with no clear indication on whether her act had made any difference to it being called to this particular floor. Upon entering the lift, she pushed the button for floor 29, before pressing the door close button, smirking at a person arriving just too late, the doors sliding closed on his annoyed face.

The elevator accelerated quickly, Chiyo leaning against the wall and sighing as she pondered how she had got here. It had all started in a phone call a few weeks back, from a man who apparently knew who she was. It was the strangest thing, he had called up out of the blue, but as he spoke, it became clear who he was.

"_And here was me thinking our clan were solitary workers," _she thought, stepping forth from the elevator and greeting the smiling face of a man in his 20s, his black hair matching his black suit, blending in perfectly with the hundreds of other agents using the building daily. But those who knew this particular man, his grin of confidence, the determination with which he carried himself with, knew that he was hardly another generic agent.

"Greetings Chiyo," he began, his grin never ceasing.

"Richard, right?" she asked, her face unchanging, her expression almost yawn-bringing as she was unfazed by his grin.

"Close…Rayleigh…" he replied enthusiastically, a hint of discontentment in his voice, weighed out by an almost literal dollop of boisterousness.

"Whatever," she replied, not-so-enthusiastically. "Do you have your part of the offer?" she asked, getting straight to the point. Poignant and important as this occasion was, she had no intention to dwell on

"I think we should talk somewhere more, private," Rayleigh noted.

Chiyo nodded, smirking as she glanced around, the nearby cafeteria in the foyer with several workers sitting around. The corridors seemed to lead off forever, and the doors were plentiful. A pair of dark gray sliding doors was on a wall opposite a window currently being attended to by several glazers. Chiyo had a sneaking suspicion of what was behind those doors. "Hmm, house of the enemy, great choice bozo…" she muttered sarcastically, turning back to him.

"No-one ever checks their allies," Rayleigh answered, turning as he began to walk. "Follow me," he noted back to her, the girl nodding and following along. To be fair, in any other department, a girl of this age would've looked out of place. But Hypnos was hardly like any other department, and such a sight had become commonplace…mundane even.

Proving that point, Chiyo and Rayleigh were hardly given a second glance by the passing scientists and agents. Still, something bugged Chiyo, as she noticed a camera, it and its friends' monitoring every corridor.

"What about the CCTV?" she pondered.

"A pathetic system that is easily hacked, and rather under whelming for my abilities…I'll just edit in the usual blank corridors and passing scientists, no matter…"

"So, what do you do here anyway?" Chiyo asked, feeling irritated by how close this was to small talk. She hated small talk. The petty trivia of those with nothing more significant to talk about.

Rayleigh frowned, before taking on a look of arrogance. "I am apparently meant to be another of these measly agents, serving under the chief Mitsuo Yamaki…but I have made it clear to him I will not be spoken down to, and I'll be promoted soon enough," he answered. "Just another part of my plan," he added, checking periodically that no-one else was in earshot.

"Yeah but, why are you telling me? Why are you helping me? Do you expect to work together or something? I was under the impression that all of us are in this for our own gain…you know, destruction, power, the fun of tormenting them, everything! Why would we want to share that?"

"You may just make my plan a lot simpler…" Rayleigh answered, pulling out a key and opening a meeting room. "…even though, I am certain your plan will fail at present."

Chiyo's expression dropped, as they entered the room, Rayleigh periodically checking that there was no-one noticing them. That would make their discussion difficult, and could destroy both of their plans if they were discovered. He promptly locked the door, and, instead of turning the lights on, walked over to the large pane windows, opening the blinds to let the bright, natural light of a Tokyo day into the room. Even if someone were to peek into the room, there would be no lights on to suggest any presence in the room.

As for the room itself, a long table with rounded edges ran parallel to the window, with plenty of space around it for general walking and use in presenting, and a video screen at the end. Every place around the table also had its own screen, and input panel, both set into the table. Clearly, this was one of the more spacious and luxurious meeting rooms, the thick carpets and mahogany table conveying this fact perfectly, the grain on the table running finely along, directing all eyes to the speaker.

"This is one of our top level meeting…"

Chiyo yawned, interrupting Rayleigh, who raised an eyebrow at her. This girl was proving to be rather annoying. Rayleigh hoped that the outcome of the meeting would be worth his while, because he knew that having the Tamers out of the picture would make his job a lot easier.

"Yes?"

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't think I was taking the bloody tour!" she mocked. "How did you find me anyway?"

"Very simply, you've made yourself known recently since you awoke it seems…I found you whilst searching through a database…your name seemed somewhat…familiar, perhaps one of our natural abilities?"

"Yeah, I guessed that, and then I came up with my plan. Can we stop wasting time and just get down to business?" Chiyo asked, her voice frustrated.

"Fine," Rayleigh answered, more than a hint of irritation in his voice. "I brought what you requested," he answered.

"Hold on, what do you get out of all of this?" Chiyo asked.

"With the Tamers out of the way, it'll be far easier for me to take control. They currently present a threat, and I would rather not have to get involved in destroying them."

"So what happens to me if I succeed?" Chiyo asked. "What about the outcome of my plan?"

"You can live your life uninhibited by me, and I will ensure that there will be no outcome of any crime you commit, which I am aware is currently a rather long list," Rayleigh answered, giving Chiyo a questioning look as he added "Was attacking one of the Angels really necessary?"

"Do I question your plans?" Chiyo asked patronisingly, glaring back to him, before a bewildered look crossed her face. "What are your plans anyway?"

"Well, for starters, they are far better than yours…"

"What?! My plans are perfect," Chiyo interrupted, yelling at Rayleigh as she pointed a finger straight at him, a sharp glare fired into his eyes.

"You are such a naïve little girl," Rayleigh replied. "Have you not read up on the Tamers? They win because of their numbers," he answered, reaching into his jacket and drawing out a pistol, which he held out to Chiyo in his hand. "And no silly, pathetic brat who plans to run in there, use their Demonic powers and fire willy-nilly at them will succeed," he added. Chiyo frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in anger, as she took the gun from him. "That's your standard issue Hypnos EMP-Conventional pistol. Single touch switching from one fire mode to another, greatly expanded cartridges using Digital warp space technology, and being impossible to detect with all standard weapon detection systems in use at airports and government buildings."

"Hmm…" Chiyo noted, grasping the gun in her hand and waving it wildly at him. Rather than raising his hands like a normal person, however, Rayleigh smirked, reaching out and adjusting her aim.

"Pathetic…"

"Stop bashing my plan!" Chiyo shouted. "Or I'll shoot you dead right here right now!" she threatened.

"Oh, but you won't…no, you need that escape from crime…the murder of your parents, if subtle and appearing as an accident, will not go unnoticed…and neither will any of your plans."

"Shut up…" Chiyo's voice faltered as she replied, Rayleigh smiling as he realised that he had succeeded in making her see sense, something that had seemed an impossible task given the harsh nature of her greeting, and how stubborn she appeared to be. "You don't know anything…" she yelled. Rayleigh continued to smirk, his expression not faltering as Chiyo lowered the gun to her side. "You don't…" she added, her voice quietened as self-doubt swept over her.

"I think you'll need to decide that for yourself. Alter your plans, and win…or keep them the way they are, and face a devastating loss."

"I am not Taiki!" Chiyo insisted.

"No, Taiki was a fool. You are simply…stubborn…I think that you have at least, hmm, a slight chance of succeeding, should you alter your plans."

"I see," Chiyo replied, finally broken. She didn't expect to be talked to in this way. How could this man simply dismiss her plans like this? She was always right! And her plan had been flawless, designed down to the smallest detail. It couldn't fail…could it?

She turned, walking away towards the door, unlocking it.

"Oh, and Chiyo…" Rayleigh interrupted. Chiyo turned, sighing. "Yes?" she asked, exasperated.

Rayleigh grinned, holding up a set of straps attached to a gun holder. "Perhaps you need this?"

Chiyo sighed, walking over and trying to snatch it off him. He held it tight, glaring down to her. "Just give me it!" she yelled.

"Perhaps politeness is something you need to work on too?" he added, letting go of it as Chiyo took it, strapped it to the top of her leg, underneath her purple skirt. She looked up to him, as he appeared to be waiting for something.

"What?!" she asked.

"I'm waiting," he replied, in a nagging tone, secretly amusing at himself by how fun this had proved to be. Clearly, relying on his fellow Demons was a mistake; they could hardly think straight themselves.

"Thanks," she said harshly, turning and walking to the door.

"No problem," Rayleigh answered politely, continuing to mock her. "And good luck too, because it looks like you'll be needing it…" he added.

"Shut up," she answered. "Smell ya later."

"Ta ta for now," he replied, in an emphasised British tone, as she walked away down the corridor, rolling her eyes, and muttering one word under her breath.

"Asshole…"

TO BE CONTIUNUED…

* * *

Heh, I love the second part of this chapter. Worked out really well, with a bunch of suggestions. Chiyo's going to have a long, hard think now, and Rayleigh's words are not going to be lost on them.

I'm leaving the next time previews out for a while, but I'll give one hint about the next chapter: Irataka Sword

Until next time…


	19. The Trick To Taming

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 19**

_The Trick to Taming_

* * *

**FRIDAY, 9****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Odaiba High School, Minato Ward**

**15:20 JST**

"And so we survive yet another day of school," Davis said, breathing a sigh of relief as he stepped outside the school gate, DemiVeemon gripping onto his hair. Kari and Yolei rolled their eyes in response, as Gatomon stood on the school boundary wall, watching their conversation. .

"It's not _that_ bad Davis," Yolei insisted.

"Yeah, I know it's important and all that, but why does it have to be so…boring…" Davis groaned.

"I'm sure you can put up with it," Kari added. "I mean, you did take on MaloMyotismon single-handedly, school couldn't ever be that bad."

"Yeah, no-one else was as stupid as to try such a suicidal move," Gatomon mocked.

"Yeah, well, it worked, okay?" Davis answered, his enthusiasm gone as the concept of a suicidal move brought flashbacks of the battle earlier that week to the forefront of his mind.

* * *

"EMERALD BLAZE!" roared Cerberumon, the flames cascading across the deck of the bridge and slamming into a car. TK wasted no time in grabbing onto Pegasusmon as the flying horse drew close, pulling him into the air and away from the ground-based blaze. Seeing this, Cerberumon turned his sights, sweeping the ongoing flames towards Davis, who ran for it, feeling the heat lick at his heels as he ran towards Raidramon, who looked weakly at the flames sweeping horizontally towards him, alarm growing in his mind as he shared a glance with his Tamer.

"_Sorry…"_Davis thought, leaping to the ground and skidding under his partner's stomach, rolling to a stop on the other side as the flames collided with Raidramon, a continual stream focused on him slowly weaning to a stop as the flames brightly burst around him. Screams of pain silenced with a thud, a far smaller figure hitting the ground. Davis tried to catch his breath, as TK grated his teeth at the sight from his position in the air on Pegasusmon's back.

* * *

"You okay Davis?" Kari asked, noting how Davis had zoned out.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Davis answered, his voice lacking the expected enthusiasm normally given with such a response. DemiVeemon frowned from his point on Davis' head, knowing exactly what Davis was thinking about.

"Cheer up," he advised, Davis sighing in response. As if those words would ever actually make someone actually cheer up.

"Hey," called a new voice from nearby, Davis, Yolei and Kari turning to see TK and Cody walking across the schoolyard towards them, Patamon flying alongside them and Upamon in Cody's arms.

"Hey," Yolei answered, smiling as the group of new Digidestined reunited, as they did every day. Well, excluding Ken that was, but they would hopefully meet up with him later.

"So, what's everyone doing this evening?" TK asked, smiling, and noting that Davis was in a dour mood. _"Doesn't take a genius to figure out why, he's really going hard on himself with all this bad Tamer stuff…"_ he thought. _"Typical Davis," _he sighed, his thoughts more along the lines of sadness for his friend than the mocking way that those words were usually used.

"Nothing," Cody answered.

"I've got nothing to do either," Yolei added.

"Same," Kari continued.

"Me too," Davis added, his voice still saddened.

"Didn't Mr Kiuchi give you three pages of Maths homework because you didn't do the last bit?" Yolei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. What's your point?" Davis answered. Yolei rolled her eyes.

"Since we've all got a free evening for once, what should we do with it?" Cody asked his voice enthusiastic. Thanks to battles, homework, kendo and the hectic and chaotic nature of their lives lately, they'd been unable to do anything as a group, outside of sitting together at school of course.

"Well, my mum's been working on her cooking lately, and I'm 50 percent sure her new recipes won't poison us…you could all come over to mine," Kari suggested.

"Only if we test the food out on DemiVeemon first…" Gatomon joked. "You almost ate Davis' spoon yesterday," she added.

"Yep," DemiVeemon answered cheerfully, grinning widely. The group simply laughed, except for Davis, who was now staring at his D-Arc in shock, something which quickly became apparent to the group soon after.

"Huh, what's wrong Davis?" TK asked noticing Davis' actions, as five D-Arcs began to bleep in unison.

Davis didn't take his eyes off of his bright blue D-Arc, with its white screen and buttons, and its small display, currently displaying a disturbing message.

Four red arrows. Pointing inwards.

There were screams of panic as a geyser shot up dead in the centre of the group, inches from them. They staggered backwards, the blast of light filling the area with a thick, white, Digital Field. Davis felt his pupils begin to itch, his eyesight blurring as he quickly pulled down his goggles, looking up into the Digital Field as his fellow Tamers covered their eyes with their arms, their eyes soon adapting to the change in environment.

Davis stared on in shock at a black shadow, standing in the centre of the fog. A black winged form, somewhat bird-like with its talon-like feet, but also warrior-like with its sharp gold-coloured blade, called the Irataka Sword, and red sheath for it. Purple armour coated its torso, legs and arms, and it wore a dull cream pair of pants, held by a black belt. As its form continued to become clearer, a yellow jewel became visible, embedded into its forehead, its red eyes and determined grin conveying its eagerness to battle.

"DemiVeemon!" Davis called, as the in-training level Digimon leapt forwards off of his head.

"Right!" he agreed, as Davis clutched his D-Arc, the words, "Karatenmon, Virus, Ultimate Level, attacks Ballistic Feathers, Enlightenment, Crow Swords" replaced by one simple, meaningful word.

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

"_Back in business, and this time, I'm doing it right!"_ Davis thought, as the light of digivolution enveloped his partner.

* * *

**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**

**15:30 JST**

"Ooh, I don't remember burying this," noted a voice, the sound of claw against concrete resonating from the hideout. "…aw…it's gone solid…" Guilmon complained, lifting the piece of bread.

He glanced around, turning behind him to check no-one was watching.

"Ah well," he added, scoffing the bread down anyway, his face going through a variety of expressions, from a full mouth, to a full throat and a purple face, to a final swallowing. "Aw, now I don't feel so good," Guilmon noticed. "I've really got to stop eating day old day old day old day old day old day old day old day old…"

"Guilmon?" greeted a new voice, interrupting Guilmon from something that would have otherwise have gone on for a very long while. He turned, smiling at the familiar voice, the familiar smell, the familiar unexpected nature of her appearance.

"Renamon!" he cheered, looking up to Renamon in the face. Her tail moved agitatedly, as she replied with a slight smile, which Guilmon was lucky enough to be able to see, an ability lacked by most.

"Hello," Renamon replied, feeling slightly nervous. This was going to be difficult. Guilmon cocked his head, noticing Renamon's unsure voice.

"Are you okay?" he asked, curiously glancing over her slender form, her ears twitching, and her posture off slightly.

"Hmm…yes, I am…" Renamon answered her voice hesitant and her tone unsure.

"Ah, okay," Guilmon answered, going back to smiling normally. Renamon widened one eye, looking to Guilmon curiously.

"Guilmon, why do you believe me, even when you doubt I'm telling the truth?" she asked, Guilmon eying her bewilderedly. He smiled.

"That's silly, I know you'd never lie to me," Guilmon answered.

"Oh," Renamon replied, frowning as she contemplated how much she had betrayed Guilmon's trust in all of this. Why didn't she tell him straight away? Was it seeing Rika's nervousness that caused her to act this way? How would she have acted if she had no model to base it on?

"So, what do you want to do? Kiss? Play? Maybe we could do that weird thing we did the other day? That was really fun; I want to do that again!" Guilmon answered, cheering at the concept, not understanding its connotations. Renamon both smiled and frowned in response to his naivety and innocence, things she admired about him, and also found attractive, but at the same time two things felt she had abused.

Renamon sighed, her voice becoming more serious. "Guilmon, I'm afraid is what I came here to talk about." Guilmon looked up to her, his smile vanishing as his expression became more serious, an odd look for him.

"What do you mean? Can't we do it any more?"

Renamon sighed, shaking her head. "No…it caused some…unintended consequences, ones that are going to affect us I'm afraid," she answered.

"Really? Like what?" Guilmon asked, his voice sounding serious despite the casual nature of his reply.

Renamon sighed again, her tail moving around and depositing the digi-egg in her hand, black ringed with red and yellow alternating intervals between the rings. Guilmon looked at it for a while, before his mind registered what it was.

"Oh…" he answered. "A Digi-Egg?" he asked, not exactly sure if he was getting it. Perhaps Renamon had found it?

"Guilmon, after we had sex, I…produced this…it's our child," she explained. Guilmon sniffed it curiously, looking up to her and back to the egg again. He looked up to Renamon again, pausing on her as his eyes called out for confirmation that this was real. She nodded, frowning.

"Wow…cool…" he noted.

"Huh?" Renamon asked, her eyes widening. This was an unexpected response.

"Wow, you produced an egg…we're having a child…" Guilmon answered, his voice curious, before laughing happily. "Yay, this is going to be fun!"

"_Well…this is odd…"_ Renamon thought, smiling at Guilmon as she felt some renewed confidence. "Yes, I suppose it will be," she answered. "But it also means we're going to have to be parents, and careful with this…we have to protect this child."

Guilmon's eyes focused, as he nodded. "Right," he answered. "Renamon, I love you," he added.

Renamon nodded, still bewildered by Guilmon's reaction. "Yeah, I love you too," she answered, her voice slightly nervous, as he moved in for a quick kiss. Renamon felt the situation was slightly surreal, as Guilmon moved away again.

"So, when is it going to hatch?" Guilmon asked, his voice enthusiastic at the concept.

"February 28th, 2011," Renamon answered. Guilmon looked at her curiously.

"Really? How do you know that?" he asked.

"Because Guilmon, this child we're going to have…it's Realmon," she explained.

"Wow…so we're just like Takato and Rika…yay!" Guilmon answered, cheering as he waved his arms.

"Guilmon," came a new voice, calling up from the bottom of the concrete stairs. Guilmon cheered, almost pushing past Renamon and the egg if it were not for Renamon's quick reactions. Guilmon darted down the stairs, bounding into Takato and sending himand his bag of bread to the floor, Rika looking over the pile with a bemused expression.

"TAKATO!" the saurian cheered.

Takato laughed, although his laughing was constrained by the pressure now on his lungs. This had become a very familiar situation, although Guilmon seemed to be controlling himself more lately. What was up with him today?

"Guilmon, get off him," Rika groaned, deciding that she didn't want her boyfriend and future father of her child asphyxiated to death by a red dinosaur.

"Oh, okay," Guilmon answered innocently, moving aside as Takato caught his breath. Renamon had by now walked over to stand behind Guilmon, watching a display that would usually amuse her, if only slightly. But Guilmon's reaction had unnerved her. Did he understand the reality of the situation? Or was he actually happy for the pair of them to be having a child? Perhaps he didn't understand the consequences.

"_This gives validation to the theory that Guilmon is smarter than he lets on, but doesn't have much general knowledge," _Renamon noted.

"I'm okay," Takato insisted, his voice strained. "Just need to…catch…my…breath…" he replied quickly, pushing himself to his feet. Rika rolled her eyes, internally chuckling at the display, something she would once have dismissed as moronic. "Okay, done," Takato finished, feeling that he was finally able to breathe at a normal rate again.

"So what's got you so hyped up then?" Rika asked, looking curiously to Guilmon. Renamon widened her eyes in alarm, but she was too late to avert impending disaster.

"Oh, me and Renamon are having a child," he explained, smiling as he shifted his tail from side to side.

"Oh, that's good," Takato answered, nodding, before it finally sunk in. "Wait…what?!" he asked, his eyes widening as he looked to Rika, rolling her eyes at the saurian, to Renamon, frowning and nodding, and Guilmon, still smiling naively at his Tamer.

"Yeah, Renamon made a digi-egg," Guilmon explained, turning to Renamon as she, sighing, removed the digi-egg from her tail once again. Takato simply stared wide eyed at the black, red and yellow digi-egg now in held in Renamon's arms.

"What?" Takato asked. "What on earth? What?"

Rika groaned, gripping Takato's head. "Takato, snap out of it…" she ordered. Takato could hear Chaos laughing in his head.

"Uh…okay," Takato answered, shaking his head. Was this really happening? Had Guilmon made the same mistake as him? And when? And how? And…"What? No, I really have no idea, someone has to explain this," Takato asked, now very confused by this quick turn of events. _"Aren't major things like this meant to have a build up in conversation? Then again, this is Guilmon that we're talking about here."_

Rika sighed. "Fine…Renamon and Guilmon had sex, she produced an egg, that's actually Realmon, and the egg will therefore hatch on the same day that Rey is born," she summed up. Takato raised an eyebrow to her curiously.

"Hold on, wait, you knew about this?" he asked. Rika frowned, nodding.

"Renamon told me the other day...I guess she only just told Guilmon, right?" she answered, looking to her partner for confirmation.

"That is correct," Renamon answered, nodding. "Guilmon, I suppose I should have told you to keep this a secret, shouldn't I?"

"Huh? Why?" Guilmon asked, looking to her curiously. Why on earth would someone want to keep something like this a secret?

"Because she doesn't want everyone to know straight away. We all need time to think," Rika explained, Guilmon nodding.

"Oh…" he answered, turning to Renamon again. "Okay," he replied, grinning widely.

"So, what do we, you know, do with it?" Takato asked, looking at the egg curiously as he moved in for a closer look. Renamon nodded, dropping the egg into his hands, as he turned it over, looking closely at the patterns on it. It was smooth, unbelievably smooth actually, and very unlike a chicken's egg. Takato also noticed that it was rather heavier than he was expecting, and it felt very solid in his hands.

"I have been hiding it for the past few days," Renamon answered. "I suppose I shall have to continue until we can tell everyone," she added. Rika nodded, before frowning.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to keep hiding it at our house? What if my family find it?" Rika asked, awaiting an answer from her partner.

"Rika, your grandmother already knows of it, she saw me hiding it the first time around…I talked to her about it," Renamon explained.

Rika's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked, Renamon nodding. "Hold on, you didn't tell her about…" she began, gesturing to her still flat belly. Renamon shook her head, Rika breathing a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Rika, speaking of that, are you sure we're up to telling our parents tomorrow?" Takato asked, passing the digi-egg back to Renamon and getting to his feet again.

Rika grimaced, sighing as she closed her eyes periodically, running through the outcomes she had conceived in her mind. What would their parents do? Would they be disowned or something?

"**Rika, you really don't need, or want, to think that way, I'm sure they'll understand,"** Harmony reassured her alter-ego, as she listened to the girl's thoughts.

"_Yeah, I know," _Rika replied, her tone of thought depressed and saddened. _"But, I just don't want to have to tell them…I mean it's not exactly a little thing. This is going to change our lives. How are we going to pay for it, for starters?"_

"**Rika, your mother is a famous model, it's not like you have any money troubles."**

"_Yeah, I guess."_

"Rika? Rika?" Takato called, trying to bring the girl out of her trance. "Are you okay?"

Rika opened her eyes again, sighing. "Yeah, it's just a lot to think about."

"Okay," Takato answered, before his eyes widened. "Hey, I've just thought of something," he said, his voice enthusiastic, completely at odds to the way Rika was thinking.

"Which is?" Rika inquired.

"Let's get Rey to come," he suggested. Rika raised an eyebrow, beginning to open her mouth before Takato promptly elaborated. "I mean, our parents haven't met her yet, and it's not like we can keep it covered up forever. And this way, we've got some support while we're there."

"Yes, and I am sure that Rey would attend anyway even if we did not want her to come," Renamon added, recalling how Rey had in the past simply turned up for such major events without being asked. Clearly, the girl didn't want to be left out of the major events, particularly those related to her own life, although she had stayed back from turning up to one or two major events.

"Maybe," Rika answered.

"Only problem is, how do we find her?" Takato asked, scratching his head. "I mean, normally, she just pops up when we need her. This is going to be difficult."

Rika smirked, pulling out her cell phone, her tone taking on a playful edge. "On the contrary Takato," she answered, as Takato watched her select one particular number. "I think this'll be easy."

* * *

**Odaiba High School, Minato Ward**

**15:31 JST**

Veemon put two feet firmly down on the ground, grinning enthusiastically as their opponent looked on them with a questioning look. Were they really pitting a pathetic Rookie, a Veemon no less, up against an ultimate?

"_The things I have heard of this world are clearly lies," _thought the bird-like digimon. "Are you planning to fight?" he questioned, looking down to the boy with the strange appendages on his head, and his blue partner.

"Yeah!" Davis cheered, looking to the warrior with a determined glint in his eyes.

"Very well, let us get this over with," Karatenmon replied, unsheathing his sword quickly, and leaping forward, brandishing the blade, as a bewildered and fearful look crossed Veemon's and Davis' faces.

"Oh…" Veemon began, before rapidly rolling to one side as the blade sliced into the ground where he had once stood.

"Hey!" Davis complained. "Let us get ready first!"

"Humph, how pathetic," Karatenmon noted, placing his sword back into his sheath. "Please be quick then, I have heard of far better opponents in this world, and you are simply wasting my time."

"Right," Davis answered, raising his D-Arc and reading from its display. "Let's see, Karatenmon, Virus Type, Ultimate Level, with three attacks, Ballistic Feathers, Enlightenment and Crow Swords."

"An ultimate?" Veemon asked, looking to his partner, curious as to whether Davis was really planning for him to fight like this.

"Cerberumon was an ultimate, and we could've beaten him alone if I was a better Tamer. I'm sure we can beat this guy too."

"Are you sure?" Veemon asked, his voice nervous. He hoped this wasn't another of Davis' crazy ideas, even though they did have the odd habit of working even when the circumstances were dire.

"Trust me," Davis said, Veemon nodding in response as he homed his eyes on his foe. Karatenmon raised an eyebrow at the display, pondering whether it would be better to simply finish them right here right now. Then again, he also wanted to see how strong they really were.

"Davis, what are you doing?" TK asked, as the other Tamers began to aggregate around Davis, eyeing him curiously. What on earth was he planning to do?

"I'm making up to Veemon for how badly I performed in the other day's battle," Davis answered.

"What on earth has gotten into you Davis?" Yolei asked, pondering whether he was having yet another of his crazy ideas.

"If I don't become decent at this, people are going to get hurt…guys, this is mine and Veemon's battle," he insisted, stepping forward. "You hear that Karatenmon!" he yelled.

"But…" Kari began to object, worried that either Davis or Veemon would get hurt. Or both. They couldn't possibly fight this battle alone, not least because it was an ultimate foe, and the area was too small and easily damaged for Imperialdramon to fight in. It was their school for goodness sake!

"Kari, let him," TK told her. Kari eyed him worriedly, wondering why on earth TK was letting Davis go through with this.

"But what if Veemon gets badly hurt?" Cody asked, wondering why they were fighting merely for the sake of fighting.

"You didn't see Davis in the last battle Cody," TK reminisced, as he recalled the shambles that was the Cerberumon battle. "He was really shaken by what happened. He needs to prove to himself, and Veemon too, that he can do this, and that he's not letting us all down by being a liability."

"But what if it goes wrong?" Poromon asked.

"Oh come on, it's Davis. He'll always find a way to succeed no matter what the odds," Patamon said, agreeing with TK.

"And how stupid that way is," Gatomon piped in.

"Veemon!" Davis called, his voice determined. He was ready to fight, he was ready to win. And this time, he would do it properly.

"Right!" Veemon replied, clenching his fists. With Davis by his side, they would win this, for sure!

"DIGI-MODIFY…" Davis called, lifting a card in one hand and sweeping it through his D-Arc, sparks analysing the card as it swept through the slot, a spark of electricity sweeping out and touching Davis' D-Terminal. "…Digi-Egg of Courage, Activate!"

**A-R-M-O-U-R**

**D-I-G-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

"**Veemon, Armour Digivolve to…"**

Veemon's form was enveloped in fire, a sea of flames rising upwards before refining into a bipedal cross between a warrior and a dragon, a sharp menacing spike rising from his helmed face. He snarled, his hand burning with flames as the sea of fire again boiled around him. The dragon warrior announced his name.

"**Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"**

Flamedramon and Karatenmon traded glares. This was going to be a battle of warriors. The only question was…could Davis possibly reverse the odds?

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Now, I bet some of you are disappointed at the fact that, despite the long build-up, there was no battle in this chapter. Don't worry, the next chapter I plan to more than make up for that.

And the key hint this time round is: Radiance.

Until next time…


	20. The Trick To Miracles

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

_**DIMENSIONS**_

**BOOK 6 - TRICKS**

**CHAPTER 20**

_The Trick to Miracles_

* * *

**FRIDAY, 9****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Odaiba High School, Minato Ward**

**15:36 JST**

"Veemon!" Davis called, his voice determined. He was ready to fight, he was ready to win. And this time, he would do it properly.

"Right!" Veemon replied, clenching his fists. With Davis by his side, they would win this, for sure!

"DIGI-MODIFY…" Davis called, lifting a card in one hand and sweeping it through his D-Arc, sparks analysing the card as it swept through the slot, a spark of electricity sweeping out and touching Davis' D-Terminal. "…Digi-Egg of Courage, Activate!"

**A-R-M-O-U-R**

**D-I-G-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

"**Veemon, Armour Digivolve to…"**

Veemon's form was enveloped in fire, a sea of flames rising upwards before refining into a bipedal cross between a warrior and a dragon, a sharp menacing spike rising from his helmed face. He snarled, his hand burning with flames as the sea of fire again burned around him, the dragon announcing his name.

"**Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"**

"Are you ready now?" Karatenmon asked an impatient tone in his voice. Did they do this with every Digimon that came to their world?

"Stop with the comments, it's time to fight," Flamedramon declared, his voice packed with punch and determination, as he raised a burning claw.

"So be it," Karatenmon replied, as the pair leapt at one another, Karatenmon with sword and Flamedramon with fist.

"FLAME FIST!" Flamedramon called, throwing his fist forward at Karatenmon, who, quicker than Flamedramon could see, smashed the side of his sword into the dragon's fists. Flamedramon screamed out in pain, as he was thrown to the ground, Karatenmon landing calmly nearby.

"Seriously, a sword against a fist? You should be ashamed of yourself," he taunted, as Flamedramon pushed himself to his feet, clutching his rapidly deleting fist in agony.

"Davis, snap to it!" he called, noticing how Davis had begun to be frozen in horror. Davis shook the dumbstruck feeling off, raising a card to his hand.

"Right!" he called, sweeping the card through his D-Arc, as he called. "DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!"

Flamedramon felt data course around his fist, fitting into place as it rapidly healed. He nodded to Davis in thanks, receiving a nod in response, before Davis pulled out a new card.

"And now for some strategy!" he called determinedly, clutching his D-Arc once again.

"Let's hope this strategy is good, because the odds don't look good for them," Yolei noted.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Imperialdramon Paladin Mode's Omni Sword Activate!" Davis called, eyes widening, even on Flamedramon himself, as a huge long blade materialised, floating in front of him. Flamedramon nodded determinedly, taking the sword in hand…

And immediately stumbling to one side as a result of the sheer weight of it.

"Oh crap," Davis cursed.

Karatenmon wasted no time in leaping forward, smashing the blade into Flamedramon once again, aiming for his side this time. Flamedramon, unable to block, scorched across the tarmac road and came with his back to a car, the sword loosely falling nearby.

Karatenmon continued his assault, flying into the air and drawing a second sword from his second sheath, brandishing it easily in his other hand.

"And here I was hoping for a decent battle," he noted, his eyes closed as he sighed, opening them again as he spoke again. "Oh well," he continued, crossing the swords in a V' shape. "CROW SWORDS!" he called, a laser blast shooting from them and colliding with the car, which exploded in a ball of flames.

"No, Flamedramon!" Davis called, panicking as he had flashbacks to the Cerberumon battle. He heard Flamedramon groan, trying to push himself from the burning wreck, as the inferno continued.

"Are you done now?" Karatenmon taunted, as Flamedramon pushed himself uneasily to his feet. "Humph, you act like you want to be deleted," he replied.

"Davis, what the hell are you doing?" Flamedramon asked, glaring at his Tamer.

"I…I made a mistake…" Davis said, crestfallen as his voice broke down. _"And now it's going to cost me…"_

"Then fix it!" Flamedramon yelled, clenching a fist, before being forced to break it again as the car exploded in one final ball of flame, consuming him.

Davis stared on in horror, time seeming to slow as he helplessly reached into his pocket, pulling out nothing but another recharge card.

"_This'll help for now but…I can't just keep healing him…"_ Davis thought, his voice more glum as he called out the card, his previous enthusiasm and determination now completely gone. His friends frowned at the sight. "DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!"

Energy flowed into Flamedramon again, as he stood up within the blazing inferno, still feeling the flames scorch his skin. Davis saw the shadow in the flames, and continued to mope. What was he doing? He was letting his partner, his best friend, be slaughtered, and it was all his fault.

Suddenly, an eyebrow rose at the sight, the beginnings of an idea concocted in Davis' mind. Karatenmon drew his swords again, ready to finish the dragon, who currently was trying to stop himself from groaning at the searing heat, which was trying to burn its way under his armour and onto his blue skin.

"CROW…" Karatenmon began.

"VEEMON, USE FIRE ROCKET!" Davis yelled, surprising all his friends with how he threw the full extent of his voice into it.

Flamedramon raised an eyebrow, before the full weight of Davis' plan hit him. He smirked, as Karatenmon looked on bewildered.

"FIRE ROCKET!" Flamedramon called, his own flames joining those of the inferno, and growing into a huge blazing aura, as he shot up into the sky, Davis looking on determined as his friends took on a more bewildered look all anticipating what was coming next.

"_What on earth?" _Karatenmon thought, realising that he had been outsmarted for once, as Flamedramon streaked towards him, hitting him as a blazing sharp blade at full force. Karatenmon screamed, as his form was thrown at high speed into the wall of one of the

classroom buildings, panes smashing and concrete breaking as Karatenmon became a trench in the wall.

"Davis, what the hell are you playing at?!" Yolei called out, interrupting Davis' celebrations.

"You've got to avoid hitting the school!" Kari added.

"Oh, right, sorry," Davis answered, scratching the back of his head. Flamedramon landed near him. "You could've been a bit more careful," Davis noted to his partner.

"Meh, blame Karatenmon, not me," he replied, shrugging. "Anyway, ready for round two?" he taunted to Karatenmon, who had flown away from his crater, and now stood nearby, his confidence in his win literally smashed. Karatenmon snarled.

"Right, no more going easy," Karatenmon taunted. Flamedramon snarled in response, raising a flaming fist as Karatenmon similarly raised his sword. This time, he wouldn't miss.

Karatenmon growled, as did Flamedramon, as they leapt at each other…

…and completely missed.

Flamedramon smirked, as he leapt aside at the last minute, making a bee-line for the Omni Sword currently lying by the smouldering remains of the car.

"_What a fool, he couldn't wield it last time, how does he plan to rectify that this time round?" _Karatenmon questioned.

Flamedramon put his hands on the sword, before looking over to his Tamer. "DAVIS!" he called. "GIVE ME STRENGTH!" he yelled.

Davis looked at him bewildered, before nodding as he realised what Flamedramon meant. "Right!" he called, taking out another card and sweeping it through the slot. "DIGI-MODIFY…Strength Activate!"

Flamedramon grinned, feeling the strength running down his arms and into his hands, as he lifted the sword with ease, Karatenmon's eyes widening in alarm.

"What is this trickery?" Karatenmon asked.

"My Tamer has helped me to fight," Flamedramon answered.

Karatenmon smirked. "So pathetic that you must bend the rules of a one-on-one battle in order to win."

"Don't say that you haven't broken the rules before!" Davis answered.

"I am growing tired of both of you, time to finish this."

"Fine by me!" Davis yelled. Flamedramon agreed, his fists blazing with fire as he began to walk menacingly towards his foe.

"ENLIGHTENMENT!" Karatenmon yelled, Flamedramon pausing in alarm as the world seemed to fade to purple, everyone but he and his foe vanishing. Karatenmon had closed his eyes, unnerving Flamedramon, as a clawed palm was currently held near the bird's red eyes. What was going on? Didn't the bird-like warrior expect to be attacked? What was he doing?

"What is going on?" Flamedramon asked angrily. After speaking of working by the rules, Karatenmon was seemingly breaking them as he wanted to. _"What a hypocrite," _Flamedramon thought.

Karatenmon spoke calmly, not removing his hand. "I now see."

"You see what?" Flamedramon asked, more than a little annoyed at what was going on.

"Your weakness…it is so simple…"

Suddenly, as Karatenmon moves his hand away from his face once again, the world was restored, Flamedramon's eyes widening as he glanced around. Karatenmon smirked at the sight.

"I am surprised, and yet strangely not so, that none of my fellow bioemergences has ever done the following move before."

"Which is?" Flamedramon asked, menacingly. What could Karatenmon possibly be speaking of? What was his weakness?

Karatenmon smirked, brandishing his swords quickly. "This!" he answered, turning rapidly and leaping at Davis, swords slashing at the air.

"DAVIS!" Kari screamed

"DAVIS!" TK screamed.

"DAVIS!" Flamedramon screamed.

Davis stumbled back, feeling the first blade sweep by his face, a minute vacuum left in its wake. Davis screamed as the second blade, although missing mostly, just nipped his arm, a red trail of blood quickly beginning to pour out. Davis stumbled backwards onto his bottom, falling over as Karatenmon stood over him, swords held out ready to deal the killing blow.

"And now you die!" Karatenmon declared, Davis covering his eyes in a vain attempt to avoid seeing and feeling the oncoming blades.

A cluttering of metal. A triple cluttering, to be precise.

Davis carefully removed his arm, looking on in amazement to a very annoyed Karatenmon, holding only the handles of his two swords, which were otherwise cut cleanly across shortly after the handles. Davis looked around, first seeing the Omni Sword lying on the ground, beginning to fade and disintegrate as its time was up, and then seeing Flamedramon, breathing deeply from the last-ditch throw of the sword, hoping to kill Karatenmon, or at least seriously injure him. Despite the absence of that outcome, he was thankful that he had managed to save his partner from a certain fate.

"No-one hurts Davis and gets away with it," Flamedramon declared. Karatenmon growled in annoyance, this battle was proving very annoying, without facing any more than one Digimon.

He threw the handles aside, the pair cluttering to the ground and disintegrating, as did their other broken halves. They were no longer useful. They were also no longer needed; Karatenmon knew he had far better ways of winning.

"Very well," Karatenmon answered, his wings tensing up and shooting out to either side, as they began to glow. "BALLISTIC FEATHERS!" he decreed, feathers flying at Flamedramon, who leapt into the air.

"FIRE ROCKET!" the dragon called, shooting down at Karatenmon, who dodged to one side.

"Davis, are you okay?" asked a worried Kari, running over to him.

TK kneeled down, looking at the red line across Davis' lower arm, a gasp emitted from Yolei and Kari's lips at the sight.

"Davis, does it hurt?" TK asked, his voice panicky. The cut, while not deep, was oozing blood quickly. But Davis didn't respond. He was transfixed on the battle in front of him, Flamedramon and Karatenmon going at each other at full strength, the occasional quake running through the ground from a missed blast.

"DAVIS!" Yolei screamed in Davis' ear, finally bringing him to, as he, his mouth still wide open, looked at his arm.

"Holy crap…" he cursed, feeling like he was going to be sick.

"Maybe there's some bandages in the school," Kari suggested, standing up. Cody turned, beginning to run into the building in her place.

"I'll get them," he noted, turning. "Gatomon might need to help out," he added, turning and continuing, Upamon still in his arms.

Davis gripped his arm, trying to get a closer look at his injury. "That was a close one," he noted, finding it wasn't too deep, although it was a long cut. Any further in, and he'd have really been risking it. _"I don't want to lose my arm."_

"Okay Davis, we've got to intervene now," Yolei decided. "This has gone far enough."

"Look out!" Patamon called, attracting everyone's attention to the skies where Karatenmon currently held Flamedramon, who helplessly tried to free himself from the bird's talons, as his eyes widening in horror at the coming fate.

"No, Flamedramon!" Davis called in horror.

"Goodbye," Karatenmon mocked, now 60ft above the ground. His talons loosened, as Flamedramon began to plummet, everyone watching in terror at what was coming.

Karatenmon smirked as Flamedramon crashed into the ground, dust rising into the air from the sheer depth of the crater.

No-one spoke, as they looked on at an unconscious pale blue blob, currently flickering in and out of existence in the centre of a wide crater. Cody paused where he stood, holding bandages as he left the building.

Silence.

Davis, speechlessly, pushed himself to his feet, stumbling over to the crater, clutching his bleeding arm, biting his lip as he fought the pain, and collapsing to his knees by his partner in the crater.

"Chibomon…" he said weakly, the tiny blob's eyes opening slightly and feebly in response to the voice.

"D…da…Davis…" he answered, his mouth flickering in and out of existence as he spoke. "Sorry," he uttered, a tear dropping from Davis' eyes. Even Karatenmon watched, from high above, speechlessly watching. No-one but Davis moved.

"No, it's my fault…Chibomon; I'm sorry…please…please don't die!" Davis pleaded, picking up Chibomon carefully in his arms. His eyes widening, he quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a recharge card. "I'll heal you!" he said, knowing it was hopeless. Flamedramon had already used two recharge cards, and the fact he was now at Baby level made the card practically useless. Chibomon and Davis both frowned. "I guess I can't…sorry…"

"Don't…feel sorry Davis…it was…fun…I guess…it's not your fault," Chibomon reassured.

"But, I failed…I let you get hurt Chibomon," Davis pleaded, a tear landing on Chibomon.

"Things…only get worse…when you think you've failed."

"Huh?" Davis asked, his tears stopping and images flashing past his eyes as memories flooded back into him.

A battle, long ago, in a vast base, against a swarm of Bakamon, and Kimeramon. Everyone else had given up. Everyone else had thought they had failed. Davis hadn't. And that was why they had won.

A battle, long ago, in a dream world, against the return of Myotismon. Everything seemed so hopeless. Everyone had given up. But Davis escaped. Davis fought back, spurring his side on when everyone else had thought they had failed. That was why they had won.

When those children, the tools of Owikawa, had believed that they were doomed for depression for the rest of their lives, unable to help the Digidestined, Davis had told them they couldn't. Even something so simple as a Noodle Cart could give someone hope. They had given up, but Davis hadn't.

So why was he giving up now? Why had he given up when fighting against Cerberumon?

"Chibomon, we can still win this," Davis declared, his voice determined as he stood up, wiping his tears from his eyes with his hand, still holding the recharge card. He paused in alarm, looking at the card in awe as he saw what was now printed on it, the card taking on a slight golden glow.

"Davis, what happened?" Chibomon asked, feeling energy flow over him as he grew, Davis quickly dropping him in alarm as a healed DemiVeemon landed on the ground, before growing again to the lizard-like creature, looking at his hands in amazement. "Wow…" the lizard muttered. "Davish, this is familiar."

Davis nodded, unspeaking as he stared at the card, noting as the light somehow patched up the bleeding wound on his arm. His eyes widened in amazement, the golden light growing and spreading.

"No…way," TK exclaimed.

"Veemon!" Davis declared, holding the card high in the air, the words "Digi-Egg of Miracles" lit by the sun.

"Right!" Veemon agreed, his hand clutched into a fist.

"Hmm…" Karatenmon pondered, getting the distinct impression that the tide was turning.

Davis swept the card through the slot, his D-Arc lighting up in golden light. "DIGI-MODIFY…Golden Armour Digivolution Activate!" he yelled.

**G-O-L-D-E-N**

**A-R-M-O-U-R**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

"**Veemon, Golden Armour Digivolve to…"**

Where Veemon once stood, a golden geyser of light had taken his place. Out of the geyser, blue skin began to shine through, before the light concentrated on the rest of the form, as what it was became clear. On a dragon-like form, sharp golden armour glinted in the bright light radiating from it. Scores of concentrated flames came from his jet-like blasters, as he shot into the air before declaring his name.

"**Magnamon!"**

"What is this?" Karatenmon asked, his voice angered by what was happening.

"This is…impossible," Yolei spluttered.

"He doesn't have the Digi-Egg of Miracles for real, it shouldn't be," noted a new voice, Yolei looking down in alarm to Hawkmon.

"Hey, I'll never get used to this stuff," noted Armadillomon, Cody nodding in amazement.

"This is an Armour level with the strength of an Ultimate!" Magnamon declared. "All thanks to my Tamer," he added, looking across to Davis and nodding. Davis clenched his fist, nodding in response.

"Right!" Davis exclaimed. "Magnamon, destroy him! And try not to destroy the buildings!"

"Easy," Magnamon noted. "Compared to Kimeramon, this guy is useless," he added.

"Well, his cocky attitude hasn't gone," Patamon noted. TK nodded, speechless in amazement.

Magnamon shot upwards quickly, his fist glowing as Karatenmon widened his eyes at the extreme speed. "MAGNA PUNCH!"

Karatenmon groaned in pain, feeling a sharp burst of energy run through him once the punch connected, burning him internally and scorching his wings.

"OKAY, NOW I'M FIGHTING PROPERLY!"

"Like you have been doing thus far then, you mean?" Magnamontaunted. Karatenmon snarled.

"BALLISTIC FEATHERS!" he called, sending a volley of feathers forward at Magnamon, who spun quickly, the feathers scattering aside harmlessly and dropping out of the air. Magnamon looked down, to Davis cheering for him far below.

"Now we can both fly…so we won't be causing any damage," he noted.

"Like I care," Karatenmon answered. Magnamon sighed.

"Very well, I shall finish this quickly then…now FLY!" he taunted.

"What?" Karatenmon asked, but Magnamon simply began a series of gestures, his jet blasters and energy blasters firing up to full power and enshrouding him in a golden aura.

Karatenmon panicked, beginning to fly away, realising what was about to happen.

"MAGNA EXPLOSION!" Magnamon called, a sweeping ball of golden energy wiping out of him and erasing through Karatenmon as it touched him, the bird's screams fading into nothing. Magnamon breathed easily, silence finally brought to his foe. He glanced downwards, to Davis currently celebrating, the others gathering around to congratulate or scold him, and look in amazement at his healed injury.

Magnamon, under his helmet, smiled. Davis had proven himself to himself and to his partner.

"_And I looked so good doing it too," _the dragon thought.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, some of you may have predicted this, but nonetheless it proves interesting as a plot point, and brings a nice bit of closure to this short ark involving Davis and his abilities as a Tamer.

A bit of trivia here that Crazyeight pointed out, the number of this chapter corresponds to the episode number when Veemon first became Magnamon. A coincidence, but still amusing.

And, in what is probably going to become a habit for me (and which I prefer to the previous next time system), a clue for next time: Oven fire.

Until next time…


	21. The Trick To Fire

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

Thanks to the now even more controlled uploading process, I have to alter a fair bit of my formatting to keep it readable. Thank for that. Thus, Harmony and Chaos will now both be in bold with the name given in the text.

I also now have a wiki regarding Dimensions, that is accessible (for viewing only) from my profile.

Done a bit of research and found a hospital in Shinjuku that perfectly fits the role of what was previously referred to as Shinjuku General Hospital. Being a fan of accuracy, the hospital will from now on be referred to as the Tokyo Medical University Hospital.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 21**

_The Trick to Fire_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 10****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

**Tokyo Medical University Hospital**

_**09:36 JST **_

Rising out of the Tokyo skyline, the thick, white form of the Tokyo Medical University Hospital served as a constant reminder of the "concrete block" design that was once all the rage. Black lines of windows ran around its form, a rooftop entrance on each of its conjoined buildings. Rushing about the hospital, doctors, nurses, visitors, all raced to treat and visit the many patients admitted to the hospital; a centre of vibrant activity where new patients joined and left daily.

All in all, if you discount the fact that it was in the middle of a hotspot for Digital Monster activity, it was your ordinary, bog standard hospital.

Oh, and that is excepting the extremely exceptional medical miracle of one of its more recently admitted patients, who had managed to die, and return back to life. Twice.

"So, what have I missed?" Ryder smiled and asked, genuine curiosity running deep in his voice. Being stuck in a hospital, away from the contact of others had a habit of bringing on loneliness, even if MiniDonmon was there to liven things up slightly. Then again, Ryder had had pretty much every possible conversation with MiniDonmon before; everything they had done since they met, they had done together, giving them an instinctive knowledge of each other. And, of course, the meetings with the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Chiyo and Rey had been interesting, although the thing that Ryder would always look forward to would be Mari's visits.

This time though, it wasn't just Mari, currently sitting on the side of the bed alongside him, who'd come to visit.

"By the looks of your injuries, you haven't ever missed anything," Terriermon joked, Mari rolling her eyes as she periodically glanced across the room to Henry and Terriermon. She frowned; it was a lot less visitors than they had gotten the previous week when Ryder had been in and out of death…literally.

"_If no-one's dying, then everyone's busy," _Mari thought grimly, as Ryder reacted predictably to Terriermon's wisecrack.

"Hey!" Ryder complained, sounding just like a billion other people on the bad end of a joke from Terriermon. Well, that was those who didn't turn around and practically attack the dog-bunny, like one Rika Nonaka would.

"Terriermon," Henry droned to the Digimon on his head, having said the same words so many times that it had become a habit.

"What? He got beaten up again!" Terriermon argued.

"So it was hardly a funny joke then," noted a new voice, a dark, fox-like figure coming into view in the corner of the room, her eyes closed and her arms crossed. Terriermon and the others looked around, Terriermon about to object before he paused. "Exactly, now let Mari answer," DarkRenamon continued, satisfied at her minor victory, as she noted Terriermon's rather unusual reaction, the oddity of him not objecting.

Mari blinked at the odd events, before bringing herself back to reality, and looking to Ryder, finally giving him an answer.

"Well, Davis and the others battled a Karatenmon outside their school…mainly Davis…and Magnamon returned."

"Really?" Ryder asked, before groaning and sighing. "I'm sick of missing everything. How long till I get out of here?" he asked, looking to Mari curiously.

"Fumiko…uh…Dr Imai said that you'll be in here for at least another week."

"And then crutches?" Ryder asked a frown crossing his face as Mari nodded.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Mari answered, noticing Ryder's frown, and smiling bravely. "I'm going to help you though. By the way, have you ever had crutches before?" she asked.

"Nope," Ryder answered. "And thanks," he added, smiling. Mari smiled in response, nodding as she gripped his hand near where he lay, propped up against the pillows as he stared down the room.

"Aw," Terriermon said in a mocking tone. "Get a room!" he added.

"Terriermon!" Henry complained, using something that had become something of a catchphrase for him.

"Ryder, do these two have to be staying?" MiniDonmon asked, pleading to his Tamer. "I mean, Henry's okay, but…" he continued.

"Hey!" Terriermon complained, DarkRenamon silently noting the role reversal of the situation. Ryder chuckled at the sight, Henry answering for him.

"I've got to go to see my Sensei now, but hopefully I'll be able to pop in tomorrow or some other time, okay?" Henry responded. Ryder nodded, smiling.

"Of course he's okay; he's got Mari to fuss over him!" Terriermon added, raising his ears and laughing.

"You say it as if it is a bad thing," DarkRenamon noted, the others around him chuckling. Terriermon sighed, his voice irritated, particularly at how his Tamer was laughing with them.

"Aw, Henry! What happened to the days when I was the one everyone laughed with, huh?" he asked Henry.

"Did those days ever really exist?" DarkRenamon asked, polite as ever, although Terriermon would've sworn that DarkRenamon directed a short smile at him. Then again, it could've been his overeager mind. It wasn't exactly an easy thing to tell when it came to Renamon as a species.

"If they did, they weren't on the TV show," Ryder noted, Henry nodding, as Terriermon simply resorted to frowning.

"Thanks a lot for supporting me Henry," he complained, his voice a peeved whisper.

Henry smiled, nodding to Mari and Ryder. "See you later," he bid to them, turning and walking out of the hospital room as they nodded in response, pausing to check they were out of earshot before reacting.

Mari breathed an audible sigh of relief, running a hand through her hair. Ryder smiled at her reaction, answering an unasked question.

"Yeah, I don't know how Henry puts up with him either," he replied.

"His jokes are not completely bad. The quantity is the problem, alongside his general mischievous nature" DarkRenamon noted coolly from the corner.

"Sums him up nicely," MiniDonmon added, Ryder and Mari nodding in agreement.

"So, anything interesting coming up soon that I'm going to miss?" Ryder asked, moving back to the earlier topic of conversation. Mari rolled her eyes.

"Could you be any more secretly depressed about this?" Mari asked.

"Oh, no, you saw straight through me," Ryder said monotonously, attempting to pull off a stone face but not completely accomplishing it.

Mari smiled bravely, it was endearing to see Ryder putting on a smiling face for all this, but at the same time it was soured by the emotions she knew he was experiencing. The powerlessness of being trapped in hospital while battles were fought outside; battles he would otherwise probably have been involved in, or at least interested in watching. The tedium of days spent in the same room, with the difficulty of sleeping that he had been experiencing as of late. The distances from his friends, and Mari especially, and the hopelessness of feeling life slip through his fingers, even if it did seem to have a habit lately of leaping up into his fingers again afterwards.

And she could tell that he was bugged by the concept that he would be stuck with crutches for some time, probably for several months as well. After being dumped in another world, eager to see it all, it was literally and emotionally crippling five weeks later to find himself unable to go anywhere, with the knowledge his mobility would be limited for a while longer.

But did he want to fight? And would he be able to, if it came with the prospect of taking away more life from others?

Mari mentally shuddered as the image of Ryder freezing up in front of the Mammothmon, right before being struck. That paralysis, that horror, that mental block; was it gone? Or would it return at the worst possible time?

"Are you okay Mari?" Ryder asked, breaking Mari from her momentary trance as she looked to him, looking curiously back to her.

"Hmm…" she answered, pausing before expanding on her ponderings. "I was just wondering, how it's going to be when you're recovering?"

Ryder sighed, making it clear to her that this was a topic he'd been over himself plenty of times in his boredom. "Don't remind me…I'm just going to have to play it by ear."

"Well, I'll help you all I can."

"Thanks, even though I'm not sure how much you can help."

Ryder smiled, Mari frowning and nodding solemnly at the fact. Even if Ryder were to be in a battle again, would her presence, and the time he had had to think, stop him from lapsing back into his frozen state? Or would he be injure…

Mari shook her head at the thought, dismissing it from her mind. She couldn't think negatively; Ryder had clearly been doing that enough for the pair of them.

"How long are you staying today?" Ryder asked, Mari smiling from where she still sat on the side of the hospital bed.

"All day," she answered.

"Aren't you going to be bored?" Ryder asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What, all day, with only you to talk to?" Mari asked, Ryder smiling at the tone of sarcasm in her voice.

"Yeah, bored is an understatement," he chuckled.

Mari chuckled, smiling again. "Well, to be fair, you're not bad to talk to, but the hospital food from the cafeteria is rubbish, and it's not like there's much to do here either," she answered, taking a glance around the room.

"Yeah…you have no idea how much I miss the gentle wind, the noisy streets, even the sound of the plumbing in our apartment," Ryder answered, closing his eyes as he contemplated it. "You have no idea how much you miss the simple things when stuck in a place like this."

Mari chuckled. "I see your point…still, you get more TV channels here?" she suggested, noting a possible upshot of the room. Ryder chuckled, lifting the remote and flicking the box on.

"Yeah, but even with the Babel translation thing, Japanese TV is just…weird," he noted, flicking through the channels as Mari looked at the box, mounted on the wall opposite the foot of the bed, just high enough to avoid being obscured by Ryder's foot.

Mari nodded, curiously noting the strange mix of programming, from insanely enthusiastic talk show hosts (all the more amazing given it was only half nine in the morning), to even more enthusiastic game show hosts and their insane trials, and of course, the unbelievably enthusiastic anime, a world away from the limited range of Saturday morning cartoons she had grown up with. So many channels had the familiar style of animation that she pondered whether they were all real in some alternative universe somewhere, like Digimon was in theirs. She smiled at the concept, although it still left her pondering.

Ryder came to a stop on a news channel, a familiar face coming onto the screen that made him stop.

"That's that girl!" Ryder exclaimed drawing the eyes of their Digimon partner's to the television as the newsreader went through the latest developments in this particular case, Ryder noting that the beginning of the news report had just been missed, and cursing his lack of opportunity to learn the girl's name.

"…_**aged 16, has been sighted in the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo, where she has been reported to have been staying in a local hotel. However, upon visiting the room, they found that she had left, and smashed the window. Police are currently not commenting on any further leads they may have had."**_

"She sounds like a bad piece of work," Mari noted, frowning, as Ryder nodded in agreement. She had simply given Ryder a confused gaze when he had told her earlier that week about the incident, her bewilderment rising to irritation upon hearing of the kiss between Ryder and this mysterious girl. Who was she anyway? What did she want with them? And why was she on the run?

The newsreader looked to his right as a series of papers were handed to him, which he glanced at before beginning to read.

"_**I've just been handed a new report, a press release from the police. According to the report, she has now been sighted in Hiroshima, and the Shibuya sighting was a case of mistaken identity."**_

Ryder and Mari both raised an eyebrow.

* * *

**Shinjuku Ward**

_**19:57 JST**_

"_**And in other news, Chiyo Suzume has been most recently sighted in Hiroshima, according to reports."**_

Chiyo stared through the glass pane of the television store, the lights inside slowly going out as the owner closed for business for that day. The owner walked around, calmly switching off the various items of equipment, not noticing the strangely dressed girl at the window.

Chiyo frowned, punching the glass pane in annoyance, irritated by the events that had conspired.

"Bastard," she cursed, as storm clouds grumbled overhead. DarkBiyomon frowned, looking up to her partner sadly, contemplating what had happened in the past few hours; the desperate escape from the hotel, the running, the escaping, and then the culminating of it all in…silence. No one came after them; no-one even noticed them. And this news report made it clear what was going on.

"_**Finally, the weather this evening will be stormy, and temperatures will be around…"**_

The TV silently switched off, the owner of the shop giving a strange look to the girl who had punched his window. She glared at him, turning as she walked away down the quiet street. DarkBiyomon hastily followed after her, silently thankful for the fact the street was practically empty, even though, given this particular neighbourhood was known for that sort of thing, most people wouldn't have given the bird a second look.

Chiyo glanced up to the skies, as the clouds opened, the rain quickly pouring down onto her saddened face. She growled in anger, quickening her pace as DarkBiyomon quickened her pace.

"_Why did that bastard do that? I can do this all alone! I don't need his help!" _she thought angrily, clenching her fist. _"I had the situation under control; I didn't need him to circulate false reports."_

DarkBiyomon breathed a sigh of relief when Chiyo finally stopped, underneath the shelter of a shop in a small line of stores, the Tokyo Metropolitan looming down on Chiyo being a constant reminder of the previous day.

"_And why did he make me question my plans?!" _she mentally questioned. _"They were perfect, they were by me…but now I doubt them," _she thought, despising the man who she had only met for less than a quarter of an hour.

She sighed, slumping back against the brick wall between the shops and slumping down dejectedly, DarkBiyomon watching her partner sombrely.

"It's all gone to crap," Chiyo muttered, DarkBiyomon frowning, as she raised a wing in reassurance.

"Chiyo…I'm sure you can make things work," she noted, doubting that she wanted Chiyo to go through with her plans. _"Even if helping her means I risk losing her… I can't stand by and see her like this."_

Chiyo sighed, frowning as she reached out, gently stroking the side of DarkBiyomon's head. "I hope I can but…I really don't know what to think anymore…I don't want to fail," she said sadly, as DarkBiyomon nodded, smiling lightly at the feeling of Chiyo's hand running through her feathers.

Chiyo sighed again her hand going back into her lap as DarkBiyomon looked to her face again, waiting for her to speak.

"I hate everyone but you DarkBiyomon. I hated my parents, I hate that bastard Rayleigh, and most of all I despise the Angels with a bitter vengeance. I want them to feel pain. I want it to hurt them, in the same way their ongoing existence hurts me. The pain I feel, coursing through my veins every day I wake up and feel in my blood that there are Angels still breathing in the world," she spoke, clutching her fist. "I want to destroy them…I want to tear every part of their fortunate existences from them, while they are still breathing, and then I want to cut through their hearts," she said bitterly, moving to her feet as DarkBiyomon looked up to the girl, who currently looked to the ground solemnly.

Her gaze rose, taking in the sight of the shop across the road, a shop she had seen in photos so many times but never in reality.

She spat at the sight of the Matsuki bakery, its dim lights making clear to all to see that its occupants were absent. She growled, biting her lip in anger as she looked down to her D-Vice, the digivice expanding as she placed her hand on it. Her other hand went to her waist, grasping a card ready for the act she was about to perform.

"Time to begin their pain," she muttered angrily, as the card was practically thrown through the slot. "DIGI-MODIFY…Digivolution Activate!" she said, the card once used beginning to dampen thanks to the rain.

DarkBiyomon frowned, as she felt energy course through her, preparing her for something other than a battle for once.

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**DarkBiyomon Digivolve to…**

DarkBiyomon's form rapidly became wire frame-like as it was encased in a deep purple orb, strands of data pouring over it before it detonated, a larger bird sweeping its wings out as it unveiled its form, a grandiose pair of pitch dark wings framing a Birdramon-like form, sharp teeth exposed from its dull yellow mouth.

**Saberdramon!**

Saberdramon glanced back to Chiyo, half awaiting orders and half not wanting Chiyo to give the orders she knew were coming.

"Saberdramon, raze it to the ground!" Chiyo yelled, Saberdramon frowning as she nodded, her wings brimming with black fire. Was this really the right thing to do? Even disregarding the fact Saberdramon was wary of Chiyo's plan to destroy the Tamers, it would greaten the risk of them being uncovered, possibly to the point where their plans would fail.

She sighed, proclaiming her attack name. "BLACK SABER!" she roared, the fires propelled forward into and through the bakery window, the sound of a great crash reverberating down the street as screams sounded, those nearby fearful that they were being attacked by a Digimon.

Chiyo quickly stepped back out of view behind a street corner; she wasn't stupid, she knew that being seen doing this would be a mistake.

Flames licked at the bakery, as black smoke poured out through the crumpled remains of the shop front, Chiyo smiling sadistically at the sight, seeing the livelihood of one of the Tamers begin to burn. Even damaging the front only would be a delicious punishment,

"Quick, attack again," she prompted, noticing Saberdramon's questioning look. They didn't have the time to waste, it would be seconds before Saberdramonwould be seen by any local residents coming to see the commotion, and Chiyo doubted she could seduce them all into silence.

"BLACK SABER!" Saberdramon roared, the flames ripping through to the back wall of the bakery, scorching all inside as the kitchen wall demolished.

Chiyo smiled widely, but it dampened into a frown as she saw local residents exiting their homes to see what was going on. A glance traded between Chiyo and Saberdramon, and they parted ways, one rapidly running away down a side street, and the other to the sky, shaded by the air, rapidly filling with smoke.

* * *

**Nonaka Residence**

_**20:04 JST**_

Rika looked up warily to her mothers' smile as their guests arrived at the Nonaka household, Takato holding an equally wary expression on his face as he greeted her with a kiss. She frowned to him, and he gripped her hand, glancing across to Rey who was watching the display curiously.

"Welcome," Seiko greeted politely, Takehiro and Mei nodding, smiles passing between the parents, unknowing of the events that would perspire later that evening.

"Thank you for inviting us," Mei greeted, as Seiko nodded.

"Don't worry, it was no trouble," she replied. "It's a pleasure to have you all here," she added.

"We haven't had much of a chance to talk recently have we, despite how busy our children have been," Takehiro noted.

Rumiko nodded, moving aside as their guests entered the home, noting a strangely dour expression on Rika, Takato and Rey's faces. Why exactly this new girl was here had been pondered by her before, but then again, Rika did seem to make the strangest of friends, not least Takato himself.

"_Takato's father was right, it's good that we're getting a chance to talk to…"_

Rumiko paused mid-thought as she felt something grip her leg, looking down to see Kristy, pleading eyes staring up to those of her mothers.

"Please!" she begged, Kudamon looking bewildered at the scene.

"No," Rumiko answered, feeling slightly irritated with herself by how stern she was being.

"But Rika gets to stay up late!" Kristy argued.

"Yes, but Rika is a lot older than you are, and I don't think you'll be that interested in the chat we'll be having either."

"Pretty please!" Kristy begged, pulling off a cute face worthy of Calumon himself.

Rumiko sighed, putting her hand on Kristy's head as she decided that she didn't want an irate daughter causing problems this evening. Kristy had a habit of letting her anger get to her. Then again, it seemed like that was a habit of all of the Nonaka's, with the exception of her mother and Kristy's grandmother, who seemed to be able to control hers. Indeed, she was the most relaxed of them all.

"Fine," Rumiko began, continuing before Kristy cheered too much. "But you're still going to bed at nine," she added, as Kristy's expression dampened slightly into a frown.

"Thanks," she answered, Rika rolling her eyes silently as she listened in to their conversation.

As if this evening couldn't get any more complicated.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Here we go, finally, into the big reveal to their parents, with an interesting twist as you can see.

A hint for next time: Nervous

Until next time…


	22. The Trick To Blazing

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 22**

_The Trick to Blazing_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 10****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

**20:43 JST**

Rey frowned, glancing down at the rice that was mid-way through being eaten, currently small patches of it decorating her plate. A silent sigh escaped her lips, as she noticed a concerned glance from Kristy, sitting next to her on her right at the table.

"You okay?" the younger (although in reality for Rey, Kristy had always been older) girl asked, pondering what was bothering the redhead who vaguely resembled her sister.

Rey frowned, pausing as she looked across to Kristy, catching glimpses of those sat across from her on the table; Takehiro and Mei, as well as Rumiko, all her grandparents; Seiko, her great grandparent (as strange as that seemed); Renamon stood quietly in the corner, whilst Guilmon sat watching events with a bemused expression, in between slowly and distractedly eating bread.

"_Never thought I'd see the day when Guilmon would be eating slowly," _Realmon piped up in her mind, the nine-tailed fox currently half watching her Tamer with curious eyes and half pondering how long it'd take until her father lost interest in the small-scale discussion at the table and began to eat as usual. The fox's ears, far larger and wider than those of her mother, twitched gently, her tails moving and folding over one another as she uncomfortably awaited the big event' of the evening.

To Rey's left, Takato and Rika sat, both looking far too concerned and nervous to even begin to pay attention to their actual child-to-be. Rey smiled a fake smile, nodding to Kristy as she brushed off her apparent concerns.

"I'm fine," she answered. Kristy eyed her curiously, nodding before returning to her food, Kudamon watching the interaction from a corner, and pondering what it meant. Clearly, something was bugging the three sixteen year olds, and it seemed to have something to do with the reason they organised this dinner.

Rey frowned as she returned to eating again; the reason she was slightly depressed is that this evening had reminded her of how long it had been since she'd seen her real parents. Indeed, her grandparents and aunt had been the closest to a caring family she'd had during the dark times from which she had temporarily escaped.

"And so I'm cleaning Takato's room and guess what I find; an old notebook lost behind the bed," Mei gossiped, as Rey tuned back into the conversation.

Takato bolted straight upright, brought back to reality by what he'd heard as he blushed embarrassingly. Kristy giggled at the sight, whilst both Rey and Rika shared a small smile.

"Oh Takato, don't look so shocked, you know how often I clear your room and I'm sure you've already told Rika about them."

Rika cocked an eyebrow, turning to Takato curiously. "Told me about what exactly?" she asked, predicting a meltdown into "agitated explanations Takato" any second now.

"Um…" Takato began, looking nervous at the concept despite having been with Rika for nigh on three years. "Well, you see…" he began. His hand moved to the back of his head involuntarily to coincide with his fake grin, beginning to scratch before he felt a hand grab it, pushing it back down to his side, in a mix of a stern action and a gentle reminder that the girl it was attached to wanted an answer.

"Takato," Rika said, her voice matching her actions in its intentions.

"Drawings...of you," he answered, pondering how exactly this evening had gone down this route. Wasn't the whole point of this evening to tell their parents about the baby? Was it really going to help if Rika was at Takato's throat as well as everyone else being at theirs?

"Oh," Rika answered abruptly, a bemused expression on her face as an uncomfortable silence descended.

Renamon glanced around the room with a single opened eye, pondering who would break it.

"_Please!" _Takato mentally pleaded. _"Someone say something!" _he added, hearing Chaos' chuckles in the back of his mind.

"Well, I hope that you all found the food cooked by my daughter to your tastes," Seiko spoke, breaking the silence as she noticed Takato and Rika's distress. Clearly, now was not an appropriate time to discuss something like that.

"Yes, it was lovely," Takehiro replied, a smile crossing Rumiko's features and a frown crossing Rika's and Kristy's as they both knew this would inevitably go to her head, if not now then every dinnertime until one of them caught food poisoning.

"I'm so glad that you all liked my cooking," Rumiko noted, the praise, sure enough, going to her head. "My daughters seem to always complain whenever I make dinner."

Rika and Kristy both sighed simultaneously. _"Here we go again…"_ they both thought.

Rey smiled at the scene, before frowning and looking down to her plate. Unconsciously, she began to silently push a sea of rice around with a chopstick, cutting swathes across the plate.

"_Divide and conquer," _she thought, images of the horror she had escaped from flashing past her mind. She had been separated from others so many times, and others had been separated from them. Even when they were organised, it was organised chaos, and Rey had given up looking at the various estimates at fatality totals after a while. Hell, even Mari had given up in the end, the pressure of having those deaths on her conscious getting to her.

The sound of gunfire, the sound of blasts, the sound of screams…

Rey winced in pain at an unseen source, gripping her ears as vivid images passed her eyesight.

"Um…Rey, was it?" a voice said, breaking through Rey's mental block. "Are you okay?" it asked, Rey looking up to see Mei looking at her, as the others at the table had their eyes quickly attracted to face her.

"Huh?" Rey answered, looking up. She frowned, nodding. "Yeah, just a headache, sorry."

"Why don't you take a lie down dear?" Seiko suggested. Rey glanced across to her mother and father, watching her behaviour curiously. They had no idea what she was thinking of. _"Probably for the better too,"_ Rey added, grimacing as she nodded.

"Shall I save your rice?" Rumiko asked. Rey shook her head.

"No, I think…I think I've lost my appetite," she answered, pushing the seat away from the table and standing up, picking up her plate.

"Don't worry about that dear, I'll clear up the plates," Seiko noted, smiling.

"Oh," Rey answered, putting down the plate again, as she nodded, wandering away over to the sofa nearby as Realmon silently walked after her.

"Can I help?" Mei asked, looking across to the older woman.

"No, you're guests here and…" Seiko insisted.

"Please, it was a lovely dinner, it's the least we could do, isn't that right Takehiro?" she insisted in response, glancing across to her husband with a teasing tone to her voice.

"Oh…right, fine," Takehiro answered, a hint of reluctance in his voice at the concept, as he nodded. Takato stood up, picking up his plate.

"I think you two should go to see if your friend is alright," Rumiko suggested, looking to him and the redhead next to him, who began to make similar motions to him.

"Yeah, don't mind about this, we'll clean up here," Mei added, smiling in reassurance.

"Yeah, right," Rika answered unsurely.

"_**Although she's a bit more than just our friend,"**_Harmony added, noting how Rumiko had phrased her suggestion.

"Thanks," Takato added, putting his plate down before he and Rika wandered across the room. Kristy looked to them curiously, getting up to move before Rumiko stopped her.

"And where do you think you're going young lady?" she asked, a teasing hint in her voice drowned out by its stern nature.

"Aw, come on Mom!" Kristy pleaded. "Please let me stay up late! I'll clean my room every day, I'll…"

Rumiko frowned, shaking her head before glancing to Seiko for guidance, and perhaps help. Either way, she received it in the end.

"Come on dear," Seiko noted, picking up the girl's plate from in front of her. "You'll be able to stay up later when you're older, and you have bags under your eyes anyhow," she noted, smiling lightly to the girl, who sighed reluctantly.

"Fine," she resigned, glancing to Kudamon who scurried across the room to her shoulder.

"I thank you all for coming," he greeted politely.

"Good night," Kristy echoed, her tone far less formal. Seiko smiled at the pair they made, an odd one even so. Kudamon definitely seemed to never miss any of his airs and graces.

"Have a nice sleep," Mei said, smiling at the girl. It was clear that in any other situation, the eleven year old would've continued to argue, but in the presence of company, she managed to restrain herself. If there was one thing it seemed the Nonaka children, if not their mother too, didn't lack, it was passion, and a temper to match.

Kristy nodded. "I will," she answered, turning and walking away down the hallway, Kudamon still on her shoulder.

All the while, Rika and Takato joined Rey on the sofa set near the television, Rika sitting next to a half-lying Rey and Takato sitting on a nearby armchair nearby. Rey's eyes were closed, and her expression was nothing of peace.

"Are you okay?" Takato asked, eyeing with concern the girl who somehow was their daughter.

Rey frowned, sighing. "Sorry about all that, just sometimes I get really vivid memories of…well…everything," she answered.

"What's it like?" Takato asked curiously, pondering what kind of a world could give her such a reaction. "Or rather, what was it like? Or whatever, I don't know how it works with all this time travel stuff," Takato answered, continuing his trademark of getting himself in a mix with his words. Rey and Rika shared a short chuckle, before Rey's expression once again dampened as she answered Takato's question.

"I really can't describe it but…imagine if you lived a perfectly normal life…well, almost…and then someone were to come along and destroy it…completely."

"What do you mean…completely?" Rika asked, her voice packed with concern.

"I mean everything…or almost everything…I just miss it, that's all. The days before it all went wrong. I mean, my life has never been normal; being an Angel pretty much guarantees that but, when _that_ happened…that was the worst day of my life," she noted, sadness sweeping into her voice as memories flooded over her. "And now I'm lost, lost in time, lost in space, lost in emotions…hell, I don't even know if I'll ever get home alive or if I'll just be wiped out of existence by my own mistakes," she added, her voice melancholy as Rika gently put her arm round her to comfort her. "Sorry," she apologised, near soundlessly.

"Don't be," Rika advised softly, Rey leaning her head on her shoulder.

"Yeah, we're here to help," Takato added. "That's what we're meant to do, isn't it?" he added, glancing to Rika for reassurance.

"Yeah, but you've already got enough problems. I hate burdening you all with my own," Rey answered sadly, looking down.

"Even if we do, and even if you were just our friend and nothing more, we'd still want to help you," she said, catching Rey's eye and her voice filling with certainty to reassure her daughter.

"Yeah, it's what friends do," Takato added.

"Thanks," Rey noted, as Rika pulled her closer in a reassuring hug. Something she was evidently not used to, but Rey decided to put aside the pain currently pushing into her shoulder and try to slowly move Rika away. Takato subtly smiled at the sight, before glancing around the room, seeing their parents still clearing up the various plates. Hopefully there would be a more relaxed air after dinner was over, and since Kristy was now in bed, there was one less person (and Digimon) to worry about telling. Still, he wasn't sure how Rika was coping with it.

"How do you think tonight is going?" he asked, Rika glancing up and giving Rey a quick chance to escape the rather vice-like grip, which she gladly took.

"Well…I was hoping my sister wasn't going to be listening in; but she's gone to bed now so that doesn't matter," Rika answered, Takato nodding in response. "But, other than that, I'm mainly just nervous."

"Yeah, I know what you mean…how are we going to bring it up anyway?" Takato asked, cocking an eyebrow. It was something they hadn't considered yet, surprisingly even, but it had occurred to Takato whilst he was having dinner.

"Just follow my lead Takato, follow my lead," Rika answered, making it clear that Takato wasn't going to be allowed to mess this up, which, of course, he inevitably would do if the responsibility was left to him.

Takato grinned. "Fine…just one problem…" he began, pausing as Rika and Rey looked at him curiously.

"Which is?" Rika questioned, pondering whether Takato had found a massive hole in their plans. Probably a bit late too.

"Do we tell them who Rey is?" Takato asked, gesturing to Rey. Rika paused, frowning as she leaned back in the seat, sighing.

"Well…" she pondered, not really sure what to do. It would take some of the heat off them; Rey seemed normal…well, kind of, and would reassure their parents. But, on the other hand, how exactly _did_ you tell your parents that a girl, randomly introduced into their lives that very evening, was none other than their children's daughter? "Rey, what do you think?" she asked, turning to her daughter, realising that it was probably best to see whether she wanted her true identity divulged.

"I don't mind but…I think it's going to make things very complex. Do you two really need that?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Rika answered, sighing quietly. Takato frowned at this, deciding to make a decision on it, even if it turned out to be wrong in the end.

"Look, here's what we'll do Rika. We won't tell them at first, but if things get ugly, we'll tell them. Simple," he suggested.

"Well, I don't think any of this qualifies as simple, but fair enough," Rika answered, flashing a grim smile.

* * *

_**Outside Matsuki Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

**20:48 JST**

"What on earth are you sensing, the digivice isn't getting anything?" Henry asked, racing along a pavement on his bike, Terriermon on his handlebars pointing eagerly and determinedly onwards.

"Just trust me Henry, I felt something major coming from this way," Terriermon insisted.

"I thought I was the Tamer," he sighed, picking up the pace (and dodging some startled pedestrians), and echoing words from long ago, albeit said in a far less excited way.

"I'm replacing you," Terriermon joked. "Henry, this is serious, I felt a Digimon doing something over here."

"So why didn't the D-Arc detect a bioemergence?" Henry asked, as they turned into a residential road.

"Like I know!" Terriermon argued, wondering why Henry expected him to have the answer to every question concerning anything even remotely related to Digimon.

Henry sighed, taking the chance from the pause in the conversation to glance around, his eyes widening slightly as he came to a realisation; one that subtly grated at the back of his mind, an unconscious fear he had contemplated beforehand awakening.

"This is near where Takato lives," Henry noted. Terriermon glanced up to him, nodding, before they turned a corner, brakes screeching as Terriermon flew off the front of the bike, slamming into the pavement and bouncing slightly.

Speechlessly, Henry stared on at the sight, ignoring his partner's groans of pain from the ground below. Firelight danced with smoke, illuminating the area in an orange hue and shrouding it in a blackish air.

"HENRY!! NEVER, EVER, EVER, DO THAT…" Terriermon began to rant as he pushed himself to his feet, before he glanced at what his tamer was so transfixed by. "…oh."

"The…bakery…" Henry said, near speechlessly.

"Wow…this definitely isn't good," Terriermon commented, as Henry began to run towards the conflagration, currently overwhelming the front of the store. A pair of fire engines and a team of fire-fighters swarmed around it, pouring gallons of water onto it in an attempt to stop it spreading beyond the shop front, a fight currently at a stalemate.

Henry, getting closer to the flames, was stopped by one of the fire-fighters.

"Excuse me sir, it's too dangerous to get too close," he insisted, as Terriermon caught up and leapt onto Henry's shoulders.

"What happened? Are they all right?" Henry questioned, a thousand things racing through his mind as he continued to see the pouring of smoke from the building rising up behind the fire fighter.

"We're not sure how it started, and we've found no-one in the building yet. Do you know who lives here?" the fire-fighter asked, periodically raising an eyebrow at the dog-bunny now on the boy's shoulder before he dismissed it. The presence of Digimon and their Tamers in the locality was pretty much common knowledge by now.

"Yeah, it's my friend's house."

"Henry, don't you remember, he's at Rika's house with his parents telling them about you-know-what?" Terriermon asked.

"Oh, right," Henry answered, turning back to the fire as it flared up again.

"Sir, this fire is not behaving like most fires do," another fire-fighter reported, walking up to his superior.

"What do you mean?" the superior asked, Henry curiously listening in to their conversation.

"It's hardly spreading at all," the fire-fighter answered. "But it takes ages to put out using water, as if it isn't real fire."

"Terriermon, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Henry asked, looking to his partner as he added two and two together. The fact Terriermon was able to sense it, the fact it didn't spread much, the way it didn't act like real fire, it all painted one clear picture.

"No, probably not," Terriermon answered. Henry was about to explain, pondering partly how Terriermon couldn't have figured out the digital nature of the fire's source yet, but was distracted by a flash of black across his vision, a new form materialising near the fire, arms drawn out and altered from normal, a pair of amphibian blasters on the ends replacing her hands.

"DarkRenamon…" Henry muttered in surprise.

"See, now you're thinking about what I'm…"

"HYDRO PRESSURE!"

"…oh, right," Terriermon finished, turning to see a sweeping blast of water collide with the Digital Flames, breaking through them and dividing them in two through the centre of the store, revealing the burnt out remains of what was once the counter. Henry's mouth widened in amazement, before he turned to face DarkRenamon, her blasters fazing periodically and revealing their temporary nature, as she stood alongside her white top and jeans-wearing tamer, her hands firmly in the pockets of the black jacket covering up the majority of the former. The roar of wind from the fire swept through her dark auburn hair, ruffling it where it hung loose. Her widened eyes looked on at the fire, not matching her partner's far more calm approach to it.

"Henry, are Takato and his parents at Rika's already?" she asked, silently pleading that their friend and his parents were alright. Their life had been hectic enough already, without another death or injured tamer.

"Yeah, I think so," Henry answered.

"Thank goodness," Mari said, breathing a deep sigh of relief. "Any idea what started the fire?"

"HYDRO PRESSURE!" DarkRenamon roared, as the flames were inundated by fire. The add-ons dissipitated into data, DarkRenamon sighing as she glanced across to her Tamer's conversation.

"It's Digital, I'm sure about that," Henry answered, drawing a Shellmon card of his own and sweeping it through his D-Arc.

"How do you know that?" Mari asked, as the ends of Terriermon's ears transformed into a similar pair of blasters to those that had been on DarkRenamon's hands. Grinning, he aimed them at the fire.

"HYDRO PRESSURE!" he yelled excitedly, the fire-fighters looking on in a mix of alarm and awe at the attack, which had managed to be far more effective than them in dispensing with the flames.

Mari and Henry had paused to look at the flames, Henry looking to her afterwards. "As you can see, the fire doesn't even spread, and it's beaten far more easily by Digital attacks than by physical ones."

"I see," Mari answered, nodding as she drew another card from her deck, frowning as she saw what it was. She put it back, drawing another card, and getting the same reaction. She breathed deeply; everyone else seemed to have pre-ordered their cards to make a perfect strategy.

"HYDRO PRESSURE!" Terriermon yelled again, the fire partially broken once again, before the blasters once again dissipitated.

"We should find a phone and call Takato," Henry noted, beginning to search his pockets for coins.

"Don't worry about that, I can email him on this," Mari noted, tapping her already maximised D-Vice, before pausing. "But, I think we should stop this fire first…any ideas?"

Henry put his hand on his chin, pondering. "Well…the Hydro Pressure attacks are only single blasts. We need something much more effective, and fast," he said, pulling out a series of cards and flicking through them.

Mari grinned, going back to a previous card, as a thought occurred to her. _"If the fire doesn't spread, we could simply blow it out of the house, so they could deal with it away from where it damages property," _she thought. "Perfect," she muttered, as she swept a "hyper wing" card through her D-Vice, a pair of wings materialising from DarkRenamon's back. DarkRenamon glanced to her partner, hoping she had the gist of what the girl's plan was. Mari nodded, as DarkRenamon swept her wings back, flying forward into the inferno as the air swept through the flames, dousing them in a way the water never seemed to be able to do.

Mari gritted her teeth, dearly hoping that this plan would work.

Either way, it was going to be a long night.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

So, we get an interesting build up to the big event. Rey has some serious problems thanks to her past (which is even more complex than just "The War" would make it seem). I also find the concept of how Digital objects differ from real ones to be an interesting topic, which I'll draw on a bit more in future.

The key word this time is "intrude".

Until next time…


	23. The Trick To Chaos

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 23**

_The Trick to Chaos_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 10****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**21:09 JST**_

The coming night had brought a casual mood to the room, the traditional room and chairs around the table lit only by artificial light. Gone were large meals and the clatter and tapping of cutlery, replaced by various cups of tea and coffee gently placed down on the neatly laid table. Quiet banter raged between pairs or triplets of people, subjects ranging from Digimon to domesticity being discussed. All of those sitting round the table, but one, had something in common. They were completely unaware of the oncoming storm that threatened to alter their lives for good.

To be fair, even she, the redhead who had seen so much in her travels through time and her own pre-history, was unaware of when the actual events would happen. The sketchiness of the past and the fickle nature of time had left the redhead bemused and oblivious to what would happen.

The fact she had found history to generally be a boring subject didn't exactly help. Indeed, the only history she was ever truly interested in was that of her own family, which was definitely not a footnote on the page of history. However, even that was taboo to talk about in her family, the horrors of the past preferred to be forgotten.

Even when she had experienced those days herself - those days when she had seen the lost, the millennia, the ghosts of the past - there were still some things she was unknowing of. The younger she was at the time, the worse her memories seemed to get, as seemed to be usual for most people.

"_Rey,"_ Realmon asked, Rey not flinching from the voice in her head that wasn't hers, being so used to the ability by now. Indeed, she was usually amused by how often Realmon would actually talk to her, that particularly requirement seemingly negated by the telepathic ability they shared. _"Something's been bugging me."_

"_Which is?"_

"_Why is it that, despite your interventions in time, you don't suddenly remember events being altered? And even so, why haven't you cancelled yourself out yet?"_

Rey raised an irritated eyebrow at Realmon. _"How would I know?" _she answered. _"Look, I don't know why you seem to assume I know the reason; I'm as confused as you are Realmon."_

"_I see," _Realmon answered calmly, glancing around the room to Takato talking to, and to some extent, being force-fed questions by, Rumiko, whilst Mei and Seiko talked. Takehiro listened to their conversation, trying to feign an interest in the mundane subject they were talking about. Rika, meanwhile, listened in to Rumiko's questions to the Gogglehead, occasionally objecting and righting any wrong ideas Rumiko had got about the Tamers, about the pair's relationship, and occasionally, about the boy himself.

Realmon sighed again, deciding to press on with a thought that had been very much lodged in her mind for a while, and that she expected to be a pressing issue for Rey.

"_Rey, if you're worried about messing up time, why are we still here? Why haven't we pressed onwards, looking for the important day? I mean, you've been tormenting yourself with everything you've seen here, so why can't we just get away? If you're missing them back home, why aren't you hurrying up, finding what you need to, and then going home? What on earth are you afraid of?"_

Rey frowned, not replying as she wished for a distraction.

"_So?"_ Realmon pressed, again, noticing Rey's hesitancy to respond, as if she were avoiding the question. This certainly raised alarm bells in the fox's mind, although she still couldn't figure out why. It had to be more than it seemed. Even with what Realmon knew, significantly more than others thanks to the trust the pair of them shared, and the secret telling they had engaged in, still didn't explain this.

"Rey, would you like a drink?" asked a voice, interrupting the telepathic conversation between the two. Rey breathed a silent sigh of relief, as she looked up to the smiling face of her great grandmother.

"Um, yeah. A glass of water please," the girl answered, Seiko nodding, before pausing at the unsure nature of the girl's greeting.

Realmon's eyes widened, as a curious thought occurred to her. _"Is Rey scared of failing?"_

"Are you alright dear? You seem troubled by something," she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Realmon looked carefully at her partner, thoughts going through her mind at a quicker and quicker pace, piling up into a new idea. _"If we fail…what happens? Is that it? Does everyone die? If we're the last hope for humanity, what happens if we fail?" _she questioned, before sighing. _"If that's what's bothering her, no wonder she's been worried."_

Rey flashed a fake smile, shaking her head as her voice sounded more upbeat, pressing past the thoughts that were bugging her. "No, I'm fine thank you. This conversation just sounds boring, that's all," Rey answered, the pair of them glancing across to the other conversation currently flaring across the table.

"No mum, that dream didn't mean anything!" Rika insisted, arguing her case as Takato laughed nervously.

"Oh, but don't you think it's Destiny dear?" Rumiko teased, Rika burning red in annoyance.

"No!" Rika insisted, amazed that they were already arguing, well before the subject of Rika's pregnancy had even been raised.

Seiko smiled to Rey, before turning to her daughter, in an attempt to calm her down. "Rumiko, dear, perhaps this is a subject that shouldn't be touched upon?"

"Yeah, and it's hardly destiny just because Takato here has some crazy dream!" Rika agreed, whilst Mei and Takehiro gave the ongoing conversation a bewildered look, bewildered to be caught up in this bizarre world, even stranger than what they were used to, and, given that the norm for them involved regular meetings with a large red dinosaur, that definitely said something about the current situation.

Rey smiled slightly, grasping Rika's hand gently and making the girl turn to her, as her voice dropped to a calm whisper. "Rika, take it from someone intrinsically linked to it: you don't want to talk about the subject of Destiny. Hell, it hardly makes any sense to me, and I'm meant to know it."

"Oh, right," Rika answered, slightly confused and pondering what Rey really knew about their Destiny'. To be fair, she was able to time travel, so she seemed to know a fair bit, but still…

Rika had always lived under the assumption that there was such a thing as Destiny, but that they could alter it too, a concept elaborated to her by her Kitsune-like partner. But this…the very existence of Rey in this time frame, and the way she never seemed to be destroyed by her own alterations of history. It seemed like it was fixed, like their lives were merely fixed paths, without any free will or ability to prevent oncoming fate and disaster. The concept greatly concerned Rika; not least because as part of a God, she assumed that she had some control over her lives, but if everyone and everything was truly fated to a single end, then life became meaningless. Indeed, she pondered that she may as well have been little more than a TV series, as she apparently was in Ryder's world, if that were true.

She sincerely hoped it wasn't.

Rika glanced back at the table, to Rumiko smiling to her once again, a rather unnerving smile that seemed to foreshadow a horrific bout of embarrassment for Rika, or rather, yet **another **horrific bout of embarrassment.

"Personally, I don't think any of this matters," she answered, Rika, Seiko and just about everyone else at the table who was sick of their bickering nodding in unison. "Yeah, what really matters is how much of an adorable couple you two make."

Bright red.

"MUM!"

Rey chuckled at the sight of an angered Rika and a Takato who was now really nervous about Rika's blushing. A blushing Rika was a hostile Rika, particularly when she wanted to put a stop to the cause of her blushing.

Still, at least this evening was going well so far (although that was depending on one's definition of "well"), and she had to admit it was amusing to see her parents and grandparents arguing in such an immature manner, completely contrasting with the way she had seen them in the future. Most of the time, at least.

"What, it's true, don't you agree?" Rumiko replied, turning to Mei and asking for her opinion.

"I just think it's good to see the two of you in love, you seem to help each other out so much, and your relationship seems to have been far better lasting than those of most other children of your age," Mei noted, looking to the two teenagers who now weren't sure exactly how to respond to the endless assault of embarrassing statements and questions.

"Yeah, just don't make a big mistake son," Takehiro advised cheerfully. "You'll have your mother to answer to."

"Or me," Rumiko added, smiling and laughing at the amusing conversation they were having.

Chaos just burst out in laughter, while Harmony herself couldn't help but join in with the mental laughing at the irony of what Takehiro had said. Takato and Rika just felt themselves sinking lower into their seats, the situation getting far too much out of their control.

"_Bit late now," _the pair thought together, unknowing of the other's parallel thoughts.

"Now dear, I think you are pushing the point a bit much here," Seiko warned. Rika frowned, glancing to Takato and nodding slightly, Takato doing likewise reluctantly. This was it.

Rika and Takato's hands gripped together, a tight reassuring squeeze passing between them. Rey frowned at the situation. This was it.

The only question was. What role would she play in all this? Would her identity be revealed? Or would it be better left hidden for now?

"Um…mum, dad, there's something…" Takato began to say, mumbling words and not wanting to continue. He dearly hoped the consequences would not be too dire.

"I'm sure that Takato would have to answer to Rika herself if anything were to happen," Rumiko joked, continuing her conversation unhearing of what Takato had said.

"…that we have to…" Takato continued quietly, people still not noticing he was speaking.

"Rumiko, I think this has all gone far enou…" Seiko began.

"QUIET!" Rika yelled, standing up from her seat as her mood instantly took a swing for the worse, attracting everyone's attention as they turned to face her. Rika frowned, uncomfortably sitting down. _"Well, that was a great start," _she thought sadly.

"_**Rika, you're normally ever so confident, I'm sure you two can do this,"**_Harmony reassured her.

"What's wrong dear?" Seiko asked, finally noticing Takato's pathetic attempt previously at being heard.

"We have to," Takato began, before clearing his throat. He felt Rika grip his hand, reassuring him as she took up the baton.

"We have to tell you all something," she began, curious and concerned glances materialising around the room.

Rika glanced around, to her mother, looking concernedly back after her previous joviality. To her grandmother, a calm yet curious expression on her face; to Takato's parents, not sure exactly what sort of turn this evening was taking; to Renamon, nodding to her for reassurance from the corner, standing alongside a curious Guilmon, watching events with an inquisitive eye. Realmon slowly paced up to Rey, wanting to be with her Tamer at this difficult time, albeit the unanswered question she asked still hanging in their minds.

Rey herself watched her parents; people who she'd always known as adults, as confident adults at that, who had learnt how to deal with life's curve balls. But right now…they were kids. Simple, silly, stumbling, kids. And she knew that no-one else in existence had ever had this opportunity before; to see their parents as they once were.

Rika, gripping Takato's hand, moved it carefully across to her stomach, before the pair of them confirmed the symbolism.

"I'm pregnant," Rika said.

"Rika's pregnant," Takato said simultaneously.

Silence.

Rumiko blinked, looking at her daughter who frowned and uneasily nodded.

"What?" Mei asked, her tone a mix of stern warning and shock, as Takato felt an emotional fear a hundred times worse than when he had arrived late for his shift, or got a detention, or got home late at night, crush him in that instant.

"What?" Takehiro asked in shock, staring on at his son and his son's girlfriend with a disbelieving look. This couldn't possibly be true. It had to be a joke, a very sick joke at that didn't it? Of all the things that could happen that would involve his son, this seemed to be so low on the list that it wasn't even worth thinking about.

Seiko frowned, being the first to contemplate what was really happening, but still remaining in her gracious silence.

"Are you being completely serious?" Takehiro asked, expressing his own shock while Rumiko stayed silent, simply looking across into her daughter's eyes, pleading with her daughter for the reason why she repeated her own mistake. The Nonaka family mistake even.

"Yes," Rika answered, noting that Takato's hand was practically dripping with sweat, all blood rushing from his face as he felt the reality and fear of the moment. Her arm moved around his back, reassuringly gripping him, a gesture that did little to comfort him.

Mei and Takehiro stared on, still in amazement and horror about what they had just been told.

"When did this happen?" Rumiko asked, still not clearly conveying her emotions about the subject.

"Six weeks ago," Rika replied, as mother and daughter continued to stare into each others eyes, looking for some clue of the other's true emotions about the subject.

"What?!" Mei gasped.

"It was in New York," Takato added nervously, his voice threatening to crack at any moment from the pressure and the tension in the room.

"In New York?!" Takehiro asked, shocked that his son had used a rare escape away from home alone to do something of this nature.

"What on earth were you thinking Takato?" Mei asked her son, her voice brimming with tears.

"Uh…" Takato began, before Rika took his place.

"It was my fault," she said, taking the bullet, as all attention turned to her, mouths beginning to open to answer questions before they stopped in the face of another voice.

"No," Takato said sternly, gripping his hand into a fist tightly beneath the table to somehow give him the confidence to face this. He turned to Rika, his voice still serious and sharp, a complete contrast from his prior nervousness. "It was both of our faults," he asserted. Rika frowned slightly, nodding. "Not just yours," he added.

"_What am I doing, blaming myself again?"_ Rika thought, feeling as if all her mental dialogue had been for naught, instead making her skip straight to "protecting" Takato in the end. But that wasn't what Takato wanted. Takato had made it clear before that neither of them were solely to blame for what had happened, and she had agreed.

"But, you're both only sixteen," Takehiro commented. "What on earth possessed you to have sex?" he added.

"Um…" Takato began, not sure how to answer. Even Rika, next to him, was speechless.

"I am very disappointed in you Takato," Mei noted, continuing on from the silence. Her tone was one Takato had heard so many times before in situations which now seemed to pale in comparison to this.

"I'm equally disappointed," Rumiko added, having hoped that Rika would never repeat her own mistake, and that of her mother as well, although for Seiko, it was at least slightly more acceptable due to her being older when she had had Rumiko than Rumiko was when she had had Rika. Nonetheless, both had had children at a young age; 15 for the youngest and 21 for the eldest Nonaka.

Rika growled, standing up and pointing an angered finger across the table at her mother. "YOU CAN BARELY TALK! YOU HAD ME WHEN YOU WERE 15!"

Mei and Takehiro looked curiously across to the model, surprised at the news, although partly having pondered the fact before. Either the model known as Makino' had a remarkable beauty secret, or she was younger than most mothers. It was something that one simply didn't ask.

"RIKA!" Seiko and Rumiko scolded together, Rika's angered face looking across the table at her mother bitterly. She suddenly faltered in her glare, her face breaking into an unknowing emotion as her mood u-turned, self-realisation hitting her as she became aware of how she'd been acting. She sat down, noticeably shaken, all eyes on her curiously, knowing the sight of mood swings all too well.

"_**Rika, are you okay?"**_ Harmony asked mentally, noting Rika's sudden stop, but not receiving a reply.

"Sorry," Rika uttered quietly to her mother, sighing as she looked anywhere but across the table, anywhere but her mother's gaze.

"Rika, what is wrong with you?" Rumiko began, her voice carrying shades of anger at her daughter. Rika did nothing, simply continuing to stare down at the glass of water resting on the table.

"Rumiko, please, that isn't helping," Seiko noted, Rumiko beginning to interrogate her daughter.

"But, I don't understand, what on earth possessed you two to do it?" Rumiko continued regardless, looking to her daughter and the Goggle-wearing Tamer, who both continued to be silent.

"Takato, you have to answer," Mei told her son.

"I don't know," Takato muttered, too quiet for anyone to hear.

"So?" Mei asked, awaiting a response.

"**I DON'T KNOW!" **Chaos blurted out, Mei gasping in surprise at the sudden alteration in her son's voice and behaviour, well outside the norm for her son, usually being a rather calm boy, if nervous at times. _**"For god's sake, this was funny at first, but now it's just painful."**_

"Takato!" Mei scolded, in response to what she saw as a random outburst by him, unknowing of the real reason for his voice alteration.

Chaos ignored her, pressing onwards. **"I think you're being really unfair to us," **he answered, a strange undertone of Takato's voice laden in it as Takato spoke at the same time, in agreement. _**"Dear Goddramon, I cannot believe I just said that! You've made me into a sissy; I hope you're happy Takato!"**_

Takato simply stayed speechless, much like his mother, whilst his father, rather surprisingly, managed to reply.

"I see," Takehiro answered, on top of the situation for once, seemingly lacking fear about Takato's change in personality. "But we do want to know nonetheless," he added, glancing across to his wife for confirmation.

"**No you don't,"** Harmony answered, Rika's voice going deep and mature. **"You want a reason other than the reason you know already. You want to think that there was some other cause, something to blame, other than simple hormones, adolescence and love," **she answered, Rika joining in with the speech as it progressed, agreeing with her alter-ego's every word.

Seiko looked curiously at the change in Rika's eyes, the usual fire and innocence replaced by wisdom well beyond her years, a slight blue hue to the violet irises. Harmony seemed so different to her, but it was clear that Takehiro and Mei thought it was a simple mood swing, brought on by Rika's pregnancy.

Takato was inwardly thankful that neither his mother nor his father had called into question their slight voice alterations. That was something he didn't want to explain, something he hadn't yet told them about while knowing that he should have.

Harmony nodded, glancing around the room at the others, particularly to her mother, forcing her alter-ego to look her mother in the eyes. _**"Talk to her," **_she requested. _**"Don't argue, just…talk."**_

"_Ok,"_ Rika answered, opening her mouth to speak, before being interrupted once again.

"I really wish you'd told us sooner," Rumiko interrupted, breaking what she saw as a silence that had descended (since she was unknowing of Rika's mental dialogue), expressing her distaste at how Rika had dealt with the issue.

Rika's eyes widened, annoyance reappearing. "Seriously?! You expected me to tell you sooner? Hell, this was hard enough for me to tell Takato about, let alone anyone else!"

"I know you must have been nervous, but I thought we trusted each other now," Rumiko answered, frowning. "I guess I was wrong," she added, words that were painful for the pair of them. All around them, the others were thankful for the calm.

"Mother, this isn't something like sneaking out of the house or getting a detention at school, this is serious! Can't you understand why I needed time?"

"Rika, I understand that more than anything, I've been through this myself, but a whole week! Every morning this week, I thought you were ill or something, I never even considered that you would have done something like this. I thought we could trust you kids, you make a great couple, and yet you then go and do something that you know is wrong."

"Does that matter now?" Rika asked, the other's eyes going back and forth between the girl and her mother.

"What do you mean, of course it matters?"

"What's done is done mum, I hate to break it to you, but there's no time machine to go change things!" Rika said, standing up.

"_Oh the irony,"_ simultaneouslythought all those knowing of the device mounted on Rey's wrist.

"But that doesn't change what you did!" Rumiko answered, standing up likewise, the pair of them prepared for an argument once again.

"Okay, that's it, you both stop NOW!" Rey said affirmatively, sticking out both hands as she commanded attention at the table, all turning to her. Her stern voice echoed through the cavernous house, resounding down the corridors and sounding strangely familiar to ones that had resounded through it before.

Silence.

"Rey?" Takato asked, breaking the silence. She looked to him, nodding subtle as he looked back in disbelief at what she planned to do. If the pregnancy news hadn't made his mother faint, this sure would.

"Dear, do you have anything to say?" Seiko asked, raising an eyebrow to the strange random girl who they barely knew.

"Well…I'm not wishing to intrude or anything, even if that is a huge irony, but, I'm not going to stand by and see you two at each other's throats," Rey asserted.

"And what place is it of yours to intrude in a private matter like this?" Rumiko asked, her tone irritated. Why was this random girl telling them to stop? This was a serious matter, not just a silly tiff. Rika had done something wrong, but she just seemed to brush it off with ease as if the past made no difference, and had broken her mother's trust in the process.

"I have to tell you all something," Rey answered.

"I'm sorry, but this is hardly the right…" Mei began. She was curious as to why this girl was suddenly taking over the conversation. What place did she have in all this? Indeed, why had Takato and Rika revealed such a private matter to them earlier with a complete unknown in the room?

"Mum, let her speak," Takato affirmed, his mother looking to him curiously. Did he know about what this girl had to say? What part did she play in all this?

Rika shot a look to her mother, a silent signal for the pair to take up their seats again.

"Well…" Rey began, coughing nervously from all eyes on her, before her voice became more fluent once again. "Well, as I said, I'm not wanting to intrude or anything, but…Rika's kind of…" she began, looking nervously around the room again, particularly to the girl herself, who nodded. "...my mother."

"Uh…what?" Takehiro asked, blinking in disbelief, while everyone else stayed speechless.

"I said, Rika's my mother," Rey restated, louder this time. "Seriously," she added, noting further looks of confusion and doubt.

"How on earth can you be her daughter?" Seiko asked, staring on at this girl in amazement. Rumiko simply looked around, looking to Rika, who nodded in confirmation, her hand on her stomach unconsciously. Takato watched the events nervously, whilst Realmon watched her partner, wondering how she would deal with what was to follow.

"My name is Rey Matsuki," she answered. "I was born on the 28th of February next year, to Takato Matsuki and Rika Nonaka."

Mei blinked at the girl, frowning as she turned to Takato. "If this is supposed to be a joke…" she began. Her voice was stern and prepared for anger if her suspicions were true. This was hardly the time for joking about such a thing.

"It's not mum!" Takato objected. "She really is my daughter!" he confirmed.

"But, how?!" Takehiro asked, bewildered by the concept.

"Yeah, it's impossible," Rumiko added.

"You say that in a room with two talking foxes, a dinosaur, an intelligent ferret in the next room, not to mention a pair of children who can fly and have strange alternate personalities," Seiko noted, a slim smile coming to her mouth. "I think we can at least entertain the possibility that this girl is Rika's daughter."

"What do you mean, alternate personalities?" Takehiro asked, looking to his son, who chuckled nervously at the question, realising that he hadn't told Rika's parents this one very important fact…that his parents didn't know about his powers, nor those of his girlfriend.

"Flying?" Mei asked, mimicking her husband's expression of bewilderment but adding panic as well.

"_**Uh-oh, someone's in trouble,"**_Chaos remarked, his voice jovial once again, a strict contrast to his earlier expression of irritation. _**"Bet you wish you'd told them sooner, eh?"**_

"What are you all talking about?" Takehiro asked, as Rumiko and Seiko sighed, recalling how they themselves had found out about the gifts of the redhead and her boyfriend and fellow Tamer. Accidental sightings, switching voices, wings even, all the little hints had all made it clear to them that the model's daughter and the Gogglehead were far from normal. In the end, Rika had simply put the facts down; she was a divine being and yet a human at the same time, and so was Takato.

Evidently however, Takato had not told his parents the same.

"Okay, first of all, let me tell you that everything I'm about to tell you is one hundred percent true," Rey answered, frowning as she took up the baton of explanation from her father. "Even if it sounds impossible, I really have to emphasise that this is all true," she noted, looking around everyone, even Rika and Takato seeming perplexed by her words and charisma. "Understand?"

"Okay," Mei answered, everyone else nodding in agreement, eager to hear the explanation of what was really going on here, especially how someone who was clearly a sixteen year old girl could be the daughter of someone who was sixteen themselves. Indeed, given the ages and birthdays of the two, Rey was actually older logic-wise.

Rey closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she walked to the foot of the table, leaning on it as she looked to every face.

"My name is Rey Matsuki, I am sixteen years old, and I'm a time traveller from the Year 2027. My parents are Takato Matsuki, the carrier of Chaos, a divine being who manifests as an alternate personality, an ability to fly and various other powers, including altered DNA, and Rika Nonaka, who is the holder of Harmony, a being in the same vein as Chaos, but opposite in most ways," she answered. "As the offspring of the two of them, I acquired powers from both, but I lack the energy reserves to use them often. As such, I am the Tenth Angel of Destiny; a new Angel created by accident, and advanced beyond the First through Ninth Angels, and indeed, the Demons mirroring them."

"Angels? Divine beings? Chaos?" Mei asked.

"This sounds completely preposterous," Takehiro added.

"Are you really not joking?" Mei asked.

"**I suppose I should explain," **Harmony began, standing up.** "I created the Nine Angels as a sort of protectorate for myself, and inadvertently and unfortunately, my most hated enemy Chaos as well," **Harmony explained. **"They were human, but they were advanced humans. But they were never to awake until they were needed, and then inevitably the First Angel would arrive and awaken the rest. However, unfortunately, due to the fact that I, as Harmony, represent balance, all of my actions have equal but opposite reactions, hence I created Nine Demons also, beings with evil intentions who wish to destroy their counterparts. They have awakened also, and so, we are at war," **Harmony elaborated, still receiving disbelieving looks.

"Who are you?" Takehiro asked. "And what did you do with Rika?" he added, noting Rika's changed voice.

"**I am Harmony, and I mean absolutely no harm to any of you," **she answered.

"**And I'm Chaos, and I mean absolutely no harm to any of you…but Harmony, who I one day hope to eliminate."**

Harmony noted the shocked looks from the others, not least Takato's parents. **"Oh wonderful Chaos, why not unnerve them even further?"**

"Wait, Takato wants to kill my daughter?" Rumiko asked horror in her voice.

"**I wish," **Chaos answered.** "Unfortunately, we just cancel each other out. Our fates are entwined, and so, I'm stuck with her, not least because my current incarnation not only loves her current host, but also is having a child with the girl as well. I mean, come on! This isn't fun!"**

"Takato, is this true?" Mei asked, looking to her son with a look of amazement and bewilderment, both at once.

"Yes," he answered. "And I'm so sorry for not telling you…but…you wouldn't have believed me anyway," he added

"Takato, I've seen you with a red dinosaur, merging into a knight and fighting a giant red blob," she replied, her voice changing as a slight smile appeared on her face. "At what point wouldn't I believe you? Even if this _is_ a bit more farfetched than most things you involve yourself in."

Takato, amazed at how well his mother had taken this (she hadn't even fainted, to his surprise), nodded slightly.

"Aren't we getting a bit off the point here?" Rumiko asked, interrupting the "happy" moment. "For starters, Rey, if you really _are_ my granddaughter, what are you doing here anyway? Do you all have time machines in your time?" she asked, her voice taking on a humoured edge as she said the last point.

"No, only me, and my reasons are better kept secret. As for where I got this device…" she answered, gesturing to the device on her arm. "…let's just say…a friend gave it to me, okay?" she added, smiling.

"Hmm…is this not a paradox?" Seiko asked, looking curiously at her great granddaughter and recalling many books she had read and theories she had learnt about the subject. "How can you possibly go into your own history?" she questioned, still astounded by the concept but feeling a sinister edge to it at the same time.

"I have no idea," Rey answered, shrugging. "Just like I have no idea what will happen once I'm born and in the same room as myself."

"You are going to have to be careful then," Seiko warned, but with a warm edge to her warning.

Rey nodded, smiling at the warning, an odd thing to do. "Definitely," she answered, Seiko noting the shades of determination similar to Rika in what she now knew to be her great granddaughter.

"You know, I can't believe this is really happening," Rumiko noted, looking to her daughter, imagining both the concept that this girl was pregnant, and that, even more unlikely, that this other girl in the same room was that baby. Mei and Takehiro, thanks to their newfound discovery that their son and his girlfriend were actually god-like beings, had even more to be astounded by.

"Yeah, I know," Rika murmured, another silence descending as the events of that evening sunk in, the earlier anger gone almost completely, replaced with simple amazement at the events that were transpiring.

Mei chuckled with a strange amusement. "I don't think this evening could get any more shocking. My son's girlfriend pregnant with the baby in front of me at the age of sixteen."

"Yeah, what's next?" Takehiro asked, unconsciously tempting fate.

A double beep sounded from the room, as Takato's D-Vice automatically maximised. Surprised, he looked to it rapidly, a large exclamation mark filling the screen. He held his arm out to his front as Rika curiously peered over.

"An urgent email?" he questioned, touching the screen to open the message, knowing that this couldn't be good. Things that were marked "urgent" were never good.

"Who from?" Rika asked, as Rey wandered round quickly to stand behind them, wanting to look down at the message herself, anticipating its words. She had a feeling that something bad was going down.

"It's from Mari," Takato said in surprise, opening the message. His eyes scanned the words, his gaze rapidly widening as he continued to read. Rika and Rey's eyes did likewise, as the wording of the message sunk in.

They glanced to him shocked, before Takato and the pair of them looked across the table to Takato's parents. Takato got to his feet, his eyes determined.

"Mum, Dad, we've got a problem!" he exclaimed nervously, panic growing in his voice.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, here it is, in all its glory, but there is far more to come. If you knew what I had planned…ooh, but that would spoil things, wouldn't it?

The hint for next time is…pyjamas.

Until next time…


	24. The Trick To Sights

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 24**

_The Trick to Sights_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 10****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Outside Matsuki Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

**21:25 JST**

"So, that's…a sight then…" Takehiro muttered in amazement, gripping for dear life onto the mane of the nine tailed fox as she galloped through the night down roads, down alleyways, down sidewalks - down pretty much any route that didn't risk the four adult humans on her back, which were far from the usual passengers. Kyubimon considered asking them to stop pulling so tightly on her mane, the pain beginning to get to her, but this wasn't exactly the time. They were particularly heavy though, and Kyubimon knew from the Digital World that any very prolonged rides like this would leave her aching for hours. Useful as it was to make her seem like one, she wasn't a horse.

Rumiko had a strangely amused look on her face, both from the odd fun of galloping on a creature beyond this world, and from the same rather incredible sight that Takehiro had commented on, in the skies above them. Mei had a worried look as she observed the sight, before briefly glancing off the side of the fox to the ground flying by below. She didn't have any way of measuring the speed, but she had a feeling that Kyubimon didn't live by speed limits anyway. The traffic had thankfully thinned out significantly as the night had drawn on, but those drivers still on the roads were simply staring agape at the sight of a nine-tailed fox, even if it had become more common in Shinjuku Ward as of late. And if the sight of a nine-tailed fox joining the traffic in one of the most congested cities in the world, albeit in the daytime, wasn't enough shock and surprise for any of the drivers, the sight preceding it, in the skies above, surely was enough to leave any newcomers both confused and amazed by what this new city would herald for them.

Seiko, all the while, looked rather calm where she sat, furthest back on the fox's back. She periodically glanced aside to where a far smaller facsimile of Kyubimon raced along, Realmon wearing a concerned look on her face from what she had heard they were heading towards. Her smaller legs pounded the pavement but seemed to have no problem keeping up the speed as she barrelled along, quickly flashing a smile up to Seiko as if she knew the older woman were watching without even looking. Seiko smiled back; pleasantly surprised by the digimon's remarkable ability to keep up to a being that arguably should've beaten her any day, thanks to the useful gift of longer legs. But, the weight was clearly getting to Kyubimon and adversely affecting the fox's speed. Seiko hoped the Digimon wouldn't hurt too much from the weight afterwards. Useful as it was to make her seem like one, she wasn't a horse.

"_Hmm, I wonder though…Renamon has a digi-egg, and Realmon and Kyubimon do look remarkably similar. Before I would've thought it impossible, but if Rey is from the future, it seems perfectly feasible that Realmon is Renamon's child," _Seiko reasoned, things beginning to click into place in her mind. _"Nonetheless, I'll ask them later when things are less…hectic," _she decided, glancing to the other side of Kyubimon to a red blur, barrelling along in an amusing fashion but seemingly as effortlessly as his possible daughter did. Seiko smiled, glancing back up to the sight in the sky above her, which she found impressive if slightly…odd.

And so, what was this sight?

"Takato, isn't this going to be, you know, a bit much for your parents?" Rika asked, flying closer to Takato where the three remarkable humans currently flew through the air with ease. Of course, Rika and Takato found they barely had to think about how to fly, the minor details were either dealt with by their alter-egos or their cerebellum, the former of which Rey didn't seem to have the benefit of as she uneasily spun slightly. A grin crossed her face as she righted herself again, flying up to join them above. They were, of course, all aware that all eyes from below were on them, Rika and Takato's wings barely moving whilst Rey flapped a bit more often. Despite all this, she was enjoying herself greatly, particularly since she was flying outside of a battle, with all the freedom of the skies and all the fun of knowing that everyone below would be staring up in amazement. In this time, practically no-one knew of her winged ability, and only a relative few more knew of her parents'.

"**Well, while we're at it we may as well continue to blow their brains out."**

"**Chaos, she didn't ask for your opinion, so stop giving it."**

"**God, always treating me like you're my mother. Anyhow, you've got to admit, there's a bit of logic in what I said."**

"**Fine,"** Harmony huffed.** "I can see your point about dealing with all the surprises at once, but…"**

"**YES! I got you to admit you're wrong! Heh, you haven't done that in ages Harm, I'm proud of ya!"**

"**For starters, I never said you were necessarily right…"**

"**But ya did, didn't ya? Come on, admit that ya did! It can't hurt Harm."**

"…**and secondly, you are NOT creating a new nickname for me."**

"**Can't do any harm, Harm."**

Harmony groaned, rolling her eyes and clutching her fists in annoyance. **"Ugh, you are the biggest jack…"**

"Right, break it up you two!" Rey interrupted, getting tired of their bickering.

"**See what you did? You got Rey yelling at us, I hope you're happy," **Harmony argued back.

"**You know, I know that was meant in a grating tone, but I actually am ya know. I'm really happy to have annoyed you."**

"Mum, Dad…err…yeah, well, why do you never stop them?" Rey asked, stuttering on what to call them, as Rika and Takato felt uneasy about being called such.

"Meh, it's vaguely amusing," Rika admitted in a dull tone.

"If they don't do it now, they'll do it at a far more annoying time," Takato added, Rika nodding in agreement. The last place they wanted them to argue was in school or something; while they couldn't destroy each other, they could easily destroy a building, and _that_ of all things would get them in a detention. For life.

And, knowing Chaos and Harmony, they'd be arguing throughout the detention too.

"**Hey, Harmony always starts it anyway!"**

"**I do not!"**

"**Yeah you do. Come on, admit that you do," **Chaos said in a cheerily irritating voice, while Harmony rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"**I hate you," **Harmony muttered.

"**Aw, I love you too Harm, how about a kiss?" **Chaos mocked, pulling Rika's head close and kissing her right on the lips, grinning widely afterwards.

"**You are so bloody annoying!" **Harmony cursed.

"**Thank you,"** Chaos answered.

Rika simply glanced to Takato, before both rolled their eyes, thankful that their constant companions had finally got that out of their system, at least for a week or two.

"Aw, look at that, isn't that romantic?" Rumiko noted cheerily from below, watching her daughter and her boyfriend in the sky. Mei smiled lightly in response, while Seiko held a more wary look on her face.

"_She should be thankful that Rika didn't hear that," _the eldest woman thought.

"Hey, Rika, Takato, you might wanna look at this," Rey noted, pausing in the sky and not hesitating this time round to call her parents by their real names, which they seemed to prefer.

Rika briefly pondered why Rey had stopped calling her "mum", but she brushed it aside as she looked down, her eyes quickly widening at the odd sight.

"**Going down," **Chaos decided, grabbing both daughter and girlfriend's wrists, and floating down quickly, to their annoyance as they touched down lightly on the ground.

"**What the hell is your problem?!" **Harmony asked when they landed, sets of blue, red and blue and red wings retracted soon afterwards.

"**Meh, it sounded appropriate. Funny too."**

"Just shut up now the both of you," Rey ordered, feeling like she was caring for a pair of children. Chaos and Harmony did seem to go from phases of remarkable maturity to phrases of unbelievable childishness.

Takato felt a lump in the pit of his throat as he glanced up, finally seeing the extent of the problem in detail, as he stared at the front of the bakery and began to pace over to it, Rika watching him nervously and hoping he'd be alright. Their arrival had caught the attention of both Mari and Henry, their partners looking rather tired as the fire-fighters doused some flames, which curiously sat in the middle of the street, and didn't seem to be easily brought down by water. Takato had ignored the curious sight though, and Rika was too transfixed by it to ask, so it was up to Rey to make the billion yen question.

"Why is there a fire in the middle of the road?" she quickly asked, her eyes wide from the surprise. This wasn't exactly a normal occurrence, and she was sure the fire had been in the bakery itself, not least because of the damage to it that Takato was now staring it, Rika slowly pacing over to comfort him.

"It was Mari's idea to literally blow out the Digital flames from the building to where they could be dealt with more safely," Henry noted, glancing across to the girl, a concerned look remaining on her face as she watched over Henry's shoulder the sight of Rika wrapping her arms around Takato's stomach from behind for reassurance. A brief smile displayed on the auburn-haired girl's face as Rika bravely smiled to Takato, before joining him in looking at the current state of the house.

"Yeah, but we did the work, isn't that right DarkRenamon?!" Terriermon cheered.

DarkRenamon smiled, shaking her head. The dog-bunny seemed to love taking credit for everything, and that meant everything. And she loved just as much to irritate him by disagreeing with him. Was he trying to show off or something?

Terriermon groaned in annoyance, swearing he heard DarkRenamon chuckle. Mari smiled to her partner, nodding in agreement as Terriermon further groaned, eliciting chuckles from his Tamer as well.

"Wait, did you say Digital Fire?" Rey asked, doing a double take suddenly as it dawned on her what Henry had said.

"Yeah, this fire came from a Digimon," Henry answered.

"Yeah, and it got away too!" Terriermon complained. "I wanted a battle!" he added, Henry rolling his eyes.

"Terriermon," he mumbled.

Rey grinned at the amusing back and forth between the pair, before not even flinching as a yellow fox settled on her shoulder, nine tails gently wafting about as Realmon easily kept her balance. Not a word was exchanged between them, as they glanced across to the arrival of Kyubimon, who paused in shock at the sight, coming to a stop and allowing the parents to disembark, similarly shocked. Guilmon took one glance at the fire, before bounding up to Takato, a mix of concern and anger on his face.

"Takato, what happened?" he asked his Tamer, a slight growl of anger breaking into his voice. Rika's arms were still around his stomach but loosely dropped to her sides as she decided she didn't really want her parents to see her showing so much closeness to the boy, particularly given how close their parents were now aware they had been in the past. Nonetheless, she left an arm around him in more of a standard hug fashion, making sure not to grip too tightly.

Takato frowned, not sure how to respond himself, glancing back at interior of the house periodically, lit by a pair of powerful lights set up by the fire-fighters, some of whom were now strolling about, inspecting the damage. The windows were completely gone, broken glass remnants scattered over the charred earth. The side walls had stayed up, and there was a clear view through the house to the partly demolished kitchen and bakery back walls, as well as the wall between the bakery and the side room used for storage of bread, suggesting they had taken a direct impact from…whatever it was that had attacked them. The majority of the furniture had been disintegrated, or, like a heavily dented oven pressed into the partly demolished wall at the back of the kitchen, had been damaged badly from the impact of whatever sort of attack it was. Takato looked through to the living room at the back, the furniture in parts of it surprisingly intact, if cloudy from the smoke. Evidently, this was no ordinary fire. The ceiling was badly scorched, and a layer of ash lay around the black walls of the bakery and kitchen.

"I…I have no idea boy," Takato answered, looking back to him. They'd been in so many fights before, seen damaged buildings, but it had always missed their home. This had to be a Digimon, but that still left one nagging question in Takato's mind. "Rika, did we miss a bioemergence alarm or…" he began, Rika shaking her head before suddenly they were interrupted by Takato's parents, joining them to survey the damage.

Kyubimon frowned, watching them from nearby and deciding that she would be better in her champion form. It looked like they would be making a return trip soon enough, and it wasn't worth wasting energy like that.

"Oh my god," Mei gasped, looking in horror up close at the damage. "It's practically destroyed," she said, feeling her eyes well with tears. This evening was just too much, so many shocks and surprises. Takehiro put his arm around her to reassure her, before glancing across to Henry and Mari, strolling up to them with Rey and their partners in tow. Seiko and Rumiko also wandered up, similarly surprised, albeit having only visited the home a few times in the past.

"How did this happen?" Takehiro asked Mari and Henry, in horror at what he was seeing. "And why is there a fire in the middle of the road?" he then asked, doing a double take and glancing back to the mass that was slowly and steadily being shrunk to nothing.

"We think it was a Digimon," Henry noted, his voice calm despite the concerned and agitated nature of Takehiro's question. "And it was Mari's idea to get the fire out of the house before it could do any more damage, since it behaves in a different way to normal fire," he added, glancing across to Mari.

"Thank you for doing what you could," Takehiro said to the pair, Mei nodding in agreement and smiling glumly.

"Are you the owners of this property?" the chief fire-fighter asked, strolling up to Takehiro and Mei as they turned to face him.

"Yeah, it is," Takehiro answered.

The fire-fighter frowned, although Rika noted it was a fake frown. He was clearly used to dispensing the bad news, and that sort of thing could easily become a non-event eventually. Of course, one had to be thankful there were no deaths either, which did take the severity of the situation down a peg. "The building's unstable; it's going to need a fair bit of work to keep the top floor up. We've put some temporary buttresses in to hold it stable for now, but it's certainly not suitable for habitation."

"Thank god we have insurance," Takehiro noted to his wife, a slight upshot despite the tragedy. It would be unlikely they could afford to rebuild the bakery merely out of profits alone. Mei nodded, glancing back to the fire-fighter as he began to speak.

"Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" the fire-fighter asked.

"Well, I suppose we could stay in a hotel," Mei noted.

"Never," Rumiko interrupted, smiling to reassure them as they entered the conversation. "You can stay with us tonight," she added, a curious moment passing of uncertainty as Takato and Rika held their breath. After everything that had been revealed that evening, would they all really want to be under the same roof?

"Well, if it's really no problem with you?" Mei asked for confirmation.

"Not at all, we have plenty of space for all of you. We'll just…pull out a few more futons, that's all," Seiko answered, smiling. "But really, it's no bother."

An almost audible sigh of relief went up through the group as Mei and Takehiro smiled. "Thank you," they said.

Mumbled cheers sounded from behind them as the firemen finally extinguished one of the oddest fires they had ever faced.

"Finally," Mari breathed, sighing deeply as she glanced to her D-Vice for the time, her eyes briefly widening before she grinned. "Right, I've got a cold dinner to get home to, so au revoir," she noted, her grin dropping at the concept. Being a Tamer who lived alone, or at least, for the time being did, definitely had its disadvantages, even if it meant you could stay up as late as you want and have fries every night. Although, since it was usually Ryder alone who wanted to do those things, that probably counted as another disadvantage.

Rey chuckled, smiling in return. "See ya," she noted, nods of agreement going up amongst the rest of the group. Mari glanced to her partner; she vanished and then reappeared behind her, looping her arms around her Tamer and picking her up, before the pair vanished from existence.

"Now if only you could do that Terriermon," Henry joked, smiling as he looked up to his partner on his head. Terriermon looked shocked, pointing a small black finger at the group as he expressed his annoyance.

"Listen, he sat on me the other day, he's unbelievably heavy, like I would want to lift _him_ up!"

"Hey!" Henry complained.

"Momentai!" Terriermon cheered, prompting groans from the group of teenagers at their trademark exchanges. The adults, on the other hand, simply watched the group's interactions from behind. Takehiro curiously eyed the spot where Mari had been, turning to Takato and asking a question.

"Takato, that Mari girl, does she live alone?" he asked.

"Well, kinda," Takato replied, nodding in response.

"Usually, she and Ryder share the flat, but Ryder's in hospital right now, so yeah, she's alone," Rika added, clarifying what Takato meant. Takato had a habit of making things unbelievably ambiguous.

"I see," Takehiro answered.

"What about her parents?" Mei asked, already knowing the other-worldly nature of Ryder's origins.

Rika simply frowned, shaking her head.

"Oh, I see. Poor girl," she noted sadly, an odd silence descending.

"Well, anyhow, I'm off too," Henry noted, returning with a bike from his brief step away from the conversation, Terriermon sitting in a basket on the front cheerfully, glad that he didn't have to walk. "See you all tomorrow hopefully," he added, climbing on, and being nodded to by the various members of the group before racing away, being watched by all the others before they looked to each other, not sure what to say next.

Rika shivered. "Brr, it's freezing, can we please stop with the uncomfortable silences and just get indoors for god's sake?" she bit, rolling her eyes at the way they were all acting.

"I second that," Rumiko noted, shivering herself.

* * *

Chiyo frowned, watching three winged humans take to the sky again, as a pair of foxes and a dinosaur raced away, although the pace was more sedate than when they arrived. "They're gone," she noted to DarkBiyomon, who silently stood next to her, the pair having returned to observe the Tamers' reaction to their actions.

DarkBiyomon nodded, before goose-bumps and raised hairs over Chiyo's skin, lit by a dull street lamp nearby, caught her eye. She frowned, looking up to her Tamer's face.

"Chiyo, you look like you're freezing…shouldn't we get indoors?"

Chiyo turned, shaking her head. "I'm fine," she asserted, whilst still looping her hands across her chest and hugging them close, a movement which DarkBiyomon cocked her eyes at. "I am fine," she reasserted. "It's just cold, only idiots hate the cold."

"I see," DarkBiyomon answered, not particularly believing her Tamer, who was clearly freezing. Why wouldn't she admit it, even to her own Digimon partner? "Where are we sleeping tonight?" she asked, pondering what they would do now they had had to make a quick getaway from their room.

Chiyo frowned, looking up to the night sky with her hands in her pockets, as she sighed. "No idea…looks like I have to seduce someone again. That's if there's anyone _to_ seduce, all the hotels will probably be filled up for the night by now," she added, glancing down to her partner. "Feel like breaking and entering?" she asked. DarkBiyomon frowned. "Thought not," Chiyo answered, sighing and leaning against the wall, pondering the bleakness of the situation, a growing anger on her face.

She groaned, storming forward and kicking a dustbin to the kerb, throwing all her anger into her foot.

"What the hell went wrong?!" she shouted, although still restraining her voice to avoid being heard. She turned back to her partner, still angered. "I had such a great plan, it was flawless! And then…he, that bastard Rayleigh, he comes in and makes me realise that I'll never get close enough to them with enough knowledge to make it work! And now, I'm out of hotel and out of home, with nowhere to sleep! What the hell do I do, huh?! What the bloody hell do I do?!" Chiyo ranted, her fists tightened and her knuckles whitening.

"I don't know Chiyo, sorry," DarkBiyomon answered, feeling pangs of fear towards Chiyo, but at the same time knowing that she was the one being that Chiyo would never attack. Chiyo had never intentionally been unkind to the bird, something which DarkBiyomon was thankful for given her Tamer's rather heated personality.

Chiyo groaned. "Oh, and those Tamers, those incredibly kind perfect humans who trumpet themselves as superior all the time, they'd be all like, "I can put you up for the night". Pah, I'm fine on my own, and I don't need help. I don't need their charity, or their beds or their food."

"But…we _are_ cold, tired and hungry, so don't we…you know…kinda need it?"

"No, we don't, certainly not from them."

"Chiyo…I know I'm your partner and all, but…maybe…maybe you're wrong about all this. Maybe you could become friends with them. I mean, they've never tried to attack you, or anything. I really don't understand, what have you got against them?" she asked, pushing her position. She was rather fearful that Chiyo would simply attack her, for disagreeing with her, but Chiyo simply stood there, staring at her with a pondering look, one that rather unnerved DarkBiyomon, used to quick reactions from her Tamer to any question she was presented with.

"Hmm…you know, you might just be right DarkBiyomon," Chiyo replied, smiling eerily. "That's actually a really good idea."

"Uh, really?" DarkBiyomon asked, looking to her curiously.

"Yeah, but I'll need some things first," Chiyo said, rather too cheerfully for DarkBiyomon's liking.

"Really? Just to become friends?"

"Yeah, the usual friend stuff. Uh…like, um…yeah, you know what I mean."

"Oh, okay," DarkBiyomon answered nervously.

"Even so, tonight, we've got to find somewhere to sleep, and I may just have an idea."

"You're sounding ever so cheerful about it too, so I'm getting a bit concerned," DarkBiyomon noted.

"Oh, it's just a little place called school," Chiyo answered, grinning.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Okay, so maybe I was a bit premature in putting the "pyjamas" clue in. Still, it's now the clue for next time, so it all works out okay.

Right, I've "rebooted" Stratagems. Gone is the somewhat confusing crossover with Crazyeight's Fourth Wall, replaced by a far darker tale of death, war and survival. Hope you can all check it out; it'll give you a few hints about "The War" of Book Twelve.

Until next time…


	25. The Trick To Pyjamas

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 25**

_The Trick to Pyjamas_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 10****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**22:00 JST**_

"Such a beautiful and clear night, once those clouds passed at least."

"Yeah, the storm's passed. Poignant, eh?"

"Oh, I wouldn't call it a storm."

"Oh??"

"Nope. More like a hurricane!" Rey chuckled, grinning. "I really did think that Rumiko and Rika were going to do something they'd regret earlier."

Realmon chuckled, nodding to her Tamer who lay on the rooftop, looking up to the sky with a peaceful grin on her face. Whilst the room arrangements were being sorted out below Rey's back, she preferred to be out of the way for that. Of course, Rey knew that she'd need a room, but she also needed a time-out, and the roof was a lot better than most places for doing so. The faint moonlight from the half moon was reflected in the pond, but the main source of light was merely the light of the city around them, which turned the horizon a slight orange. Adding decoration to the scene were the small lights in the garden flowerbeds, along with the brighter lights from the home itself. Taking away the peaceful nature was Guilmon snoring away against the wall, and Renamon was sitting watching from nearby, turning the egg from hand to hand.

Rey breathed deeply, sighing happily. "It's so calm here."

"They're going to want to ask you more questions, aren't they?"

"Oh no, you've rattled me," Rey said with a stone-faced expression, the pair laughing afterwards at the way she had said it. "Yeah, but seriously, I'll get around to dealing with their questions later."

"Fine," Realmon answered, a comfortable silence once again descending on the pair of them.

Rey had a strangely joyful feeling despite the knowledge that her father's childhood home had just been burnt out. That's what time travel did; it made someone become detached from reality. She knew that she could simply jump ahead to when it was complete, with ease. But she still felt it when she saw the look on Takato's face, and she felt a warm feeling in her heart when she saw Rika go to comfort him. Rika was rarely like that, but when she was, she was amazingly good at reassuring a person, even if she did give out a far too tight grip every so often. Rey knew that all too well.

Whilst Rey reflected more or less cheerfully, Realmon frowned, her earlier thoughts riding back to her like a wave. As much as she didn't want to spoil the moment, she knew that otherwise the point would be forgotten. Besides, it seemed calm and quiet enough to interrupt the moment with more difficult questions and talk, despite the abundance of them as of late.

"Rey, are you afraid of failing?" she blurted out. Rey's eyes widened as she turned to her partner, surprised by the unprovoked nature of the question.

"What?" Rey questioned, not sure whether she was getting the whole point.

"I was wondering why we have been spending so much time not travelling, and you wouldn't answer me. But…I think I worked it out. Rey, I think you're afraid of failing to save the world, and having to face the others and tell them that."

Rey frowned, her tone dampening as she nodded. "Yeah, kind of," she answered. "Slightly, only the slightest bit…but a very big slight bit," Rey began, stuttering on her words a bit as she questioned whether to admit what she was thinking. "Well…completely…if I'm going to be perfectly honest. Of all the things that are bugging me, that's definitely at the forefront of my mind. Is that a bad thing?" she asked, genuine concern in her voice as her mumbling continued.

Realmon smiled, shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. Of course you're afraid, the thing you have to prevent is pretty major after all, and I'm not sure how you plan to do so. And neither of us wants to go back having failed, but I know they'll understand if we do. And…I'm sure we'll all come up with something new if that happens. _His_ grip has been weakened; all that's left to do is take his hand off completely. And you…we can do it, we all can, and we're not going to go down without a fight. We've regrouped before, and we'll do it again if we have to."

"Yeah, but, it's going to be a bit of a pain telling them that we've not only failed, but also learnt a lot of disturbing secrets about their lives in the interim."

"That's their problem Rey; you're worse than your father at times. You keep making other people's problems yours."

Rey chuckled, smiling. "Yeah, you've got a point there. I'm surprised you don't have Guilmon's appetite to be honest."

"I have my moments. Thankfully, I have Renamon's self control."

Rey smiled, laughing, a laugh rather contrasting with the attitudes of those downstairs, but Rey didn't seem to care. For once, she was happy, something that Realmon was glad to see, and that was all that mattered for now.

"Realmon, with this whole changing the future thing, we're gonna give it our best shot, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Realmon answered. "I didn't expect us to try any less than that," she added. "Now, when are we going downstairs to join the nervous atmosphere?"

Rey frowned, shrugging. "I really don't know. They're all going to be asking me questions, and I really don't want to have to deal with them."

"Just say that it messes up time then," Realmon suggested.

"Yeah, but what if it actually does Realmon?" the redhead asked, concern lapsing into her voice. "Hell, what have I done so far? How much damage have I caused?" she asked, the thoughts returning to her once again.

"We still exist, don't we? You can't be doing too badly," Realmon comforted. "And to be fair, most things are better than the world we ended up in."

"True, true," Rey answered, sighing as those memories of war returned to her. "You had to remind me of that, didn't you?" she asked, sighing.

* * *

"Okay, so there's your futon," Rika said, gesturing to the blue all-in-one bed now rolled out on the floor. Rika's own one was moved aside to make room for it. "Right, now, I'm going to get changed so can you get out for a moment?" she asked, a sense of reluctance as she said it, feeling as if she was being forced to be careful. Besides, what difference did it make now they had explored the full extent of that particular taboo concept?

Apparently, to their parents it meant a lot.

"Seriously, this seems to all be a bit pedantic. A gap between the beds, getting changed in different rooms, all seems a bit late to me," Rika noted with a sigh, rolling her eyes at the requests of their parents. They made it more than a little obvious when arranging the rooms earlier, and it had left Rika with a bitter taste in her mouth. "After all that talkof me not trusting her, it turns out she doesn't trust me either."

"**They're just a bit unsure of things now after what you did before Rika," **Harmony explained. **"They don't like the concept of you two being that way at all yet, let alone the fact it has already happened. Rumiko probably just thinks she's lost her trust in you after what you did."**

"Yeah, I suppose we just have to play along with it all for now," Takato added in agreement.

"Yeah, but we're having a child together, the least we can do is be allowed to hug in front of our parents. But earlier on, I felt really uncomfortable with putting my arms round you in front of our parents, even when you really needed the support," she said with a sigh, looking down to the ground sadly as her voice took on an edge. "I mean, having sex again is the last thing we're going to do now, after what happened before, but that's exactly what they're afraid of us doing! But I can't tell them that, they'll just get at us," she added with an angered tone.

Takato frowned, nodding at Rika's point. It did feel like their parents no longer trusted them whatsoever, even if they themselves knew that it would be completely inappropriate to even think of doing anything.

Rika sighed, feeling a load return to her back once again. Nonetheless, she smiled as she felt Takato's arm round her back, pulling her close. She looked up into his smiling face and waited for some reassuring words, the sort he always seemed to manage to come up with, as inarticulate as they were at times. Her arm curved round his back, a peaceful moment passing.

And another one.

And another.

"You can't think of anything to say, can you?" Rika finally asked, the peaceful moment beginning to turn uncomfortable.

"Nope, not at all, I thought you just needed a hug," he answered, smiling his usual reassuring smile. "Anyhow, as you said, I'll go out of the room now while you get changed, maybe talk to Rey or something, and then we'll switch, and I'll get changed while…"

Takato paused in mid-sentence, staring off into middle distance as he considered something.

"Oh," he said, his expression remaining one of pondering.

Rika raised an eyebrow before she rolled her eyes, a realisation hitting her, and proving rather amusing to her.

"No pyjamas?" she asked teasingly, smiling playfully at him. He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, that's what I realised," he answered. She sighed, wandering out of his grip and over to the wardrobe stretching along the wall, hidden behind a set of sliding doors. She pulled a door aside, revealing a collection of…jeans. Mostly. Well, along with a several copies of the same blue hearted t-shirt, a few different shirts (to Takato's modest surprise, although he had seen her wearing different clothes before on occasion), and right at the end, Rika's old school uniform dumped on the floor. The dresses hanging above, clearly Rumiko's choice, were not given much better treatment than the school uniform.

"Well, you haven't got much to choose from…and it doesn't help that you're a lot taller and bigger than me now," Rika pondered, pressing through her clothes in the vain hope that she'd find something more appropriate. "I have a stupidly large dress, but you won't want to wear that, and I'm wearing the only pair of actual pyjamas that I have," Rika noted, taking out a brown traditional pair on a clothes hanger, settling it on the floor gently, before returning to the wardrobe. "Ugh, why can't you just wear your boxers on their own, what exactly does it suggest? Trust parents for that," she muttered, irritated, before sighing. "Right, old heart shirt it is then," she noted, throwing a shirt across the room to Takato who caught it clumsily, surprised by the action. "As for the bottoms, I don't know, can't be bothered with this that much, just wear your boxers, okay?" she continued to mumble, before she sighed, leaning her head against the frame of the wardrobe and groaning. "And I just remembered how this pregnancy is going to make pretty much my whole wardrobe unusable, thanks a lot Takato," she cursed, glancing back to him.

"Huh? I thought it was both of us who…" Takato began to explain, stumbling from surprise.

"Takato, just humour the mood swing please," Rika asked, turning to him with an exasperated tone. Takato nervously nodded, before Rika slid the wardrobe shut and yawned widely. "God I'm tired," she groaned. "Now just get out of my room," she ordered, picking up her brown pyjamas and gesturing to the door. "If I'm asleep when you get back, wake me up at your peril," she added, Takato smiling and nodding in response. He slid the door aside and stepped through into the cool hallway outside, holding only Rika's heart shirt before closing the door behind him.

"_**Oh yeah, cos this isn't going to make you look like you're in the middle of undressing her."**_

Blushing profusely, Takato resisted the urge to futilely argue back and stepped outside through a second sliding door into the cool summer night. The lights rose out above the city and contrasted dramatically with the peace of the ornate garden, except, of course, for the quiet snoring of Guilmon (oddly a lot quieter than he was at home, when he would sometimes stop Takato sleeping). Renamon stayed silent as ever, holding the egg in her arms and pondering over it.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" yelled a voice from above. Takato was too slow to dodge as Rey landed on him. He groaned in annoyance, although compared to Guilmon, her weight was a relief. Nonetheless, Rey quickly got up, turning and beginning to apologise, laughing nervously. "Oops, sorry, sorry, really, really, really sorry," she apologised, while Takato rubbed his sore head. Realmon landed gently and gracefully near them, before turning to look at them.

"It's okay," Takato noted.

"Although…it was kind of your fault for standing there, you should be more careful," Rey added, turning far more Rika-like. Takato sighed, removing his hand as he felt the pain in his head go away.

Rey glanced down to the object in his other hand, a blue heart print t-shirt, before rolling her eyes and smiling as she spoke in a mocking tone.

"Oh for god's sake, can't you control yourself?" she asked.

"Chaos already made the exact same joke," Takato sighed.

"**And so will everyone else Takato, get used to it,"** Chaos stressed.

"So, what's the shirt for then?" Realmon asked, looking curiously at the boy who clutched it nervously and uncomfortably, the stigma of it now firmly attached in his mind thanks to his daughter and his alter-ego's mocking.

"Pyjamas," Takato answered.

"Oh, I have to see this!" Rey said, grinning at the concept.

"I don't think it's going to fit," Takato noted, lifting it up and watching Rey look over it carefully.

"That's an understatement. Seriously, does Rika wear anything else at this age?" Rey asked, raising an eyebrow at Takato.

"Not really, although she was just talking about how she'd need new clothes during her pregnancy," Takato answered.

"Yeah, but you're exactly the same as her. In fact, you all wear the same clothes almost every day, what gives?" Rey asked, tilting her head questioningly.

"Uh…I don't know…I just look okay in my blue pullover and grey pants," Takato explained. "I mean, I didn't expect to use them forever, but you know, trademark outfit and all. Maybe I got it from the TV series…I don't know."

Rey smiled knowingly, nodding as she considered something. "Aha, I think I get you," she answered. "Yes, and I do know how hypocritical I'm being in saying that while at the same time still wearing this boring old red shirt," Rey added, gesturing to the red D-symbol shirt with a rolling of the eyes. "But I have an excuse: I didn't have any time to pack; I've been wearing these clothes for several weeks now in real terms. Hell, I jumped at the chance Mari offered to wash them. But I'm planning to change them as soon as I get the chance, and I'm sure it'd take Rika's mind off things if she was able to…ah, who am I kidding? She hates shopping, particularly for clothes. And I'm feeling a bit wary of Rumiko; I'm not a fan of dresses so much, which leaves out Mimi too. I could ask Mari, but…"

"**Rey, I have been alive for billions of years, passing through morons who can't tell their arse from their elbow and microbes which don't have to make that distinction, and I have to tell you that this is one of the most unbelievably boring conversations I've ever had the misfortune of being victim to," **Chaos complained.

"Chaos!" Takato complained, sounding oddly like Henry and Terriermon did.

"**Ah, Momentai. Okay Takato, here's a deal. I will not annoy you at all this evening, and remember that you're sleeping in the same room as Rika, so there's plenty of potential for that there, **_**if**_**, and only **_**if**_**, you can honestly say that you were remotely interested in anything, and I mean absolutely ANYTHING, that Rey just said."**

"Uh…" Takato began, stalling on his words and giving Chaos all the confirmation he needed.

"**Ah, a blank cheque for mischief, how wonderful!" **Chaos cheered. **"Don't let your guard down tonight Takato, or I'll be taking control faster than you can say "stop hitting Rika with a golf club!""**

A short, uncomfortable silence passed, Rey looking oddly at Takato who simply turned his eyes to the heavens, praying that Chaos wouldn't take control this evening. Of course, Takato was well aware that Chaos wouldn't use the ability for sexual reasons, particularly not with Harmony of all people. No, Chaos preferred to simply cause uncontrollable Chaos, hence the name, and that was something Takato feared even more than his mother's wrath, particularly since Chaos would inevitably incur his mother's wrath in the process.

"So, anyway," Rey began, deciding that it was better to just put that item of conversation to rest rather than dwelling on it too long. "What are you wearing for bottoms?"

"Rika just suggested my boxers. She sounded pretty exasperated though, the mood swings are definitely getting to her," Takato replied. Rey nodded, sighing as she looked nervously down to her hands.

"You know…it's weird to think that I'm causing all this, if a bit indirectly," Rey noted, looking off towards the door to Rika's bedroom.

"It's not really your fault you know," Takato reassured.

"I know, I just find it weird, that's all," Rey answered.

"Takato, done now, so hurry the hell up so I can go to sleep," Rika interrupted, opening the door, and looking to the pair of them chatting, stepping outside into the hallway. A brown pair of traditional pyjamas had replaced her usual attire, loosely draped around her. "Sorry, just really, really, really tired," she apologised, running her hand through her now loose hair as she stood watching them from the hallway.

Takato smiled, nodding as he walked up towards Rika's room, a small kiss passing between them on the way. But it was as Takato put his hand on the door to open it, that they were interrupted by an unexpected voice.

"What's all the yelling about?"

"Huh?" Takato pondered, glancing along to the shortest Nonaka. Kristy looked towards them with bags under her eyes and a similarly tired Kudamon curled around her neck.

"**Oh wonderful Rika, all your shouting has now means we have to tell Kristy," **Chaos complained.

"Tell me what?"

Rika glared at Chaos, her mood swings and her usual intimidation combining into a single searing death glare. Unfortunately, she used it on the one being who would face it and laugh, as Chaos subsequently did, leaning against the wall in hysterics. The others stared on in bewilderment, Chaos not particularly caring.

"Chaos, one day, I am going to get you back for this," Rika spat, continuing to glare as her voice took on a sharp and bitter edge.

"For what?!" Kristy asked, feeling really sick of people not giving her enough information.

Rika shot a final scalding glare at Chaos, before sighing, relaxing her anger and walking over to Kristy. She bent down, frowning. "Look, Kristy, I have something…something really major to tell you."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And so, this now becomes my longest book yet. Celebrations aplenty, and the plot is now moving along properly again. No clue for next time, I can't think of a decent one.

Until next time…


	26. The Trick To Telling All The Nonakas

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. I'd also like to thank Neon Master for being my 150th reviewer of this story.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 26**

_The Trick to Telling All The Nonakas_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 10****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**22:16 JST**_

"Look, Kristy, I have something…something really major to tell you."

Kristy tilted her head curiously at her crouching sister. "Like what?" she asked, Rika pondering how she could tell her sister, an eleven year old, what she had to tell her. Rika was sixteen, and she was having a child, this was hardly the sort of thing for someone so young to even hear about. Nonetheless, it was going to affect their lives dramatically, and Kristy was going to hear about it sooner or later. It was probably just simpler to do it sooner so that all their family knew of the child in Rika's womb.

"Kristy, I'm not sure entirely how to tell you this, but seven and a half months from now, I'm going to have a child," Rika stated, Kristy giving her a bewildered look at first.

"Really?" she asked, a bit confused. This wasn't the usual kind of thing that happened, was it?

"Yeah…and Takato's going to be the father…and that is why we had this big dinner this evening," Rika explained, elaborating on her point.

"Really?" Kristy asked, a bit bemused and surprised by the concept.

"Yes really," Rika stated again.

"Really?" Kristy asked once more.

Rika groaned, rolling her eyes and asserting it more this time. "Yes!"

"Wow, that's so cool," Kristy said, in awe of the concept and not particularly noticing Rika's irritation by how she didn't understand it.

"Huh?" Rika asked, her expression quickly changing to confusion.

"A little baby…um, niece! That's going to be so…hold on…aren't I a bit young to have a niece?" Kristy asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise and tilting her head in a questioning pose.

"**29 seconds Rika, your sister is stupider than I thought she was," **Chaos joked, Rika turning and glaring at him once again. Did he really lack a sense of timing that much?

"Hey, you take that back! I'm not stupid!" Kristy argued, glaring at Chaos as he simply smirked, rolling his eyes.

"**You took…"** he began.

"**FOR GOD'S SAKE SHUT THE HELL UP!" **Harmony blasted, sick and tired of her opposite's endless annoyances this evening. Time was, she'd have grabbed him, thrown him into the door and slammed it repeatedly on him until he finally shut up, or died. And of course, anyone who had known Chaos for as long as she did knew that those two were usually one and the same. But of course, times had changed, and Harmony knew that to do that, she'd have to injure Takato too, not something she was willing to pursue, particularly since Harmony would never hear the end of it from Rika.

"…**you didn't have to yell, you know," **Chaos mumbled.

"**Of all the mind-numbingly irritating jerks in the world…" **Harmony muttered, before Rika took back control, turning to her now bewildered sister.

"Why are all my days like this?" Rika asked, sighing. "What happened to normality?"

"Will you just tell me what's going on?" Kristy asked, frustrated that no-one was giving her a clear answer.

"Okay," Rika answered. "I'm not going into specifics, but basically, Takato and I did something we weren't exactly old enough to do, okay?"

Kristy's mouth turned into a thin line, not sure if that counted as a clear answer or not. Finally, she nodded, smiling.

"Thanks," she said, before curiously looking up to Rika. "But what does this mean now then?"

"Um, Rika, you forgot to mention something," Takato noted, interrupting Rika's conversation with Kristy. She groaned, turning around.

"What is it this time?" she asked, exasperated at how every time she got into a conversation with Kristy, they were interrupted.

Takato raised an eyebrow, how could she forget the most obvious factor in it all? Rika got the hint. Kind of.

"Oh no Takato, she's an eleven year old girl, I am not going into specifics about…"

"Rika, how on earth could you forget me?" Rey asked, her eyes widened at her mother.

"Oh, right," Rika corrected, her exasperation vanishing and being replaced with simple tiredness. Tiredness at how everyone was making things so difficult, tiredness about how she now had to tell Kristy without being able to prepare first, and, of course, simple tiredness from lack of sleep.

"Huh, what does she mean?" Kristy asked, curious as to how Rey was involved in all of this. Rey saw an irritated Rika go to answer the question, before butting in herself and taking Rika's place. Rey bent down, smiling, to her aunt's level, her voice soft and calm about the concept.

"Kristy, you know that I'm from the future?" Rey asked, tilting her head in question.

"Yeah, everyone knows that," Kristy answered, smiling. "What's it like, by the way?" she asked, oblivious to the true nature of what was going on.

"Terrible, but that's not the point. The point is, well…you know the concept of going back in time and meeting your own parents as teenagers?" Rey questioned, Rika quietly impressed by how she was dealing with the situation so calmly.

"Yeah?" Kristy asked, curious. Rika pondered how unbelievably naïve Kristy seemed to be. Then again, for an 11 year old girl, the concept of not only their sister being pregnant at 16, but also the baby being a time traveller from the future who they had met before, wasn't exactly the sort of thing she'd expect.

"Well…I actually did it," Rey answered. She paused to wait for Kristy's response, but it was hardly a long wait at all.

"What?!" Kristy spluttered in surprise, the thought occurring to her that this was all some silly joke that Rika and Rey were in cahoots on. _"It's really mean if it is."_

"Yeah, it really is Kristy. I am Rika's daughter, Rey Matsuki. Oh, and Realmon is Renamon's daughter," Rey noted, deciding to drop two bombshells at the same time on the girl. To be fair, it avoided a lot of confusion later. Renamon glanced up, as did Realmon surprised at how carelessly Rey revealed their secret.

"Oh, thanks," Realmon said sarcastically.

"Wow, that's all so cool, but I have to say, it does sound a bit farfetched," Kristy answered.

"Yes, the concept is very unlikely," Kudamon piped in, yawning afterwards from tiredness. They had both woken up not long beforehand, of course, and this was simply interrupting their sleep.

"It's true though," Takato noted. "And that's why Rey's been so secretive around us," he added.

"So I'm your aunt?" Kristy asked, the concept recurring in her mind as she raised an eyebrow at the girl towering over her.

"Oddly, yes," Rey answered, Kristy running up and hugging her legs, before smiling and looking up into Rey's face.

"That's so cool," she cheered, Rey simply being surprised by Kristy's odd happiness regarding the revelation.

"You better not be as much of a handful as her," Rika warned, looking to the girl who she would soon give birth to. Rey grinned, looking back to her mother.

"I can't promise you that," she laughed.

"I'm just glad this is finally all over with," Takato said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Don't speak too soon. We've still got everyone else to tell," Rika reminded. "And I think that could be the hardest of all."

* * *

"Hmm…"

"Yes?"

"Just pondering."

"I know. It's surprised me a lot too."

"I'm surprised you didn't faint."

"Hey, I'm not that fragile."

"You're now going to say that you're surprised that I didn't faint, aren't you?"

"You know me too well."

"So, what do you think about all this?"

"I'm worried Takehiro, that's really the truth of it all. One day he was my little baby, getting crayons stuck up his nose, and then he suddenly ended up going on a wild adventure with Guilmon and all those other Digimon. I guess I should have seen that he was growing up so fast, but getting a girl pregnant? It's the last thing I expected from him."

"Yes, I am rather disappointed in him too. But I think he already knows what he's done wrong."

"I know, and I can't be helping by labouring the point so much, but it just worries me. I always thought that Rika girl was normal and friendly, even if the two did have a strange relationship together. But, after she mentioned how her mother had her when she was 15, it left me rather concerned."

"Why exactly?"

"It seems that things could just be repeating themselves, and it leaves me unsure as to whether Rika could really be a good mother."

"But Rey seems fine enough?" Takehiro suggested.

"I get the impression she's rather…unstable. And why is she here in the past anyway?"

"I'd like to know that too, but she seemed to imply it was better if we didn't know."

"And how does that reassure us? If we don't know her reasons, how can we trust her?"

"Rika and Takato seem to trust her."

"I suppose so," Mei replied, frowning as she glanced to the door of the large traditional room, a double futon laid out in the middle of it all, and soft lights illuminating it. "I just worry about Takato, he seems to be growing up way too fast, and I just don't want him to make too many mistakes, particularly not big ones like this."

"Of course you don't, you're his mother, and it's natural for you to be worried about him."

"Yes, but I'm used to making sure he gets up in the morning, making him breakfast, ensuring he gets off to school in time, scolding him when he doesn't get home until late, but now he's growing up, and I'm worried that he's not going to know how to be a father at such a young age."

"Takato has proved himself to be very resourceful, and mature when he needs to be. He will grow up to adapt to this, I'm sure of it."

"I miss him simply being a child though."

"I'm sure you're not alone in thinking that Mei. All mother's probably think that. Even Rika will probably miss Rey being a child when she finally ups and leaves."

"It's more than probably Honey," Mei noted, a slight smile appearing on her face. "All mothers hate the concept of their children flying the nest."

"But Takato isn't leaving Mei, and he won't be for a few years yet. Even if he goes to university, he'll still be back every weekend, asking for money."

"You paint such a fantastic view of the future."

"But you understand what I mean though, don't you?"

"Of course Takehiro, but you can't pretend that this isn't going to change things."

"Of course not, it's going to change things dramatically."

"Naturally, a child will change everything for them, and us."

"Takato doesn't know how to do the laundry, let alone change a diaper, he's going to need to learn a lot, and he's going to need to learn most of it from you."

"Yeah, you're right about that. He's going to need us to be supportive, even if we're critical of his actions in the past. I can't imagine the toll fatherhood is already taking on him."

"Yeah, he bottles up a surprising amount."

"Not at all like you then, you just seem to say whatever is on your mind."

"Oh thank you."

* * *

"Did I make a mistake in raising Rika mum?" Rumiko finally spoke, breaking the silence that had descended in their living room. Seiko sat quietly, contemplating events while reading a book, whilst Rumiko was previously deep in thought, the endless silence defining the shock they had received from that evening's revelations.

Seiko looked up, frowning as she pondered how she had pre-empted this question a way off. It was natural; Rumiko had had Rika at a young age, and she had been fearful herself when she had become a mother. But her daughter making the same mistake seemed to validate that fear. The latest events would inevitably make Rumiko think she had been a bad mother in the end, just like she had always feared. Seiko knew she would have to tread carefully here; she didn't want Rumiko to think she was a bad mother, because, of course, she wasn't in Seiko's eyes. Whilst slightly misguided at times by her career and her short-lived romances since her divorce, she still showed a deep care for Rika when it mattered, regardless of how much the pair came into conflict, usually over trivial matters. The pair had made a real effort as of late to improve their relationship, but Rumiko had taken the revelation that Rika had been keeping such a huge and life-changing secret from her pretty hard.

"Not at all," Seiko answered, looking back to her book again as she flicked over to the next page. Unfortunately, the pause, albeit short, had unnerved Rumiko already. She who frowned, glancing down at the traditional table nearby and contemplating the events in the room earlier that evening.

"I was so worried about how this evening could go badly, talking to Takato's parents and all, that I didn't realise why Rika and Takato arranged it all. But why couldn't they simply tell us?"

"Because they needed each other for support," Seiko noted.

"I wish I had had that when I was with Kiyoyuki, all I remember is how fearful he was of becoming a father. When I got pregnant with Kristy, I suppose that was the last straw that set events in motion."

"Takato is probably just as fearful of becoming a father as Kiyoyuki was, but I know they will stay together."

"Why?"

"Because we not only have the daughter herself within this house to prove it, but I can also see it in their relationship. Both of them rest on each other for support - both of them feel the other is better at managing situations than they are, and so they end up helping each other. And I know that neither of them will step down from the challenge of parenthood, even if it does scare them."

"You're right; I can't see Rika giving up on a challenge, no matter how large it is."

Seiko glanced up to her daughter, smiling confidently. "You and she are both so similar in that respect I find it amazing. No wonder you clash so often."

"We do have problems with backing down."

"You've certainly both more than made up for the absence of a man in the house," Seiko noted, her eyes still in the book she was reading, only paying half-attention to the conversation.

Rumiko frowned, sighing. "Yes, I suppose that's true…but, I do wonder, what it would be like, if Kiyoyuki had stayed, or if I had remarried. Whether Rika would be like she is today, or whether she would be different."

"Depends what the man was like."

"Yes, I suppose so. Whenever I date someone nowadays, it seems I'm always thinking of what Rika and Kristy would think of him, even to the extent where I forget myself in the equation. I just think perhaps I should have settled down into a relationship by the age of 31, you know?"

"Perhaps that is the peril of having such an early relationship? You make the mistakes so early on in your life that you become pre-emptive of those in later relationships."

"So do you think that Takato and Rika's relationship will last?"

"Hmm…I think it will…they seem to have made such a connection between them over the past three years, deeper probably than most relationships. And Rey, if slightly quirky and unstable, doesn't seem to have come out too badly, even if their relationship were over by then."

"I do hope they stay together though. I know I bug Rika about it a lot, but they do make an adorable couple."

"I suppose part of it is that, any mistake Takato does make, Rika will simply accept it as part of his nature. Well, within reason I suppose. And likewise, Takato knows how uncomfortable Rika feels in certain situations, and accepts that, even aiming to help her."

"You seem to know so much about their relationship."

"I have a keen eye, and an analytical mind. Which is exactly why I just completed 12 pages of my novel while we have been talking," Seiko answered, placing the book aside on a small table.

"That's impressive," Rumiko noted.

"Of course," Seiko answered. "Did you expect any less from your mother?"

"Well…perhaps…" Rumiko began, smiling.

Seiko smiled. "Cheeky, are we?" she asked, smiling in reply. "You never change."

"But should I?"

"What do you mean dear?"

"Should I change?"

"I don't believe that anyone truly changes," Seiko answered, frowning. "People simply display different parts of themselves, and as they learn which parts are good, and which are bad, they appear to change. Look at Rika. Before, she seemed to always spend time alone, attaining to the loner side of her personality, but now, she is far more open, as she has learnt that it is okay to show your feelings to someone. And, as they have demonstrated, people can help each other to learn which parts of themselves fit with which situations."

"I see," Rumiko answered. "So do you think there's a part of Rika that wants to wear dresses that she simply doesn't think is good yet?"

Seiko smiled, shaking her head. "Of course not dear. That would be completely out of character of her."

"She can't wear jeans forever though."

"Oh come off it dear, of all people I think you should know that the whims of fashion change nightly. She could be completely in fashion in the future, wearing what she wears today, or she could find something else that she likes equally. But, perhaps she will go her own way with fashion. I suspect that she will be a prominent figure in the world in any case, and so she will be able to wear what she likes without being judged downwards."

"You seem to understand fashion even more than I do."

"Yes, but you understand the actual clothes far more than I do. And I can never get a grip on what colours suit each other."

Rumiko chuckled, smiling and nodding. "Yes, but you do better than most. Nonetheless, I am pondering taking my newfound granddaughter out for some clothes shopping…"

"Rumiko, are you sure that's wise?"

"Why not? She is my granddaughter, after all, it could be nice to have some time to bond. We don't know how long she could be staying, so we've got to make the best of it."

"Then promise me dear, just promise me one thing."

"Of course I will, what is it?"

"Please listen to what she actually thinks about the clothes, and don't just tell her what she should like."

"Aw, ruin my fun why don't you?"

* * *

"Asleep yet?"

"No, and I won't ever get to sleep if you don't stop asking Gogglehead."

"Huh?"

"What is it now?"

"You haven't called me that in a while."

Rika groaned, putting her pillow over her head.

"Sorry, I was just…ouch!" Takato spluttered, feeling a sharp pain in his leg.

"The beds may not be joined, but I can still kick you from here, so let me sleep for god's sake!"

"**Meet Rika**** the mood-swinging human, your hot-tempered pal who's fun to be w…"**

"**That's it, die Chaos!"** Harmony yelled, leaping across and beginning to strangle Takato, who garbled uncontrollably. Harmony finally stopped, glaring into Chaos' reddened eyes as he choked uncontrollably, before he glared back at her.

"**You could've been more polite, even if I know you'd never kill little innocent Takato," **he joked, before noticing the position that Harmony had taken up in order to strangle her.** Ooh, but almost right on top of me, turns out Takato and Rika's parents were right about what we'd try to do tonight after all."**

Harmony simply and sharply shoved Chaos aside, before pulling the blankets over her head and holding them down tight.

"**Harmony?" **Chaos asked, an odd level of concern in his voice.

"I don't think she's listening anymore," Takato noted, before both of them sighed simultaneously. Takato, at how Harmony and Chaos were continually coming in-between himself and Rika. Chaos, at something that was genuinely concerning him.

"**Fine, don't listen to me. Some day it's going to be really important Harmony, you know that?! And then you'll regret treating me as if I were some stupid, loudmouthed idiot!" **Chaos ranted, his voice getting louder and louder.

There was a sharp bashing on the wall, a voice shouting through it, albeit muffled.

"GO TO SLEEP!" Kristy yelled. Chaos frowned, leaning over to give some final words to Harmony.

"**Because, I know what you're really afraid of Harmony," **he said forebodingly. **"You're afraid of me being better than you…because then, you might have to look at yourself for once," **he whispered, turning over and falling onto his own pillow, both he and Takato rapidly falling into the world of sleep.

Under the blanket, Harmony had opened her eyes in surprise.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And finally I'm over and done with for this particular day. So, hopefully you've all seen both the new Stratagems, the new Extra Dimensions story "Survivor", and of course, the wiki (link in my profile), so I haven't got much else to say here but simply to advise you to check them out if you haven't already.

The clue for next time is "bitter".

Until next time…


	27. The Trick To Bitterness

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 27**

_The Trick to Bitterness_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 11****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**11:16 JST**_

"How do they sleep like that?" Rika questioned, standing at her opened bedroom door as the light glistened into the room in front her, a pleasant wind passing by the open exterior door behind. She looked over the room, to one loudly snoring figure and to another far quieter one. To her surprise, and that of Renamon standing silently alongside her, it wasn't Guilmon snoring loudest, it was Takato.

"**More curiously, how can you be attracted to THAT?"**

Rika sighed, crossing her arms and looking at the ceiling. "Still bitter?"

"**I'm not bitter."**

"Renamon, do you think that Harmony sounds bitter?" Rika asked, a faint smile coming to her face as she looked to the Kitsune next to her. Renamon smiled teasingly, but still answered in her usual polite terms.

"She seems that way."

"**Oh no, not you too Renamon? What happened to billions of years of partnership, huh?"** Harmony questioned.

"I don't remember them," Renamon stated. "As much as I would like to."

"**Great…"**

"What did Chaos say to get you so bitter anyway?"

Harmony frowned. **"Never mind."**

Rika sighed; Harmony was continuing to dodge the issue. All she knew was that, shortly after she, the Rika-part of Rika Nonaka's consciousness, had gone to sleep, Chaos had said something to Harmony that had left her bitter and, more surprisingly, uncertain. Rika couldn't even begin to fathom what it was. Harmony usually seemed to ignore the bulk of Chaos' comments, so what made this particular one get to her so much?

Rika wished she could openly access Harmony's memories, but she knew that she was unable to access even what was a part of her own brain.

"So, are you going to wake him up then?" Renamon asked curiously, glancing to her Tamer. Rika shrugged, frowning.

"Not sure…he looks rather peaceful like that. Then again, it _is_ already past eleven."

"Does he usually sleep this late in the morning?"

Rika raised an eyebrow at her partner. "What makes me the expert?"

Renamon performed an approximation of a cough, before changing the subject. Rika knew exactly what she was implying.

"Do you wish for me to wake him up then?" Renamon asked.

"Nah, I'll do it," Rika noted, before sighing. "You know, time was I'd have thought of a really inventive method to wake him up, but I really can't be bothered anymore."

"**..."** Harmony stayed silent.

"That's odd."

"What is?" Renamon asked, raising an eyebrow to her Tamer.

"I expected Harmony to offer to do so. Seriously, what is up with you this morning?" Rika asked herself, or at least, that's how it appeared.

"**Nothing."**

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

"**It is nothing!"**

"Do you really think me or Renamon believe you?"

"**You should****."**

"Geez, I thought I was the one with the mood swings. At least you didn't have to be sick earlier, you can just duck out of control," Rika noted, sighing before creeping forwards and looking over the snoring form in the bed. Her mind began to ponder exactly how she would wake him up pleasantly. Her mind, of course, popped up one or two suggestions that she rapidly dismissed.

Instead, Rika bent down, speaking to him quietly as she tried to draw him out of his seemingly endless slumber.

"Takato, it's morning," she said softly. "Takato, wake up. Takato, wake up. Takato, wake up. Takato, wake up."

"_**You're just repeating the same words over and over."**_

"_It's meant to gently bring him to."_

"_**It's not working."**_

"Hmm…" Rika pondered, glancing over him as he began to stir. Rika breathed a sigh of relief; she hadn't a clue how to wake him up short of violently shaking him awake.

"Cheese…cornflakes…twenty-nine…hold on, wait…cheese? No, cornflakes..."

Rika raised an eyebrow in bewilderment; this had to be one of the strangest mumblings she'd ever heard from someone coming to. Indeed, it did seem to be an odd dream that Takato was having.

Takato bolted upright all of a sudden, making Rika stumble back startled, both taking on a similar facial expression.

"Stop crushing me with cornfl…huh?" Takato asked, glancing around bewildered.

"To be honest, I don't think I want to know what you were dreaming about," Rika noted, a slim smile on her face as Takato laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head.

"Didn't make much sense to me either," Takato answered, running a hand through his bed-addled hair and yawning. "What time is it?" he asked, noting the bright sunlight shining into the room.

Rika glanced to the D-Vice on her wrist, reading its display. It looked convincingly enough like a simple digital watch to fool most people. "Twenty one past eleven," she answered.

"Great, I overslept," Takato said sarcastically, reaching across to and fitting his D-Vice onto his wrist, before he pushed himself up to his feet, Rika noting the irony of how they were both wearing the same shirt, albeit Takato only wearing boxers on the bottom half where Rika wore her usual jeans.

"Well, don't you two look like an adorable couple?" Kristy noted, joining them in the room and smiling at the sight. Takato laughed nervously, blushing lightly. Kudamon on the girl's shoulder smiled, nodding in agreement.

"It suits you," Rey noted, arriving at the room. Of course, the shirt didn't suit Takato at all, it was too small, had a heart on the front, and was also Rika's trademark, so seeing it on him just looked odd.

"No it doesn't," Takato and Rika noted together, the former walking over to his usual clothes left on the floor nearby.

"If you didn't like it, then why didn't you just wear your normal clothes in bed?" Realmon asked, tilting her head in questioning as she joined Rey at the door, leaping up gracefully onto her partner's shoulder. Takato began to pick up the clothes, shrugging.

"I'm probably going to have to wear these same clothes for several days; I don't want to smell."

"Won't make much difference then," Kristy noted, smiling teasingly.

"To the same clothes every day thing or to the smelling thing?" Takato asked bewilderedly, unsure as to what Kristy was implying.

"Both."

"Oh," Takato answered, frowning as Kristy giggled.

Rika groaned, turning to the others still by the door. "Can you just…" she began, before noting how what she was going to say would sound. She turned, walking over towards the others as she joined them. "Can we just get out of here and leave Takato to change?"

"Fine," Kristy groaned, sighing. "But he's fun to annoy."

Rika sighed, glancing back with a frown to Takato before stepping outside with all the others and closing the door swiftly behind her.

"Finally," Takato breathed a sigh of relief, beginning to change.

* * *

_**Shinjuku Upper High School**_

_**10:20 JST**_

"Ugh, my back is killing me," Chiyo moaned, stepping out of the school gates with DarkBiyomon in tow. "And I thought I'd done away with school; fat chance there then."

"So what do you plan to do today?" DarkBiyomon asked, tilting her head at her partner as they stopped outside the school gates.

"Same thing we do every day DarkBiyomon - try to take over the world," Chiyo said dryly, before glancing around with disdain at the beautiful and quiet day around them. "Speaking of which, I really can't believe I'm giving up on that."

DarkBiyomon gave a bewildered expression. _"Is she really giving up on it? Seems a bit too sudden…although I am thankful if it's true."_

"Still, I suppose there are some merits in abandoning my pursuit of murdering my enemies and simply becoming friends with them instead," Chiyo continued.

"Yeah, about that…what are you going to do about Ryder and the others who saw you?"

"Oh…I'll find a way round that. They are unbelievably forgiving, trust me. Heck, I know that one of them forgave another for brutally killing her partner. I mean, come on, there has to be a line drawn somewhere."

"I see," DarkBiyomon answered, still left in the lurch by Chiyo's bizarre change of heart. "So, are you going to find them now or what?"

"Could do. But, then again, if this is going to work, I'm going to have to meet them all together, so we don't get a bunch of Chinese whispers going around that I'm somehow "evil"," Chiyo noted, rolling her eyes at the concept.

"When do you think you'll find them all together though?" DarkBiyomon asked curiously. Chiyo simply smirked, pulling out a piece of A4 paper and proudly displaying it to DarkBiyomon. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's a school timetable, and, if I'm not mistaken, the end of term for them is the Wednesday after next. And they love a celebration, can't blame them for that, I always hated school, but the point is: they will inevitably meet up somewhere, as a group, ready for me to meet them. It's the perfect opportunity."

"So what are you going to do until then?" DarkBiyomon asked, understanding part of what Chiyo was planning, but still with many questions left in her mind. Was she preparing to attack the Tamers that day or something?

"I'm going to look for a place to stay, perhaps a part time job, and begin enrolling myself in their school."

"But what about the police? Won't they notice you if you make yourself known like that?"

Chiyo chuckled in amusement at the concept. "I may have killed my parents, but it doesn't look like that to them. I'm just the sweet girl, an innocent victim caught up in a terrible tragedy. If I flutter my eyelids, look cute and use Seduction on them, I'll easily get away with it."

DarkBiyomon frowned, nodding in agreement. "Okay then," _"…but I'm going to figure out what you have planned sooner or later. There has to be more to it than this, there just has to be!"_

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**11:42 JST**_

"Good morning young Takato," greeted Seiko from the kitchen as Takato stepped into the living room, which was busier than usual. Everyone else was already dressed and had seemingly already had breakfast, whilst Takato stood there, only half awake and hungry as hell.

"Morning Mrs Hata," he greeted, paying all respects to the woman, knowing that with the current situation, politeness would be everything.

"So, what do you want then dear?" Mei asked, stepping around the kitchen herself as Takato noted the surrealism of the situation, at the same time being silently happy that his mother was seemingly rather cheerful. Then again, on a day like this particular day, with the sun beaming down on the whole city and giving a positive light to it all, it was hard not to be cheerful.

"Whatever you do, don't order the cereal and water," Kristy warned, glancing up from the television nearby where she sat watching an anime that flashed by far too quickly for Takato to discern it from afar. Nonetheless, the television was quiet at the suggestion of Kudamon, sitting beside his partner and watching the anime with intrigue. Clearly, no-one wanted to upset anyone else right now, or even suggest doing so. Overall, there was a rather uptight edge to the room, from Rumiko quietly thumbing through a magazine to Takehiro equally quietly reading the newspaper. Rika stood near Takato, similarly noting the odd situation in the room with a look of disdain on her face at how people were acting. Renamon was nowhere to be seen, and Guilmon came bounding up the hallway behind Takato, eager for his breakfast, although Takato had noted to him beforehand that it wouldn't be as big as his breakfasts back at the bakery. Nothing could be as absurdly big as that.

All the while, Rey sat, watching everyone's behaviour with a look of intrigue and awe, one that Takato found a bit odd, rather like a westerner taking a picture with amazement at their huge traffic jams. It was only amazing to those who hadn't seen it so many times before. Realmon, on the other hand, was quietly licking her tail clean from where something seemed to have been spilled on them, quite a task for the chibi-Kyubimon given that she had nine tails to clean in total.

"Cereal and water? Whatever are you talking about?" Mei asked, looking to Kristy curiously, before looking across to Takato as if he was somehow able to answer the question.

"Inside joke mum," Takato answered. "I'll have cornflakes please if they have any," he added.

"And cheese too?" Rika asked Takato teasingly, causing Mei to raise her eyebrow again. "Another inside joke," Rika gave as an answer to an unasked question.

"It's like they're forming a cult," Takehiro noted dryly, smiling from where he sat before looking back down to his newspaper. Mei rolled her eyes at the joke, turning and heading to prepare Takato's breakfast.

"So, what are we doing until the bakery is fixed?"

"Well, your father has been on the phone to the insurance people, and we should have it rebuilt in a few weeks. Until then, we're going to arrange a hotel to stay in," Mei noted, as she moved around the kitchen, preparing the breakfast.

"I'll sort the hotel out later," Takehiro noted, flicking to the next page of his newspaper.

"Meaning that I'll inevitably have to sort it out," Mei whispered to Takato, who nodded nervously. "Now eat it quick, or it counts as lunch," she noted afterwards, placing the bowl down by him.

"Thanks," he noted unsurely, subsequently walking over to join the oddly quiet scene, everyone metaphorically (and indeed, literally) tiptoeing so as to avoid irritating anyone else. He bent down onto his knees by the table, beginning to eat the cereal, being careful so as not to make a loud cluttering noise with the spoon every time he used it. Guilmon sat down just as quietly next to him.

Rika looked around the large room from where she stood at one end of it; to the deadened noise, to the lack of communication, to the frown on her Grandma's face. This was worse than them arguing.

And then, like the flick of a switch, it happened.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING!" Rika burst, before shying away when all eyes were on her, including Renamon who appeared out of thin air behind her. However, once again, the embarrassment was dismissed, as she glared around the room with a look of irritation. "Can we please just talk about this? Geez, you're all so busy sidestepping the elephant in the room," she added.

There was a pause, a short, unsure pause as everyone glanced at everyone else. Rika finally broke it, her anger suddenly evaporating and being replaced by normal emotions.

"Oh, and I forgot to say: my first ultrasound is next Sunday," she noted, placing her hand on her belly as she spoke and glancing down periodically. It didn't seem to be particularly showing yet, but Rika knew she'd miss the days when it didn't greatly.

Takato slapped his head in realisation, having forgotten about all the little things that went along with the pregnancy. "Oh, right," he mumbled, Kristy chuckling at the sight.

"Thanks for telling us Rika," Seiko said, smiling as the tone of the room became slightly more comfortable.

"Um, can I come?" Rey asked curiously, not sure whether they were okay with her getting so involved in her own life.

"Sure," Rika said, smiling. "I know you wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Rey, I've been wondering," Rumiko entered the conversation. "You seem to wear the same clothes every day, like Rika and the others do, but you also don't seem to have any other clothes," she noted. "And, I think I should get to know my newfound granddaughter, so would you like to come shopping with me today?" she asked, an uneasy air descending on the room when she finished.

"Um…" Rey pondered, glancing nervously to Rika who looked back at her concerned, before she looked across to Seiko, who smiled knowingly.

"Don't worry dear, I made her promise that she wouldn't force you to wear or buy anything you don't like."

"Thanks," Rey said, smiling as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay then, sounds great."

"Wonderful," Rumiko said, smiling. "Rika, would you like to come along?" she asked, turning to her daughter.

"No, for two reasons. One, I detest clothes shopping on its own, even when you aren't there, no offence intended. Two, all my clothes aren't going to fit me a few weeks from now, and I'm really not in the mood to start considering how big I'm going to get yet," she answered.

"Fine," Rumiko answered. "Takato?" she asked, surprising the boy who looked up to her with a look of shock and nervousness.

"Um, I'm not sure whether…"

"Go on Takato, I think you're going to need a change of clothes at some point," Rika said, smiling as Takato pondered whether this was partly Harmony's involvement to get back at Chaos. Chaos phrased it slightly differently.

"_**Ugh, that cow, ruining another of my days! Geez, she's touchy, all I told her was the truth. Christ, some people can never take an inconvenient truth."**_

"Fine," Takato noted, Rumiko smiling widely. It was going to be a good day.

* * *

_**DIGITAL WORLD**_

_**Grande Desert**_

_**9:12 UTC**_

"I want an enemy!" Cyberdramon growled, slashing at the sand wildly. Ryo glanced up from his bored stare across the vast desert they were walking through, to his partner flying just above the sand.

"Cyberdramon, calm down! Ryo ordered, a whip beginning to appear in front of his D-Arc screen.

Cyberdramon simply growled, pausing and sniffing at the air eagerly, scraping his claws together.

"Cyberdramon, what is wrong with you lately?" Ryo asked, Cyberdramon looking to him with a blank look, a look aided by his complete lack of visible eyes. "We came here this weekend to get this out of your system, and I know you hate the city, so isn't this vast desert okay?"

"I want a battle."

"I know that, but why do you always have to kill?" Ryo asked.

"I have to defeat them."

"But why?" Ryo asked, really at the end of his tether with his partner as of late.

"Why ask? You know why," Cyberdramon said, the insightful (if slightly incoherent) words shaking Ryo to his core as he frowned, a silence descending between them periodically.

"_Why is he influencing Cyberdramon so much all of a sudden? Cyberdramon has been problematic for ages, but it's been three years since the jogress between him and Milleniummon, and so much else has happened. I thought that was all over with."_

The sand suddenly shuddered, lumps bursting out of the sand. Cyberdramon snarled, his expression not exactly matching his true happiness. Ryo frowned, their battle had been interrupted, and as he looked around him, to a dozen Scorpiomon who had entered the fray, he noted the absence of something else.

"_Alone again," _he thought, pondering how, unlike the others who were part of a huge team usually, he seemed to end up inevitably fighting his battles single-handedly. While it had conditioned him to be independent and self-sufficient, the pangs of loneliness, and worry that he had no backup coming were he to fail, were the cost for it. Raising his D-Arc, he read from the screen. "Scorpiomon, Data type, Ultimate level, attacks Stinger Surprise, Tail Blade and Scorpion Storm."

"Perfect," Cyberdramon growled, leaping straight forward at the nearest one. "CYBER NAIL!" he roared, his sharp claws slicing across the crustacean's back and causing it to cower in pain, before it was flipped on its back by the sheer force of the attack.

"_In any other situation, I wouldn't think a single vaccine type up against a dozen data types at the same level would be easy, but Cyberdramon just seems to fight on regardless of that."_

"DESOLATION…" Cyberdramon began, drawing energy between his claws for wiping out his now-vulnerable opponent.

"SCORPION STORM!" came the shout from a dozen less one Scorpiomon, interrupting Cyberdramon as streams and bullets made of sand hissed towards him.

Cyberdramon simply growled with annoyance, before snarling and slashing down across the back of his vulnerable foe, the data sweeping outwards in an explosion. He quickly turned, absorbing the data as he flew upwards, above the Scorpiomon, before he began his attack again.

"_I hate him when he's like this," _Ryo thought, fearful that Cyberdramon would go manic again. Why did he have to kill all these Digimon anyway? Couldn't he just defeat them? Even with the way of the Southern Region, this seemed horrific.

"DESOLATION CLAW!" Cyberdramon roared, a larger than normal stream of energy let loose as it scraped across the sand, kicking up a storm. He turned, aiming across each Scorpiomon, some of whom dodged by digging into the sand. Collecting the data from two fallen opponents, Cyberdramon flew downwards, landing on the sand. Rather than facing off his visible opponents, he snarled at the sand. "Come out and face me!" he roared, slashing across below.

"STINGER SURPRISE!" a Scorpiomon roared in response, surfacing and digging his sharp stinger into Cyberdramon's back. Cyberdramon roared, almost enjoying the pain, as he ripped the stinger loose, both from its owner and from his back. He flew forward, slashing at the Scorpiomon.

"CYBER NAIL!" he roared, the Scorpiomon becoming floating data before Cyberdramon rapidly turned to his remaining eight enemies, all of whom had surfaced to see what was going on.

"Cyberdramon, calm down!" Ryo ordered, but was promptly ignored, more energy drawn into Cyberdramon's claws.

"DESOLATION…" he began, snarling.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ryo yelled, his whip flying out of his D-Arc and gripping his partner's arm. Cyberdramon turned to him with a bewildered expression, or that was how it looked at least. Ryo glared back, before looking to the horde of Scorpiomon who were watching with confusion at this boy who was suspending their battle. "Run, now! Cyberdramon won't stop until he kills all of you, he'll chase you to the end of the Earth," he warned.

The Scorpiomon gave him a look of confusion, as he felt Cyberdramon trying to tear himself loose from the bond attached around his arm.

"I said, RUN!" Ryo yelled, the Scorpiomon no longer in confusion as they promptly burrowed down into the sand. Ryo breathed deeply, turning to his partner who was currently scowling at him angrily.

"BATTLE!" he roared.

Ryo glared, gripping his D-Arc tightly, pausing only to whisper one thing. "Sorry."

The whip flared up, overpowered in places as balls of energy floated down it, Cyberdramon bawling in agony as each hit him. Finally, he glowed brightly, the whip fading afterwards as Ryo breathed deeply, moving his hand and his D-Arc to his side.

Silence fell on the desert, broken only by the sound of feet pounding against sand, Ryo rushing across the wasteland, coming to stop over a small, inanimate purple dragon. He looked down at the unconscious Monodramon, frowning and bending down.

"Sorry."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Well, a nice (well, kinda) aside to the main plot there. Some people were wondering where Ryo has been, and the concept of him taking a weekend trip to let Cyberdramon cool off seemed reasonable. It also allows me to set up a few things.

Next time's clue is: "Ultrasound" (what a surprise)

Until next time…


	28. The Trick To Trench Coats

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 28**

_The Trick to Trench Coats_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 18****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Tokyo Medical University Hospital**_

_**11:29 JST**_

"Ah, my favourite patient," Dr Imai noted with a smile, stepping into the waiting room where quite a large party of people were assembled for the ultrasound. "Even if I do say that to everyone, I mean it honestly about you," Fumiko added, before glancing around at who was in the group.

"**Heh, hardly. I know for a fact that you've got a patient who died twice," **Harmony noted, her tone rather upbeat.

Fumiko chuckled, nodding to Rika, who seemed pretty relaxed at first glance, despite her odd change of voice. Then again, the fact that she was tightly grabbing hold of Takato's hand said otherwise.

As for Takato, he was watching the situation nervously, and seemed particularly concerned about Rika, who was clearly stressed about how the forthcoming ultrasound would go. Then again, it wasn't helped by having Takato's parents, Rika's mother and grandmother, Kristy, Rey, their Digimon partners and, oddly, Mari there as well.

Rey decided to finally pop the question, glancing across to the Second Angel who sat a short distance from her on another bench. "Mari, what are you doing here?" she asked, with raised eyebrows.

Mari had a slight smile on her face, but it was threatened by concern. "Ryder gets out of hospital today, and I'm waiting to see him," she answered.

"Oh, right, wish him well for me," Rey noted. "I'll come by and see him if I can."

"Fumiko…Dr Imai's going to have to dismiss him anyway, so I've got to wait for Rika's ultrasound to be over first."

"Okay, you'll be able to see the pictures then of…well, me," Rey joked, a smile coming to her face.

"Yeah…speaking of which, I have to say you look pretty good in your new outfit," Mari added, glancing over the redhead and her new clothes. Gone were the old red rather worn Digital Monster symbol top and blue jeans, replaced with newer clothes that were surprisingly good, leading Mari to ponder who picked them out. The girl's hair had stayed loose, currently hanging down to her mid-back. Her top itself was a black and almost completely sleeveless top, crossed intermittently by lines of gold which circled elegantly to create the word Destiny on the front in the middle, and with a thin line of midriff at the bottom. Below there, her usual choice of jeans remained, although this pair was a darker blue than previously. As always, her "10" necklace and D-Vice took pride of place on her neck and arm respectively. She smiled, nodding in agreement to Mari.

"Thanks. Surprisingly, Rumiko picked it out, and I suggested the whole "Destiny" thing for obvious reasons."

"It suits you," Mari added, before glancing down to what she was wearing, a very dark green top, with dull blue lines across the end of the short sleeves and the edges of the top on the front, with a line of midriff poking out between that and her dark blue jeans fastened with a black belt and a silver buckle. Her hair was back to being loose again, and strewn on her chair was a dark blue jacket. And, like Rey, a "2" necklace took pride of place around her neck. "And I thought I was the only one who regularly changed their outfit."

"You're not alone in that now, Takato was taken shopping too," Rey noted. Mari grinned, nodding.

"Yeah, I noticed," she added, glancing across to the boy, who, along with Rika and Rika's mother, were currently engaging in conversation with Dr Imai. As for Takato, his hooded top seemed to be over with, but his Goggles still took pride of place on his head as always. A black shirt was visible under a blue zipped jacket, the former imprinted with a white symbol that looked remarkably similar to the Hazard.

That's because it _was_ the Hazard - at Chaos' insistence (on pain of secret unveiling, embarrassment causing and, well, pain) - and the white colour on it was simply Takato's compromise to deaden the fact it was the symbol of a huge mistake he had made. Chaos didn't mind this particularly, knowing that the contrast between black and white on the shirt made it pretty obvious it was there.

Below, a pair of light greyish pants finished off a blue and black look that, while not completely the same as his old look, was still not too dissimilar.

"_**Harmony's still eying me with disdain about the shirt I see," **_Chaos thought, a satisfied tone to his voice, which went all but ignored as Takato continued to listen to Dr Imai.

"Hmm…what's with the symbol?" Mari asked, recalling the symbol from both Guilmon and from Ryder's talks about the Tamer's history, something he was particularly knowledgeable on thanks to his knowledge of the TV show, and his own theories, some of which had been validated by Chaos' presence behind it all.

"Seriously, don't ask. Takato was complaining to Chaos the other day about how his fellow Tamers were giving him strange looks in class and asking about it all," Rey answered, sighing. "But, of course, Chaos couldn't care less, forcing him to wear it."

"Takato must get sick of Chaos, surely?" Mari asked, raising an eyebrow as she pondered why Takato hadn't gone insane with annoyance yet.

"It's Takato we're talking about here, he couldn't hold a grudge if his life depended on it," Rey answered with a grin.

"That's your father you're talking about, you know?" Mari asked, not being particularly serious about the matter.

"Yeah, so?" Rey answered, the two laughing afterwards at the concept. "Speaking of clothes, what is Ryder planning to wear once he's got to a point where his clothes aren't destroyed within two days?"

"Oh, don't even mention that," Mari groaned. "He's acquired some obsession with getting a brown trench coat kind of thing when he leaves the hospital."

Rey raised both eyebrows in bewilderment and surprise. "Why?"

"Something to do with Doctor Who," Mari answered, before sighing with a smile on her face. "It's brilliant that I only learnt he was a geek after getting into a relationship with him," she joked.

"Yeah…I really can't believe you two have only been together for seven weeks by this point," Rey noted.

"Well, to be fair, it hasn't been the easiest of seven weeks. I nearly died several times, he nearly died…well, he died twice," Mari correct. "And porting my whole life, minimal as it was, into a whole new country where I was lucky enough to know the language would've been a lot harder weren't it for him, and all of you guys to be honest."

"Glad to help, even if I was literally popping in and out all the time."

"And even if I didn't figure out who you were until two weeks ago," Mari added, smiling before glancing across to the conversation still at hand between Dr Imai, Takato and Rika. Her gaze caught that of Fumiko, who flashed a brief smile before she looked back to her current concern.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we'll be able to fit anyone else into the room, let alone everyone," Dr Imai noted, frowning to Rika and Takato. "And I don't think you'll want it to be crowded either."

Rika shook her head nervously. "Nope, definitely don't want that."

"So, shall we get moving?" Dr Imai asked. Rika nodded and cast a brief glance across to Takato, her hand becoming locked into a grip with his. Takato felt Rika's fingers slip through his softly, before his hand was gripped tightly, and he was pulled to his feet. Dr Imai decided to take that as a yes. "It's a pretty small room, do you want to take one parent with you?" she then asked Rika, Rika glancing across to their assembled parents nearby. Naturally, Takato's parents were out - even if they were the parents of the father of her child, they wouldn't exactly reassure her at a point like this. She looked briefly to her grandmother, and to her mother. Takato felt pain wince through his hand as Rika weighed up her options.

"Mum," she decided, Rumiko smiling as she stood up and walked over to her daughter. Seiko nodded in agreement at the decision. Dr Imai cast a concerned glance over the situation, before turning, gesturing for the patient and her two companions to follow her along the corridor.

Rumiko glanced to her daughter, currently locking Takato in a painful grip that he was far too polite to tell her about.

"Scared?" mother asked daughter, a comforting tone to her voice, knowing that elements of the situation felt all-too-familiar.

"I've been into the middle of a living blob of red mass that deletes things when it touches them, facing a horrific beast that looked worse than anything in any horror film, whilst my friends were at the constant risk of death. And that's nothing compared to how petrified I am right now."

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Rumiko reassured, giving her daughter a warm glance. "Takato, don't you agree?" she asked, catching the boy by surprise.

"Huh…oh," Takato spluttered, before turning his gaze to the girl next to him, giving an equally warm smile as she had received from her mother. "It'll be fine Rika," Takato said, in lieu of the fact that his hand was now aching and he held a deep inner concern at how things had so suddenly changed for them, something that Rika easily saw through to but decided against mentioning.

"I hope so," Rika noted.

"Trust me, I deal with this thing very regularly and it usually passes without incident," Fumiko noted, passing her patient a reassuring smile. Rika was by now getting rather irritated by people giving her too many smiles and not enough actual reassurance that nothing could go wrong, be wrong, or do wrong.

"**Just remember about Rey, Rika. She exists and seems healthy, and surely that is proof of everything being fine with your child?"**

"_Rey hasn't mentioned a lot about anything really though. To be honest, I'm just concerned about everything right now. I'm hoping this ultrasound goes okay, I'm hoping that I won't get too big and look too stupid, I'm hoping that I won't be too sick or have too many mood swings, and I'm also worried that I may be causing physical pain to Takato right now."_

"**So why are you still gripping his hand?"**

"_If I lighten my grip, he'll think I'm giving up or feeling depressed, and he's got enough to think about right now. I really want to give him time to think, since I'm really worried about how this'll affect our relationship."_

"**Well, I can't disagree with injuring Chaos, but what's all this concern about your relationship with Takato?"**

"_I just really need him right now, and you hear of all these young single mums, even my own mother. I really don't want him to run away or get scared or stop…"_

"**Rika, everything will be fine," **Harmony asserted.

"_STOP SAYING THAT!" _Rika screamed in frustration.

"**What?" **Harmony spluttered.

"_Everyone just gives me words without anything to back them up. It doesn't bloody help! I'm petrified here, and all you can all do is point at the darkness and say it isn't that dark."_

"**Rika, what do you want me to say? Do you want me to promise you that everything's going to be okay, just because we're part of a God? Because I'm sorry if this is worrying to you Rika, but I just can't promise that."**

"_No, but…" _Rika began, rather timidly.

"**Rika, I am as subject to the whims of Destiny, Fate and time as any other being. I mean, don't get us wrong, you're going to be in far better shape for this than most girls thanks to me, and afterwards I'm not going to let everything just go all screwy. I do have some pride, you know. But, I can't change what's going to happen; I let go of those forces of the universe long ago, and they control themselves. Not knowing them is the reason why I still put up with every day Rika, because I know that if my eternal life was all known to me and fixed, I couldn't bear it."**

"_I see," _Rika thought sadly.

"**Rika, I have been pregnant so many times before, and trust me, the facilities of today beat absolutely anything I've ever had to put up with in the past. Seriously, you don't want to hear about it, and all that kind of stuff is the reason why I don't let you open the Pandora's Box of my memories."**

"_You could at least tell me some things though. Like, have you ever had any complications with a pregnancy?"_

Harmony paused briefly. **"I can't really remember," **she answered unsurely.

"_So you have then?"_

"**What difference does it make to this?"**

"_If I'm not human, it makes a lot of difference. Be honest, can you even have a child?"_

"**Of course I can! I've had tons of children in the past, even if I can't remember them individually. And sometimes I remember those past lives, and how that's all gone now, and I feel really depressed about it, but I move on because I have to. And I know that Chaos, moronic and evil as he can be at times, is forced to do the same. By becoming human, we gained so much…but we also lost a lot, and neither of us has really got past that properly. But being human has given my life meaning to be honest; Gods aren't really needed once things are running, so being able to be incarnated as people like you, and remember that you are really amazing Rika, is what I love. And being you has been so different, and even if I have to put up with Chaos practically every day, and even if we are carrying his child, it's still been brilliant to be you. You, of all my incarnations, will be able to tough this one out Rika regardless of what happens. I am certain of that."**

"_Thanks."_

"**Any time. Well, all the time really."**

Seeing her obstetrician pause by a door, push it open and gesture inwards, Rika swallowed her spit in an attempt to calm her raging nerves. This was going to be tough.

"**TAKATO, FOR GOD'S SAKE, TELL HER TO LET GO OF THE FREAKING HAND!!" **Chaos simultaneously screamed in pain. This was going to be tough.

* * *

_**12:00 JST**_

"So, she's going to run through a bunch of checks when we get here, so, to prepare you…does this hurt?" Mari asked, tapping Ryder's knee with the side of her hand. He winced in pain.

"It's my legs that need crutches Mari!" Ryder quickly squealed, Mari rolling her eyes.

"It was a joke Ryder, and I intentionally just touched them rather than hitting them. I suppose this at least tells us what your new limits are."

"I could've told you that!"

Mari laughed, putting her arm round his neck from where she sat on the side of his hospital bed. A pair of crutches in the corner a constant reminder of the transition he was about to make. And not a moment too soon, in his eyes.

"Even if I'm in crutches, I'm going to be happy to finally be in the outside world again," Ryder noted with a smile. "Digital Watch must think I'm dead."

"They're not completely wrong then," Mari added dryly. "And really, were you being serious about the whole trench coat thing?"

"Oh, you may worry about it now, but when I'm running around enthusiastically, hands in pockets and pondering, I'll…"

"Trip over your shoelaces endlessly?" MiniDonmon chuckled from the foot of the bed, his claws tucked around the bar.

"I didn't mean all at the same time!" Ryder argued back. "And, I thought, if I need some new clothes anyway, I may as well go for something individual, like you have…you look good, by the way."

"Thanks but…please, tell me, how is it individual if you based it off of a TV series?" Mari asked, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment.

"That's besides the point…and anyway, in this universe Doctor Who was never cancelled, so I am technically being original thank you very much."

Mari was about to argue back, before she simply chuckled at the bizarre nature of the situation. "This is one of the oddest arguments we've ever had, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but still…okay, what do you suggest?"

"I don't know. I'm not in the shops right now."

"Okay, so what about…a brown jacket? A bit like a trench coat, just without the weird image."

"You're really serious about all this, aren't you?"

"Well, I've had a lot of time to think about it all."

Mari let loose a warm smile, nodding and pulling her arm tighter around him. "I know, and I'm going to make sure you recover as soon as possible. Until then, you're just going to have to take it easy."

"Thanks," Ryder said in return, the pair's lips meeting as Fumiko stepped into the room, fresh from dealing with her latest patient. Smiling briefly at the happy moment she had walked in on, she went straight to speaking to get their attention.

"So, Ryder, everything seems to be in order," she noted, glancing over his chart as Ryder and Mari pulled out of the kiss, embarrassed by how they'd been interrupted.

"Oh, yeah, good, thanks," Ryder stammered, as Mari stood up and walked over to the doctor, having a quiet word with her.

"How's Rika?" she asked quietly.

"She's fine, everything went great," Dr Imai answered, a hint of bemusement in her voice. "They're all looking over the ultrasound image now; I presume you'd like to join them in the waiting room?"

"Yeah," Mari answered, nodding. Dr Imai stepped over to the crutches, picking them up and heading over to Ryder.

"Now, as you proved with your surprising escape two weeks ago, you seem to know how to use these, but they'll still take a bit of getting used to, so take it easy with them, okay?" Dr Imai asked. Ryder nodded, turning himself on the bed, carefully putting his feet on the ground, without weight on them.

Fumiko glanced to Mari, gesturing for her to hold the other crutch so Ryder could take them more easily. She nodded and did so, as Ryder carefully bent over and put his weight onto the crutches.

He almost instantly stumbled to one side, Mari grabbing him before he fell. She breathed a sigh of relief as he laughed nervously.

"Okay, got a bit confused there, sorry," Ryder mumbled, Mari rolling her eyes as he pushed himself up and gave it another attempt.

Turning, he began to walk, putting his weight on the crutches as Mari and Fumiko smiled in relief to see him finally and properly exit his bed. Even with the slight glimpses of pain on his expression when he put a bit too much weight on his feet, it was still great to see him walking.

"Finally," the three sighed in relief. MiniDonmon took to the air, following the group as they headed down the corridor.

* * *

"I can't see it," Rika complained, Rumiko giving her daughter a bewildered look. Rika frowned, sighing. "No, really, I can't see it."

"Rika, I'm right there," Rey noted, gesturing with a finger to the almost invisible blob on the image.

"**Geez, that's the most disappointing ending to something that I've ever seen. I mean, come on, what was the point of all that just to get a black photo with a bit of a blob on it?"**

"**It was to check that the baby was healthy," **Harmony argued back.

"**But we KNOW she's healthy, she's right here!" **Chaos argued, pointing out sharply with a finger at Rey.

"SHUT UP!" Rika and Takato groaned in tandem.

Chaos and Harmony both finally silenced, waiting for their alter-egos to say something.

"I am so sick and tired of you two arguing all the time," Takato complained.

"We get it, you hate each other, what are you trying to prove?" Rika asked, raising her eyebrows in irritation.

"Um…" Chaos pondered.

"Erm…" Harmony did likewise.

"Finally, some silence," Rika said, breathing a sigh of relief as their parents gave them strange looks. This whole "switching personalities" thing was very confusing, and rather worrying, particularly for Takato's parents who'd only had a week to come to terms with the concept.

The silence was broken by Kristy, who glanced up to see some new arrivals for the group.

"Hey, it's Mari and Ryder!" she noted excitedly, Rika raising a bewildered eyebrow at her as they all turned to face the new arrivals. How could Kristy always be so optimistic?

Rika, Takato and Rey wandered over to where Kristy was smiling, saying hello to the two teenagers and the doctor, and looking at Ryder's crutches curiously.

"So does it hurt?" Kristy asked curiously.

"Only if I lean on it," Ryder answered.

"Pretty hard to avoid that, isn't it?" Rika asked dryly.

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, how'd the ultrasound go?" he asked, curiously tilting his head and hoping for good news.

"It went fine," Takato answered. Ryder's eyes picked onto something notable about the Gogglehead, however, other than his new outfit.

"Is that a bandage around your hand?" he asked, bewilderment in his expression. Rika and Takato both laughed nervously, not really wanting to talk about it.

"Don't ask," they both said.

* * *

**MONDAY, 19****TH**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Upper High School**_

_**08:21 JST**_

"Okay, now this time, push up even harder on the crutches, okay?" Mari asked looking with concern to her boyfriend as he painfully made his way through the school gates. The sun brightly beamed down on them and attempted to make an optimistic tone to a rather irritating event.

"Easy for you to say, this is harder than it looks," Ryder grumbled, MiniDonmon watching with concern from where he floated just above Ryder. Mari sighed, glancing across the schoolyard to where groups of pupils had begun to gather, be it by a large patch of Ivy creeping its way over the wall, under the shade that the school provided at this time of the day, or just randomly dotted about.

"Over here!" Jeri called enthusiastically, altering their attention to a group containing Kazu, Kenta, Henry and her, along with most of their partners. Mari began to walk rapidly towards them, before slowing her pace upon seeing Ryder's slow movement. She sweatdropped, before sighing.

"_This is going to get a bit annoying," _she thought. Ryder winced in pain, his crutch almost slipping on the ground before he steadied himself. Mari ran over rapidly to ensure he was alright, putting her arms out in case she needed to grab him.

"I'm okay thanks," Ryder said, sighing, before beginning his trudge across the schoolyard, the problem alleviated somewhat when the others decided to simply come to him rather than the more painful opposite.

"I can't believe you're coming into school for the last three days!" Kazu asked, voicing his irritation. "Come on man, just extend your holiday a bit," he added, grinning widely at the concept.

"Yeah, it's not fair on us; you're making us look bad," Kenta added. Ryder groaned, pushing himself into a standing position on his crutches.

"I just want a bit of normality," he noted, before chuckling. "As if I have had that at all in the past two months," he added.

"Mrs Asagi is going to dump a ton of homework on you for all of this, you know?" Henry noted. Ryder nodded, shrugging.

"Meh, I'm going to be stuck mostly at home anyway, may as well try to grasp Japanese history and the like while I've got the chance."

"We'll get you out of the house Ryder," Mari insisted, smiling.

"Even if I have to drag you," MiniDonmon added with a laugh, before gently landing on his Tamer's head.

"Wow, thanks, that's such a great concept," Ryder said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Jeri simply giggled, before glancing over to the school gates as Takato and Rika arrived, without their partners, although it was pretty obvious that Renamon was somewhere nearby.

"It better not be showing Takato," Rika warned, her tone quiet but hardly soft.

"Rika, it really doesn't. If anything, people will just think you've put a bit of weight on…uh…" Takato began in a whisper, pausing upon being glared at. He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Rika muttered.

Takato breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the heavens. Or himself. However it worked.

"Rika, Takato, over here!" Jeri called out cheerfully, attracting attention to their group. Rika and Takato headed in their direction, Takato smiling as he arrived and Rika taking on her usual expression, or rather, lack of expression.

"Man, what happened to your hand?" Kazu asked, noticing the bandage still wrapped around the Gogglehead's digits.

"Um…accident?" Takato asked, taking a brief glance over to Rika as he pondered how to explain this one. She simply glared back, a subtle warning to shut up and bluff it away. _"God, she's in a bad mood this morning."_ "Yeah, accident with a…um…toaster," he finished quickly.

Kazu and Kenta, thankfully, were too dense to notice this back and forth. "Ouch," Kenta noted.

"Bored of the hotel yet?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I miss home," Takato answered, sighing. He shrugged. "They've begun to work on it, and it'll take a few weeks to complete, so I am going to have to get used to running to school every day."

"As opposed to…what?" Terriermon asked, a sarcastic expression on his face.

"Oh ha ha," Takato answered dryly. "Are we all meeting up on Wednesday after the end of school, by the way?"

"I suppose so," Henry answered. "We'll have to contact the Digidestined, we haven't had a proper reunion in a while," he added.

"That's because they're all scared of Rika," Terriermon joked. Rika simply glared at him, while Henry did the scolding.

"Terriermon!"

"Momentai!" Terriermon answered, grinning widely as the school bell rung. "Thanks, I'll be here all week!" he joked.

Rika simply groaned, silently walking away from the group towards the school, in a desperate bid to escape the lunacy.

"Geez, what's gotten to her lately?" Kazu asked Takato. "She's more grouchy than usual."

"Probably sick of having to put up with you, Kenta and Terriermon," Mari noted with a smile, answering for Takato. The last thing they wanted was another stuttering session from Takato, that'd just make Kazu and Kenta more suspicious.

"I don't know why, how could anyone hate us?" Kenta asked, he and Kazu grinning as the taller boy nodded in agreement.

"You two maybe, but certainly not me," Terriermon chuckled. Everyone else simply groaned, turning and drudging towards the school doors.

It was going to be one of those days.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Ryder's finally out of hospital, they're all meeting for a reunion, and they're going to have an unexpected guest. The next chapter is going to be great, I can tell you that. Plus, I've also written a preview for the rest of Book Six that's going to be attached to it that'll leave you in surprise and suspense as to what is going to happen.

The key word for next time is "Demon".

Until next time…


	29. The Trick To Reunion Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. If you haven't already, remember to check out the Dimensions Wiki, accessible via my profile website link, and now featuring an interview with me that may give a few hints about the series.

Hope you're sitting comfortably. This chapter is very long. And I mean very, very long. Call it a reward for lacking much action and stuff over the past few chapters.

In fact, it's so long I've split it up into several parts for readability reasons. I will publish each part over the course of the next week. It's still "one chapter" in my mind (since that's how I wrote it), but ah well. There's a preview at the end of this "chapter" giving hints about the remainder of the series.

This "chapter" serves as a little interlude to the plot, giving a nice big battle and giving various that set up a few things for later. It's also the last chapter before I plan to jump forward a month or two.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 29**

_The Trick to Reunion_

**Part One**

* * *

**WEDNESDAY, 21****ST**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Central Park**_

_**16:01 JST**_

"No more school, no more homework, no more detentions…"

"Until next year,"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me TK," Davis complained, TK simply chuckling in response. The pair, along with Kari, were currently to be found headed down one of the many pathways which spiralled and curved through the wide and short expanse that was Shinjuku Park. DemiVeemon rode on Davis' messy hair, whilst Patamon gently flapped along behind his blonde-haired partner and Gatomon went the old-fashioned way - on foot.

"Two more years of school left though," Kari noted, a gentle smile coming to her face. "Do either of you have any idea what you plan to do afterwards?" she asked, a curious expression on her face.

"Erm…" Davis stuttered.

"Um…" TK stumbled.

"Meh, no idea, I just plan to relax!" Davis said, stretching his arms and yawning as Kari rolled her eyes. "And then, I don't know, noodle cart?"

"Oh no, here we go again," Gatomon groaned. "I thought you were joking when you mentioned that before."

"We all did," Patamon added.

"No, seriously, I think it'd be cool," Davis insisted. "Don't you think so Kari?" he asked, looking to his girlfriend and eagerly hoping for confirmation that…

"No, it's insane," Kari answered.

"Don't you agree with me TK?" Davis asked, hoping that someone would sympathise with his idea. Other than Veemon, of course, who agreed with _most_ of his ideas. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

"Nope," TK answered, shaking his head and grinning. Davis groaned and sighed.

"Thanks a lot TK," Davis muttered under his breath.

TK frowned, glancing to his friend before he pondered something. Rather uncomfortably, he spoke up again.

"Hey, guys…um…could you call me Takeru from now on?"

"Huh?" Davis and Kari asked, raising eyebrows as their partners mimicked their surprised expressions.

"Why?" Davis asked, cocking his head at his friend, as DemiVeemon on his head continued to copy his expression, albeit gripping on more tightly now.

"Well, it is my name you know," Takeru noted.

"Yeah, but…you've always been TK," Kari noted. "What's changed?"

"For starters, I'm not a kid anymore," Takeru answered. "And I think TK just sounds a bit too childish," he added.

"Fine TK," Davis answered.

"It's Tak…wait, this is going to be a new joke of yours, isn't it?" Takeru asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend and fellow Tamer.

"Of course TK," Davis answered, a wide grin appearing on his face as Takeru sighed and groaned.

* * *

"So you left a packed lunch in your locker?" Yolei asked. Her eyebrows rose at Cody who nodded, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, my bad," the short boy answered.

"That's sure going to smell when we go back," Armadilomon noted.

"Please remind me beforehand Cody, I do not want to be around when you reopen that locked," Hawkmon noted. Yolei nodded in agreement. She glanced across to Ken, who had been rather silent thus far in the conversation, although he was listening intently to their conversation.

"Ken, how'd your last day go?" she asked with a smile, Ken giving her a rather surprised look before shrugging.

"Not much really happened," he answered, Wormmon giving him a curious look.

"Hmm," Yolei pondered. "Really? On the last day? No people setting off fire bells? Were people really doing their work? No-one just happening' to be absent?" she asked.

"A bit of that, but I really don't involve myself. Even with Wormmon, I'm not really that popular or noticed in my school. I don't particularly mind though, since afterwards I always get to see you guys," he explained.

"Oh, I see," Yolei replied, realising she'd never asked about the subject before. Ken just arrived from Tamachi regularly; they never really asked too much about his personal life. Ken smiled, reassuring her.

"I especially look forward to seeing you," he noted. Yolei smiled, nodding, as the pair shared a kiss. Armadilomon gagged.

"I jus' don't understand why people do that in public," he noted, seeing the sight.

"Armadilomon, quiet," Cody whispered.

* * *

"So, what are the chances we get a Digimon bioemerging during this reunion thing?" Matt asked, a grin on his face at the concept as he glanced to his university roommates, all heading along a pavement of a Shinjuku street on the way to the hideout.

"I hope not, that sort of stuff always seems to happen," Tai noted, nodding in agreement.

"Whatever Digimon it was, I think it'd have to quickly invent a strategy to deal with all of us," Izzy noted.

"Yeah, it'd get its ass-kicked easily," Agumon cheered, rephrasing Izzy's words.

"Don't speak too soon," Joe noted. "Inevitably, it would be something really powerful to put up a real threat, like one of the Demon Lords…"

"Or the Dark Masters," Sora added.

"Or Myotismon," Gomamon chirped in.

"…and knowing our luck, that's just what we'd get," Joe finished.

"But we beat all of them Joe," Tai noted, a curious expression on his face as he glanced back at his friend.

"Yeah, and if they were coming back, I think they'd have done it by now," Gabumon added.

"Hmm," Matt pondered. "I wouldn't be too sure of that Gabumon; evil guys have a habit of coming up with really elaborate and long plots," he noted.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Gabumon noted.

"Of course, you're all ignoring the fact that probability-wise, our most likely next threat is a Demon," Izzy added, with a frown. "And that means dealing with a human, and…"

"Oh, lighten up Izzy," Mimi said, groaning. "All this doom and gloom talk is really spoiling a good evening. I just want to have fun," she added.

"Count me in for that," Palmon added, nodding to her Tamer.

"Same," Matt added, as the group continued down towards the infamous hideout. "So is everyone going to be there?" he asked, glancing to Sora.

"I think so," she answered. "Not too sure about Ryo, and some of the younger ones though," she added, shrugging. "I suppose we'll have to wait and see," she noted.

"Hmm…Ryo does just seem to vanish off the face of the earth from time to time," Joe noted.

"He's never really played a big part in a group before, particularly not after how we betrayed him," Tai added, a frown replacing his previously joyous expression.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Matt pondered. "I don't think we'd have survived the old days if we were all alone," he added.

"Mimi, don't you still owe him a date?" Palmon teased.

"Yeah, but I don't think he's ever going to take me up on it. There's the age difference for starters," she answered, grinning as Palmon chuckled in response.

"You know, something really bugs me about his partner," Tentomon noted, pondering.

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked, glancing to the insectoid digimon who flew along alongside him with a curious glance.

"I'm not sure," the bug answered, doing an approximation of a shrug. "If I knew, I would have told you Izzy," he added.

"I know what you mean; Cyberdramon does act strangely at times," Biyomon noted.

"Yeah, but Monodramon seems completely tame in comparison, if a little too playful for his own good," Gabumon added.

"Even you guys don't change that much when you digivolve," Tai noted, glancing around at their Digimon. "Well, apart from when it goes wrong," he said with a frown when looking at Agumon, who responded in kind. Sora frowned at the sight, deciding it was best to get off that particular subject.

"It's like they're two completely different Digimon," Sora noted, pondering about Monodramon and Cyberdramon.

"Hmm…" Izzy pondered. "You have a point there," he added.

* * *

"Monodramon?" Ryo asked, as the pair walked down a quiet park pathway heading to the same place as everyone else. Monodramon glanced up to his Tamer, both with a distinct frown on their faces.

"Yes Ryo?" he asked.

"Hmm…never mind," he answered, shrugging off the thought before returning to their walk. It was in fact, strange for them to be walking, given that Monodramon's normal form, Cyberdramon, made that pretty much completely redundant. But, Ryo didn't want to risk that again. As far as he was concerned, Monodramon would stay Monodramon for as long as he could ensure it.

The alternative wasn't worth thinking about. The previous weekend's misadventure in the Digital World had made him rather wary of using Cyberdramon again, even for battles, and Monodramon seemed to feel the same way. Then again, the decision wasn't always up to the dinosaur; other forces had a habit of intervening and forcing a Digivolution.

Cyberdramon's problems had grown far more difficult as of late, and they hadn't exactly been easy to start with.

It had all started in 2006, the year he was forced to return to the digital world. It had been a strange year, first of all, he found himself in a new world with a digi-egg, and he had no idea about what either held in store for him. The Southern Quadrant had taken a bit of getting used to, not only with the fact his friends' from the Eastern Quadrant were only a TV series (one or two episodes of which he had oddly appeared in), but also the fact that somehow, he had a father, a home and a life which didn't seem to recognise the fact he hadn't existed in it beforehand. He had eventually learnt to shrug it off, although his father had inquired about the strange black and grey digi-egg which sat on their dinner-table many a time. His abilities at the card game had made him rather famous, particularly when he won the Digital Card Game tournament of that year, defeating a particular Rika Nonaka in the final.

A few days later though, it had all changed. The digi-egg hatched. Ryo had then been stuck in a desperate chase after his feral partner Cyberdramon, culminating in a fierce battle with a bioemerged Parrotmon. That was when Ryo realised what was going on, and that he could never live his life the same way again. He was forced to apologise to his father and escape to the Digital World, a place where Cyberdramon wouldn't cause so much damage. Eventually Cyberdramon had calmed down, although Ryo always found himself having to deal with outbursts whenever a more powerful enemy came into view.

It was meant to be over. Milleniummon was meant to be defeated, it was a last ditch solution. What were they to do now?

* * *

"You ready?"

"Will I ever be?"

"Uh, no idea."

"Thanks Takato, that's so reassuring."

Takato simply laughed nervously, glancing away from Rika to the other Shinjuku Tamers, gathered around the hideout in wait for everyone else to arrive. Kazu and Kenta had the biggest grins on their faces from the fact school was over, and they waited eagerly for the ex-Digidestined and, of course, Ryo, to arrive. Although both Rika and Ryo had seemingly retired from the card game championships, albeit not officially, Kazu and Kenta still seemed to hold Ryo in high regard. High regard was probably an understatement.

All the while, Jeri seemed to have occupied herself with talking to Suzie and Kristy. The younger children were ecstatic about the end of school for another year whilst Jeri herself had a smile on her face; a lesser one since maturity had dampened the joy of ending school for a month and a half. Kristy was particularly happy, knowing she'd be moving into middle school soon enough. Indeed, it wasn't any old middle school, it was the Tamers' old middle school; even if they had left already, it still meant that there was knowledge of Digimon in the school, which would probably make things a fair bit easier for her and Kudamon. Suzie still had a year to go before middle school; probably a rather lonely year due to the absence of any other Tamers and Digimon to keep her company like Kristy had, and of course, like the other Tamers' had.

At the same time, Henry was engaged in conversation with Mari and Ryder, the later leaning against the front wall of the hideout to take the pressure of his crutches, which it was clear he was still getting used to. MiniDonmon watched his Tamer below, sitting on the edge of the hideout roof, and soon being joined by an enthusiastic and yet sarcastic Terriermon.

"Geez, you must be enjoying not being able to sit on his shoulder," the dog-bunny quipped.

"Yeah, just a force of habit really. It's hard to stop," MiniDonmon answered.

"Couldn't you just fly?" asked a new voice, a large dark form appearing on the roof, causing both Terriermon and MiniDonmon to move back in surprise. DarkRenamon smiled, before joining them in sitting on the edge. Henry cast the sight a brief glance, DarkRenamon's long legs dangling over the edge, but he shrugged and returned to his conversation.

"So for how long do you have to use them?" he asked, looking curiously across to Mari and Ryder. The latter had now changed his clothes, rather drastically too, although the crutches did detract from the image somewhat. A fiery orange-red colour to his shirt was broken by black sleeves running down to his elbows, and the word "BLAZE" written in black across the front. The "Z" was large and reversed, looking rather like a large sharp-cornered "S". Below, he wore a pair of deep gray pants, fastened by a black belt. There was no sign of a trench coat yet, but then again, that'd probably have been difficult given he needed as much movement room as possible for the crutches.

Ryder frowned, shrugging. "No idea; could be a month, could be half a year," he answered.

"It's probably going to cause problems with battles," Mari noted. "I don't think you can do the big dramatic card swipes that you used to if you have to let go of your crutches to do so," she joked, smiling and imagining the concept of him tumbling to the ground after doing so.

"You probably can't biomerge either, right?" Henry asked. Ryder shrugged. Well, as far as he could whilst still maintaining his balance.

"Haven't a clue," he answered. "But I'll lay off it all the same, otherwise it could get rather painful," he added.

"So Mari will be protecting you?" Terriermon quipped from above, grinning. "Aw," he mocked, as Ryder rolled his eyes at the antics.

"Terriermon," Henry warned under his breath.

"What? It's true, isn't it?" he said enthusiastically.

"I can still fight," MiniDonmon huffed, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Yeah, sure," Terriermon mocked.

"Terriermon, he can fight," DarkRenamon asserted. Terriermon sighed, realising the bind he was in.

"Fine," he admitted. "He can fight…" he agreed, before muttering under his breath. "…just not very well."

MiniDonmon glared at him, but Terriermon simply paid no notice.

"So, are Rika and Takato freaking out about telling us?" Ryder asked, tilting his head at Henry.

"Hmm, I don't know," he answered, glancing across to where Takato stood, staring across the groups of Tamers and their various conversations. He nodded, Takato responding in kind.

"Takato, what on earth are you doing?" Rika asked, cocking her head at her boyfriend and future father of her child.

"I was, um, looking around," he answered.

Rika rolled her eyes. "God you must be bored. I thought we'd be talking about everything beforehand but no, you're more interested in reflecting on what everyone is doing," she noted, deeply sighing from where she lay with her back to a tree.

"What's wrong?" Takato asked, walking over to her and sitting down alongside.

"Well, one thing that's bothering me is that it's gone four already and Rey still isn't here," she noted, frowning as she glanced to the time on her D-Vice before glancing around, hoping for that telltale flash of light that dictated the arrival of the user of the time device. Instead, there was a flash of a yellow form into existence.

"Rika, I have cleared out three Digital Watch members, but the group is attracting their attention," Renamon explained.

"And that's the other thing that's bothering me," Rika said to Takato with a sigh. Takato nodded in agreement. "I wish they didn't have to find out, but they will eventually. We're going to have to be careful today."

"Ryo!" Kazu and Kenta cheered.

"And to finish the trio of things that are annoying me," Rika groaned, rolling her eyes before the pair turned, heading over to meet the newcomers in front of the hideout.

"Hey Ryo," Jeri greeted with her usual smile.

"Oh, hi," Ryo said dourly in response, a frown on both his and Monodramon's faces.

"What's up?" Kazu asked, giving his "hero" a curious look.

Ryo shook his head, shrugging it off. "Never mind," he insisted.

"How was your flight?" Jeri asked curiously. Ryo hesitated, glancing to Monodramon, who would normally have flown him from Kyushu to Tokyo as Cyberdramon. But, now there was an inherent risk in doing so, they were grounded for the time being, and that meant one long train ride.

"It was fine," he answered, glancing around for a cause to change the subject, and noticing Ryder. "Hey, you're out of the hospital. Still with crutches though," he noted.

Ryder frowned, shrugging. "It'll take a while to heal too."

"I bet you wish you were in the Digital World. I've broken plenty of bones there, and they repair unbelievably quickly," Ryo noted.

"But does it work _after_ you break it?"

"Probably not," Ryo answered.

"Oh boo hoo; it's a loss for medical science. Now can we please stop with the random chitchat, and start figuring out where Rey is?" Rika interrupted, rolling her eyes at their casual conversation.

"Why not just ring her?" Mari asked, raising an eyebrow at the redhead.

"Yeah, but I already did, and she said she'd be here, so where has she gone?" Rika asked. Mari pondered what the girl and Takato would do if Rey wasn't to turn up for support. The whole point of them meeting at this particular point was that it would tell everyone at once and be easily explained by the presence of Rey. But without Rey, could they really prove it all? It was a rather elaborate concept, and a bit odd.

"She'll get here," Takato suggested slightly unsurely. "She might just be a bit late or something?"

"Speaking of late," Terriermon chuckled, pointing an ear in the direction of a nearby path, where the older Digidestined had begun to arrive from.

"Hey guys," Tai greeted, glancing around at the group as welcomes passed between Tamers and Digidestined, some enthusiastic, some little more than a nod, and some an unsure glance.

"Tai," Ryo greeted, holding out his hand with a grin that hid most of his disgust at someone who had only begun to be a friend to him again over the past few months.

"Hey Ryo," Tai greeted, frowning lightly as he shook Ryo's hand. Monodramon and Agumon watched the greeting warily, and Ryder gave it a curious glance.

"_Wow, never thought I'd get to see all this stuff from the TV series come to life so much," _he contemplated, chuckling quietly to himself as he pondered the idea in his head.

"Hey, we're not last," Matt noted coolly with a smile. "Great," he added as he glanced about the area, a place still rather unfamiliar to him despite its importance as a meeting point for the former Southern Quadrant Tamers.

"Is everyone else coming?" Sora asked, hoping that the whole group would attend. It had been a while since they'd been all in the same place and, even if it did attract a ton of Digital Watch attention, it was still a fun event.

"Yeah, hopefully, although we've heard no word from Rey yet," Henry noted, glancing around for some sign of the girl. Inaccurate as her device seemed to be, she'd clearly become used to dealing with it lately, and it never seemed to go _too_ wrong.

There was, of course, a first time for everything.

"Hey guys," Davis greeted cheerfully, he, Takeru and Kari arriving from another path with smiles on their faces.

"Hey," Tai greeted, nodding to the three.

"Hey bro," Matt greeted with a smile, walking up to his brother. "How's mum and school?" he asked.

"They're both okay, Mum wants you to pop by sometime though."

"I'll bring the laundry," he joked with a grin.

"Oh shut the hell up with all the family crap," Rika complained all of a sudden, all unknowing eyes turning to face her in bewilderment as a mood swing took hold.

"Geez, you seem more touchy than usual," Davis complained.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"For starters TK, I'm worried about Rey, since she hasn't turned up yet. Secondly, I'm bored of all this nonsense that I have to listen to day in, day out, okay?"

"Um…it's not TK anymore," Takeru muttered.

"What?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"I said it's not TK anymore, it's Takeru."

"Really?" Izzy asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger Tamer.

"Yeah," Takeru answered.

"Really?" Kazu asked, confused by the odd turn of events.

"Yes," Takeru answered, an exasperated tone to his voice. "I got sick of the nickname, it sounds too childish," he added.

"**Wow, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard," **Chaos complained. **"I agree with Rika for once, I'm bored of all this nonsense."**

"Don't listen to them TK, your name is great," Davis mocked. Takeru gave a half smile.

"Thanks Davis," he muttered. Kari chuckled at the sight, before yet another call came from across the park, by the path.

"Hey," called Yolei, everyone turning to face her, Cody and Ken as they arrived, Ken and Yolei hand in hand.

"Hey," Kari greeted, smiling at her friends as greetings passed between them.

"Hey Ryo," Ken greeted with a smile, the older boy nodding in response.

"Long time no talk," Ryo answered with a genuine smile on his face at the sight of his old friend.

"Finally, everyone's here," Jeri noted, smiling at the fact they could finally relax and talk, as the large group of people standing began to thin out into several smaller groups.

**END OF PART ONE…**


	30. The Trick To Reunion Part 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 29**

_The Trick to Reunion_

**Part Two**

* * *

Ryo gestured to Ken to follow, a look of concern on his face, and they headed over to one spot on the grass nearby under a tree, a frown on Ryo's face as he turned round to face his friend.

"Are you okay Ryo?" the blue haired boy asked, noting Ryo's growing concern on his face.

"Well, that depends on your definition of okay," Ryo answered, knowing that this was about the only person he could talk to about things. Even that was a stretch; Ken's knowledge of events back then was slow to recover thanks to Milleniummon's Dark Spore. Ryo frowned, glancing to Monodramon who stood next to him.

"Why, what happened?" Ken asked, true concern now showing on his face.

"The weekend before last, in the Digital World, Cyberdramon…" Ryo answered, hesitating as he looked to his partner again. Monodramon nodded: Ryo needed this off his chest. Cyberdramon seemed like another being to Monodramon, even if they were one and the same. It had always concerned him since he had been reborn as Cyberdramon from that digi-egg. It had always concerned him he could change so much, but everything he did as Cyberdramon felt right. It felt normal, and only felt wrong in comparison to Monodramon. And that was disturbing.

Ken frowned, already getting an idea of what was wrong from where Ryo had stopped mid-sentence, and his glance to his partner had confirmed it. "Oh," he exclaimed, a frown leaping onto his face. "So you think he's returning?"

"I really don't know, but these uncontrollable episodes of his are getting worse," Ryo answered, grimacing at the prospect of what could happen if they were to continue.

"If it is Milleniummon, and if what I now remember of him is correct, then everyone is in danger," Ken warned.

"I know, and I seriously hope that this isn't what I think. If it is, Milleniummon is the least of my worries for the time being. What happens if Monodramon is forced to digivolve again, and he attacks everyone?"

"Then they'll have to fight him," Ken insisted. "It's what the other Digidestined did when I enslaved Agumon when I was the Digimon Emperor."

"If I run amok, I'd rather you guys attacked me than let me hurt anyone," Monodramon insisted.

"Really?" Ryo asked, surprised that his partner would rather be injured, or killed, than to let their friends suffer the same fate.

"I'd hate to think you guys got hurt for my own fault, so I'm giving you permission to use whatever necessary force if you have to," Monodramon asserted.

"I just hope we don't have to," Ryo hoped.

"So what are you going to do then?" Ken asked, a curious expression posed towards his long-term friend and fellow Tamer.

"I have no idea," Ryo answered.

"Let's hope you don't have to come up with one then," Wormmon noted.

* * *

All the while, Tai, Davis, Sora, Kari, Matt and Takeru had gathered to talk on the grass near the hideout.

"So how's university been then Tai?" Davis asked, looking eagerly to his fellow Gogglehead, albeit a former Gogglehead in this case.

"I've only missed 2 classes this month due to oversleeping, so it's getting better," Tai answered with a grin.

"3 classes Tai," Sora added with a playful smile.

"It was only half a class though," Tai complained.

"Tai, you arrived 5 minutes from the end from what I heard," Matt added.

"Fine, but that was one time," Tai added.

"Wow, nice to know that university changed you," Kari noted with a smile.

"Have you sorted out next year's accommodation yet?" Takeru asked, looking curiously to his brother.

Matt nodded, smiling. "Yeah, we're all going to share a five-bedroom flat near the university," he answered. "It's going to have a lot more space than we have right now in our tiny little dorm rooms," he added.

"So you'll be able to breathe then?" Takeru asked his brother with a smile.

"Hopefully," Matt answered.

* * *

"So what is the medical course like?" Cody asked Joe, looking curiously at the older boy he shared the Crest of Reliability with. Yolei, Kazu and Kenta had gathered to join their conversation, along with all of their partners.

"Not for the squeamish," Joe answered.

"You should've seen the look on his face when he first had to dissect that pig," Gomamon chuckled.

"The way it was already cut open was horrible," Joe noted, frowning. "Anyway, that's beside the point. Once I got over the initial horror, I've found a natural talent with it."

"Excuse me, but what relevance does a pig's heart have to that of a human?" Hawkmon asked from his spot on the ground next to Yolei.

"Yeah, I mean, if I ever went under the knife, I'd like to know that my doctor was trained on the human body and not on a pig's," Kazu added jovially.

Joe looked fit to burst. "We cut a heart open to see how it works, okay? Not for actually when we cut a human open," he finally burst, frustration on his face.

"Geez Joe, they were only asking questions," Gomamon noted.

"Yeah, aren't you doctor guys meant to deal with pressure?" Kenta noted.

"Not this kind of pressure," Joe complained.

"So what made you want to become a doctor then Joe?" Yolei asked, changing the subject slightly.

"I guess it could've been from our original adventures in the digital world. When we went there again to fight the Dark Masters, we were a lot more prepared, and I ended up having to create a kind of cast for this Ogremon…"

"Which then joined a bunch of other Digimon to help you fight back, we've seen the TV series, we know the story," Kazu interrupted.

"Well I don't!" Yolei argued. "So I want to hear it!"

"Fine, waste our time with stuff we already know why don't you?" Kazu argued back.

"Will you two stop arguing?" Cody asked, groaning. "We were having a proper conversation here, and you all start bickering."

"Fine," Yolei and Kazu said together.

"It's worse than her and Davis," Gomamon noted with an exasperated smile.

"You said it," Joe added.

* * *

"What the…?" Impmon began, seeing everyone else already sitting round, talking and chatting, as he arrived with his two Tamers and Calumon. "Hey, whose idea was it to start without us?!" he complained, Kristy giving him a curious look as she split off from her small group with Suzie and Jeri to greet him.

"Sorry," she said sarcastically.

"Ugh, no-one notices me around here, everyone treats me like a piece of…" Impmon mumbled.

"Hey," Mako greeted, waving a hand at the older children as Ai nodded to convey the same sentiment. Jeri smiled, nodding to them, before Calumon leapt forward happily.

"Yay, JeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeriJeri…" he exclaimed, instantly going into his trademark Eskimo kisses as he leapt and grabbed at the girl's face. Jeri giggled, pulling the Catalyst off of her face.

"Calumon, you're more hyper than usual," Elecmon noted from next to her.

"That's because I'm happyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappy," Calumon cheered, his ears extended to full as he danced happily.

"Aw he's so cute," Kristy giggled.

"Calumon, did you eat white chocolate again?" Suzie asked, noticing the trademark signs.

Calumon giggled, pulling down his ear curiously. "What happens if I say yes?" he asked.

"Calumon, I thought it became clear from last time that you go hyper whenever you eat white chocolate," Lopmon noted from her place on the ground next to her Tamer.

"I know, but it looked so scrummy!" Calumon cheered, savouring at the thought.

"Who gave you it?" Kudamon asked, looking curiously at the fairy-like Digimon. All eyes rotated to look at Impmon, who laughed nervously under the spotlight before an angered expression replaced it.

"Hey, it wasn't me!" he complained. "Seriously, you think I like him when he's like this? He's worse than usual!" he added.

"Heh," Mako laughed nervously, raising his hand in admittance. "It was us," he added.

"We didn't know," Ai added, pleading her case as Jeri chuckled at the sight.

"It's not a bad thing, is it?" Calumon asked, looking with wide eyes up to Jeri.

"It is if you draw beards on everyone again," Kristy noted.

Calumon simply giggled. "That was fun!"

Impmon groaned, sighing. "Can we _please_ change the subject? All this hyper-talk is hurting my ears."

"Is he always this annoying and grumpy?" Kristy asked, looking to his Tamers for an answer.

"No, he's the best Digimon in the whole world!" Ai cheered, pulling the purple imp into a bear hug which he began to choke from.

"Are we talking about the same Digimon here?" Suzie asked playfully, glancing to Lopmon who smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, he is. When we dress him up as a cowboy…" Mako began, before receiving a glare from his sister. "What?"

"Mako, we dress him up as a Princess."

"Yeah, but the cowboy is cooler!" Mako asserted.

Impmon turned bright red, laughing nervously at the thought. "Um, guys…" he began, to no avail as his Tamers continued to argue.

"You must be so glad that my look-alike is not here," Lopmon noted. "You would never hear the end of this."

* * *

"Ugh, where the hell is Rey?" Rika groaned for the fiftieth time in the past half hour. Takato looked at her nervously from where they sat under the shade of a tree, joined by Mimi who was currently wearing a rather large pale pink hat over her (currently) brunette hair. The hat shared few similarities with that she had worn all those years ago on their first two trips to the Digital World, but it still served as a symbolic item, as well as keeping the bright sun away from her eyes. Palmon sat next to her, leaning against the tree like her Tamer was.

"Be patient Rika, I'm sure she'll arrive soon," Renamon noted calmly, materialising behind her partner.

"I know, but what's taking her?" Rika worried.

"Maybe she got lost?" Guilmon mooted.

"Maybe," Rika mumbled.

"Why are you all so concerned about whether Rey gets here or not?" Mimi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I mean, if she doesn't show, then she's probably got a pretty good reason for it," Palmon added.

"Um…no reason," Takato answered, laughing nervously. Rika rolled her eyes at him, sighing.

"She should be here though."

"Uh-huh," Mimi murmured, before a more enthusiastic look took over her face. "Oh Takato, by the way, I love your new outfit," she said eagerly. "Did you choose it?"

"Um, no, Rika's mom chose it for me," Takato answered, glancing to Rika curiously.

"Well, I'm not surprised then, she's a famous model after all. Rika, I'd love to meet your mom at some point," Mimi noted, smiling widely.

"_**You imagining it?" **_Harmony asked, a tone of concern in her voice at the prospect of Mimi and Rumiko meeting.

"_Uh-huh, and I thought Takato was the dreamer. God, it'd be like having two of mom. They'd team up to replace my whole wardrobe!"_ Rika thought. _"Then again, I suppose it couldn't be that bad. Mom has realised that I'm not going to go with everything she picks out for me," _she added. "Sure," she said with a smile to Mimi, who smiled happily.

"Great!" the brunette exclaimed. "You know Rika; you've really had a change in mood there, you seemed really angry earlier on."

"Well, those guys all annoy me."

"Yeah, but it did seem just a little bit more than usual."

"What are you implying?" Rika asked, a sinister undertone to her voice.

"Nothing, I was just hoping you were alright, that's all," Mimi answered. "Geez, no need to get so touchy about it," she added. Rika was about to argue back, but she smiled, realising that there wasn't really a problem.

"Sorry, just I've got something really big to tell everyone, and it's really concerning me."

"Really?" Mimi asked, her curiosity burning at the concept of "something really big". "What is it?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Rika answered.

"Oh, okay," Mimi answered. "Do you want me to get everyone gathered together so you can tell them now then?" she asked, hoping to learn about the big secret sooner rather than later.

"I'm waiting for Rey first," Rika answered, pausing briefly to glance nervously to Takato. "I need to, um, tell her too."

"Oh, fine," Mimi answered, nodding in understanding. "But if you need any help."

"Thanks," Rika answered with a smile, a genuine one surprisingly.

* * *

Ryder had returned to his spot, sitting and leaning against the wall of the hideout, his crutches resting on one side of him as his feet were stretched out across the floor. Mari was on the other giving him a look of concern about his glum smile. He noticed her glance, smiling and shaking his head.

"_I've just got to get used to these crutches, I can't keep moaning about them, it'd annoy everyone. Then again, I could just have my cake and eat it too, everyone has to help me anyways…no, that would be tough on Mari, even if it would be fun to be a miserable old git for a change," _he thought, before rolling his eyes at himself._ "Why am I even contemplating this?"_

Ryder shook the thought off, glancing around at the other two current human inhabitants of the hideout. Henry stood, leaning against the doorway and looking around at the various groups outside. Terriermon peered at the same sight from the floor below the blue haired boy, whilst Izzy leaned with his back to the rear wall, eagerly typing away on his computer.

"_Heh, everyone's as always. I still haven't got over the fact that they're real," _he thought, before glancing to MiniDonmon who flapped over to join Tentomon in watching what Izzy was doing. DarkRenamon had vanished once again, probably joining her yellow counterpart in ensuring that Digital Watch wasn't snooping in continuously. It was perhaps a futile task, Digital Watch had found out plenty of things in the past and they inevitably would continue to do so, but it was just going to be another strain on Rika when things were difficult enough.

Ryder sighed, glancing up at the roof and noticing how conversation was rather Spartan right now. Then again, he'd been able to speak to Henry and Mari a lot over the past weeks, and Izzy was the only one who he hadn't seen in a while. And, of course, as usual, Izzy seemed to be more interested in…

"We've been noticed," Izzy noted sinisterly, interrupting Ryder's train of thought as the others in the room glanced around at him.

"No shit Sherlock. Renamon and DarkRenamon have been rooting out Digital Watch for the past half hour," Terriermon said sarcastically.

"Terriermon, don't swear," Henry scolded.

"Let me see that," Ryder asked, gesturing to Izzy who nodded, passing his laptop to the brunette. "Hmm…they've got a lot of info," Ryder pondered, glancing at the front page of Digital Watch. It was clear they'd been noticed from the front page alone, every discussion, every news piece, every photo, was all about it.

"They work very fast," Tentomon commented. Izzy and Henry nodded, as Ryder navigated to click on a link to a news story.

"Let's see…" Ryder murmured, scanning the page before beginning to read the paragraph out loud as Mari peered over. MiniDonmon flapped over his head as he did the same. "We have received over two dozen reports that there is a large gathering of Tamers in Shinjuku Park, outside the hideout. It appears that almost every single Tamer is there, with the exception of the RHG…"

"RHG?" Tentomon asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Red-haired girl. It's what they call Rey because they don't believe that that's her real name," Mari explained.

"Morons," Terriermon noted, receiving a stern glare from his Tamer. He simply smirked back, waving his ears cheekily.

"As I was saying," Ryder continued, rolling his eyes. "Ryder Stevens, previous thought to be deceased, is in attendance, debunking those rumours. There does not appear to be any particular reason behind the event beyond the fact it is the end of school for them, but as has become clear by now, we can never know for sure. We have reports that Watchers are being searched for by Renamon and DarkRenamon, so be particularly wary of attending this event. See the discussion forum for speculation," he finished, noting the last part was highlighted.

"Deductive as always," Mari noted. "I do wish they'd leave us alone though," she added.

"Yeah," Ryder said, looking over the text. Suddenly, something odd occurred to him. "Wait, how on earth are you on the net Izzy?"

"What do you mean…oh…" Izzy answered, as Ryder gestured to the lack of any form of device to connect the computer to a wireless or mobile network.

"That's impossible," Terriermon decided. Mari glanced about the hideout curiously, noting its growing dilapidation. Dirt and holes covered the floors, cracks ran up the walls, and ivy was creeping in from outside through them, and beginning to run along the stone path leading down to the road. The place was untended, for sure. But there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary to explain the strange internet access.

"Maybe it's caused by the portal?" Henry suggested. Ryder tapped the link, soon receiving a "Page Not Found" error.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now," Ryder noted. "Weird though," he muttered, before glancing up as if hearing a sound. "Huh?" he pondered.

"What's up?" Mari asked, giving him a curious look.

"Hmm…I felt something…something weird…" he began. "Something's coming," he noted, a fearful look on his face as the others looked over in bewilderment.

**END OF PART TWO…**


	31. The Trick To Reunion Part 3

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 29**

_The Trick to Reunion_

**Part Three**

* * *

"Hmm…I felt something…something weird…" he began. "Something's coming," he noted, a fearful look on his face as the others looked over in bewilderment.

Ryder's fear suddenly switched to amusement and a wide grin, a realisation dawning on him as he quickly gripped his crutches. Pressing himself up as the others got to their feet; he stepped outside into the warm afternoon air.

"But where?" he pondered, feeling something disruptive in the air, something out of the ordinary, something that was out of its time. A rock in a river.

"What's coming?" Mari asked, frustration on her face from not being given a straight answer. Ryder turned to her, smiling.

"Guess who?" he said with a grin, before a more worried look crossed his face. He looked straight up, the attentions of all around drawn to a flash of light.

"Waaah!" Rey screamed, crashing down to earth, as Realmon gently landed like a cat nearby. At least, it should've been earth. She rubbed her head in pain, Ryder looking at her from above worriedly. "What?" she asked.

"Rey, nice to see you, but get off me," Mari groaned, pushing Rey aside before pushing herself to her feet, brushing herself off as Rey did likewise.

"Oh, sorry," Rey said, laughing nervously

"Ryder, why the hell didn't you tell me that she was materialising right above me?!" Mari ranted.

"Um…I realised too late?" Ryder answered. Mari rolled her eyes, groaning as she sorted out her ruffled hair. Rey watched nervously, before being quickly gripped in a tight hug by Rika all of a sudden.

"Um…what?" Kazu asked, glancing around at the others for confirmation on the sight they were seeing. This was Rika. Giving a hug. To someone other than Takato. In public. Something was wrong.

"Where the hell were you?" Rika asked, pushing away from Rey and glaring at her daughter.

"_**Mood swing or what?"**_ Chaos asked. Takato shrugged, joining the masses in standing up and walking over to the hideout.

"I was late, sorry," Rey answered, laughing nervously and scratching the back of her head, a mannerism clearly acquired from her father. "Are we going to tell them all about it now?" she asked, still in a daze. Rika and Takato both gave her a questioning, bewildered look, annoyance crossing Rika's face. Rey suddenly had a dawning realisation. "Oh crap," she cursed.

"Tell us about what?" Sora asked, not really sure what on earth was going on anymore. What were they talking about?

"I guess we have to," Rika muttered, before suddenly feeling her hand grasped by another. She gripped it extremely tightly back, Chaos cursing inside Takato's head.

"_**Why the hell did you just practically volunteer for that?!" he asked.**_

"Will someone just tell us what's going on?" Takeru asked, frustrated by all the ambiguity.

"Fine, fine," Rika mumbled, realising that this was it. They were going to have to tell all about all and she didn't have a clue about where to…

"Rika's pregnant," Takato answered, noting Rika's hesitancy. She looked to him in surprise, before he looked back with a questioning yet reassuring look. He hoped he'd done the right thing. Rika nodded to confirm it, realising that the suspense was the worst thing of all.

Then again, the subsequent silence was a close contender for that title. Bewilderment and confusion stared them in the face from all angles, a thought passing through all minds that was voiced by Davis.

"Uh…what?" he asked.

* * *

Chiyo's eyes widened, as she watched over a bush from nearby, listening intently in on what they were talking about. An unconscious Digital Watch member lay nearby. He was surprisingly not the victim of an attack from a Renamon, but from Chiyo herself, a large bruise on his face. She looked to DarkBiyomon, shock on their faces at what they had heard. DarkBiyomon nodded in confirmation that they'd heard the same thing, before Chiyo looked back to the group, surprise still on her face.

"You must be joking," she whispered, deciding to delay meeting the group until after she had found out what this was all about.

* * *

Renamon gently landed behind, her hand landing on Rika's shoulder in reassurance as Takato put his hand round Rika's back for the same reason.

"It's exactly as it sounds," Rika answered.

"Seriously?" Kari asked, staring at her friend with a look of bewilderment.

"Yes," Rika answered, rather timidly. All eyes were on her and Takato, and Rey and Renamon both realised it was time to take the heat off things. They glanced to each other, pondering who'd add to the confusion first. Rey grinned, deciding that it would be fun to completely blow everyone's brains out while they could. She stepped forward.

"And, since you're already all confused and Joe probably doesn't want to deal with anyone fainting, here's another two massive surprises for all of you," she began, glancing to Renamon who nodded in confirmation.

Guilmon joined her, looking worriedly up at the fox who glanced back with a similarly concerned expression. She drew the egg from her tail, eyes widening further than thought possible at the sight as a speechless silence befell the area.

"Renamon is also having a daughter," Rey explained, a sly grin befalling her face. There was a perverse pleasure to be had from this, once one sufficiently distanced oneself from the reality of what they were saying.

"I'm sorry, but…what?" Tai asked, staring on in confusion like the rest at what was going on.

"Oh for Christ's sake, it's not that hard to comprehend," Rika said in frustration. "I'm pregnant with what is obviously Takato's child and Renamon produced a digi-egg thanks to Terriermon's _wonderful_ program. Now, can we stop with the shock please?!" she ranted.

"This is a pretty big surprise," Mimi noted, having presumed beforehand that the "secret" was something far more trivial.

"Yeah…" Izzy similarly mumbled, not sure exactly how to react.

"Wait a second," Ryo interrupted, noting something very bizarre in what Rey had said. "_Also_? _Daughter_?" he asked, looking specifically to Rey for answers.

"Yep," she answered with an oddly cheerful smile.

"You're a time-traveller, right?" Suzie asked, looking curiously at the older girl who nodded in response. "So have you met their daughter then?"

"No, I _am_ their daughter," Rey answered. "Ditto for Realmon," she added, the chibi-Kyubimon leaping onto her shoulder and nodding.

"Rika, what's pregnant?" Calumon asked, leaping curiously onto the girl's head and peering down at her face. Rika nervously glanced to Ai and Mako nearby, pondering whether it was right to be talking about all of this in front of a pair of four year olds. Kristy, surprisingly, stepped in to her rescue, walking over to the pair, bending over and smiling.

"Ai, Mako, they're all going to be talking about boring old grownup stuff now, so let's go play tag, okay?" she suggested. Ai and Mako cheered happily. Kristy glanced back to her sister, who nodded and silently mouthed her thanks. Kristy already knew it all anyway, and she had previously noticed her sister's wariness to talk to her about it. This wasn't the sort of thing usually talked about with the young. The three walked off, Kudamon wearily facing the concept of playing tag. Impmon stayed behind, still pondering what on earth had happened all of a sudden.

"So?" Calumon asked, looking down to Rika again.

"It means that I'm going to give birth…" she began, before realising that the concept would be obscure to Calumon. "To make another person," she reiterated.

"Yay, a new friend!" Calumon cheered.

"Well, it would be were it not for the fact that the person she's going to give birth to is me," Rey noted, smiling towards the cream-puff.

"Huh?" Calumon pondered, leaping down between them and pulling at the edge of his mouth curiously as he glanced back and forth between Rey and Rika. "But you're here now," he commented, pointing at Rey.

"I know, but I'm from the future. I haven't yet been born," she explained. Calumon continued to give her a curious look, Rey anticipating another question. Calumon was more probably naïve than Guilmon it seemed, and he'd ask question after question after quest…

"Okay," Calumon finished with a smile, bounding off happily to join the children in their game of tag as a bewildered silence passed over the group once again.

"…anyway…" Matt said, resuming the conversation. "I'm still finding this pretty hard to believe."

"Wow Chumley, you've made some pretty big blunders but I think this trumps them all," Kazu said with a smirk.

Yolei rolled her eyes at the antics of the same moron she'd been arguing with earlier, before posing her own question. "So when did this all, you know, start?" she asked, slightly nervous about the subject of the question.

Rika frowned, eyeing the group warily. "Oh no, I'm not going into specific details," she asserted. "All you guys need to know was that it was seven weeks ago, in New York, and Rey is born on the 28th of February next year."

"This changes everything," Kari noted, still surprised at the revelation.

"You said it," Takeru agreed.

* * *

"Ugh, they spend so long coming to terms with things, don't they?" Chiyo complained. DarkBiyomon silently nodded. Chiyo pushed herself to her feet, heading toward the nearest path.

"Where are you going?" DarkBiyomon asked, surprised that Chiyo was acting so soon. Didn't she intend to allow things to die down first?

"I'm bored of waiting. Come on, let's get this over with," she explained. DarkBiyomon nodded cautiously, following her Tamer.

* * *

"Oh, so _this_ is why you've both been acting weird for the last week," Kenta noted, realisation dawning on him.

"Nah, that's just normal Takato," Kazu added.

"Thanks a lot," Takato complained, frowning and glancing to Rika who looked upon the group from where they now stood on the steps of the hideout, with Rey and their Digimon nearby.

Rika noted and was thankful for the following silence and lack of questions. She ran her hands through her hair, breathing a sigh of relief as she crossed her arms behind her head. "Finally that's over with," she noted, looking to Takato who nodded in agreement. That was a helluva lot to get off their chests. She turned, noticing a figure out of the corner of her eye.

She raised an eyebrow at the sight of a girl, standing with a black version of Biyomon and simply staring at the group with a neutral expression.

"_Who's she, and why is she watching us?" _her mind questioned, going on to ponder whether this girl was a member of Digital Watch or something similar. Of course, there was only one way to find out. "Hey, you!" Rika called, attracting the girl's attention.

"Huh, me?" Chiyo asked, silently cursing how dumb she was looking. She continued her façade, knowing it was essential to getting them to sympathise with her, a task that would probably still prove difficult nonetheless.

"No, the other girl randomly staring at us," Rika said dryly, rolling her eyes. "Of course I mean you!" she said, as the girl warily walked towards them, the black Biyomon in tow. "Why are you watching us?" she asked, as the girl looked over the masses of digimon and Tamers, a surprised and awe-struck look sweeping onto her face.

"_Right, now a surprised expression so they think I paused on the sight of their Digimon en masse," _Chiyo dictated to herself. "Um…" she said, faking nervousness. "I decided I can't do it alone anymore."

"Can't do what alone? Who are you?" Rika asked, over two dozen confused looks shot at this girl.

"Wait…" Ryder interrupted as Chiyo went to open her mouth. Surprise rapidly flashed onto his face as he looked over the girl. Same haircut, same clothes, everything but her personality seemed the same.

"_And here we go," _Chiyo thought, restraining herself from rolling her eyes.

"You attacked me in the hospital!" Ryder said, pointing a finger at the girl in accusation.

"_Wow, I'm so scared of a finger," _Chiyo thought sarcastically. "What?!" she spluttered in reality.

"I don't know your name but…you were on the news too!" he added, adding two and two together.

"I really don't know what on earth you are talking about," Chiyo asked, putting on an exasperated tone of voice. _"Wow, you can connect me to the news, big whoop!"_

"Yeah, now I remember," Mari noted, flashing back to the images she had seen beforehand on so many news articles. "What was the name?" she asked, fishing around for it in her mind. "Charlie…Charlotte…"

"Chiyo," Takeru corrected, looking over the girl curiously and pondering if this could really be her. It seemed like too much of a coincidence for her to simply turn up after being mentioned all over th news, but why was she going to them in particular?

"But why was she on the news?" Yolei asked, bemused by how significant this girl could really be as her mind fished about for the link.

"She went missing just over two weeks ago," Joe began, frowning as he continued his explanation. "After the death of her parents in a gas explosion at their home," he added solemnly. Yolei nodded, memories of all those news stories, seemingly insignificant and on in the background, flashing through her mind.

Chiyo faked a frown, looking sadly at the ground after hearing the last point. _"It's working," _she internally cheered, surprised by how much they believed her.

"Why did you run away?" Kari asked, curious as to why someone would flee after such a disastrous event. What did she have to fear? Was it some kind of mental trauma or something? Or did she simply want to forget her past?

"To protect my partner," Chiyo answered, oddly being sincere in this matter. A beneficial side effect as it was, escaping from the scene before the police arrived ensured they didn't take DarkBiyomon away. She knew that the police wouldn't have suspected her anyway unless they found some really convincing evidence - she was "away" from the house at the time of the explosion. "I didn't want to risk them taking DarkBiyomon away," she added, looking to DarkBiyomon. The bird looked pleasantly surprised by how Chiyo seemed to be sincere about the matter, their close bond having made it possible for DarkBiyomon to (usually) distinguish between lies and truth in her Tamer's words.

"Oh, right," Kari noted, now understanding why the girl had run. The Tamer's relationship with the police was tenuous, at best, and only really kept in place by the knowledge that Hypnos was "responsible" for them. But with other Tamers, those outside Hypnos' usually watchful eyes, they had no such protection. No wonder Chiyo had run.

"Hmm…" Suzie pondered, raising her pink and white D-Arc and pointing it at the black Biyomon clone, Lopmon on her head concentrating her eyes on the bird. "DarkBiyomon, Data Type, Rookie Level, her attacks are Magical Fire and Hard Beak," she read.

"Wait, I saw you though," Davis noted. His eyes widening as he glanced to Takeru nearby, hoping that his friend would remember. Takeru paused, giving Davis a bewildered expression before the reality clicked into place in his mind.

"Of course!" Takeru recalled. "You were there, with DarkBiyomon!" he exclaimed, memories flooding back to him.

"You watched us fight Cerberumon," Patamon clarified.

"Yeah, and you didn't help either, right when we could've done with the help too," Veemon added, irritated as he recalled the events of that particular battle.

"I was watching," Chiyo answered blankly.

"What do you mean, "Watching"?" Gatomon asked, curiosity crossing her features.

"I wanted to see how you all fight," Chiyo explained.

"But why?" Kari asked, pondering why this girl would want to see them fighting. Maybe she was a Digital Watch member or something? Then again, she didn't seem like the kind of obsessive-compulsive fanboy (with emphasis on _boy_ in this case) who populated the Digital Watch website, so maybe not. Looks could be deceiving though.

"The box…" Jeri mumbled, another realisation coming to her mind. Kari pondered whether Jeri was about to answer her question, but the girl instead went off on a whole new tangent. "You were in my family's tavern," Jeri said, putting pieces together in her mind. She smiled, remembering something amusing about the girl, tough and uninviting as she had been. "You fed food to a box."

"Oh, right, now I remember that," Chiyo answered, nodding. "Yeah, DarkBiyomon was in the box," she added.

"I have to say, you're acting a lot kinder now than you were back then," Jeri commented uneasily. She didn't like to reflect on unfavourable aspects of a person, let alone in front of their face. It was better to look at people's good qualities, not the bad, but nonetheless it had been notable.

"Well, how would you react if your parents had just died?" Chiyo questioned. A sad look crossed Jeri's face, her gaze dropping to the broken paving stone below as Chiyo mentally slapped herself. _"Stupid stupid stupid Chiyo!" _she yelled in her head. _"Now she's going to go all sappy and all about her dead mother…wonderful!" _she thought sarcastically, not a hint of it showing on her face. DarkBiyomon was becoming rather impressed by the façade her Tamer was managing to pull. "Oh, sorry, my mistake," she noted.

"It's alright, you didn't know," Jeri said, letting the problem blow aside for now.

"_I sure as hell did," _Chiyo thought. "Okay," she answered.

"No wait, hold on a second here," Ryder interrupted, bringing himself back into the conversation as a completely bewildered look crossed his face. He looked to Chiyo accusingly, an eyebrow raised in questioning as he wandered closer to her. "You definitely came into my hospital room, asked me a bunch of questions and threatened me pain if I didn't answer them _and _you followed through with your threats," he noted, before gesturing aside to the others who stood behind him. "Sure, these other situations can be explained, but how can you explain that?" he asked, a bewildered expression his face.

"_Ooh, look at Ryder's "I'm a detective" act, wandering around like a moron and giving me weird looks in a futile attempt to make me wuss out. Pathetic…"_

Chiyo chuckled nervously, looking away in embarrassment. "Well…it's kinda weird…" she mumbled.

"Just tell me why," Ryder ordered, Chiyo turning back to him quickly.

"Okay, fine," she snapped, before a bashful look crossed her features. Her eyes wandered away from his gaze, not wanting to make eye contact. Chiyo was quietly impressed by how convincing she was being in her act. "I'm an obsessive fan," she mumbled with a frown and a tone of voice like she was admitting something.

"You're an obsessive fan?" Ryder said, speaking louder than she had as his face filled with bewilderment.

Chiyo coughed, nodding. "Yeah," she said apprehensively. "I…I just get a bit over the top at times, that's all," she added. "And I had my partner to help me get in, so I decided to use the opportunity. Sorry," she apologised.

"Wait, but you kissed him," Mari interrupted, a bewildered look on her face as she became the one standing closest to Chiyo.

"Huh?" Chiyo pondered, not anticipating this turn of events in her planning.

"You kissed him. I mean, what, do you have some sort of zealous fan girl crush or something?" Mari asked, laughing at the concept but still speaking harshly about it.

Chiyo hesitated before speaking, quickly deciding what to say. "No, no, it's nothing like that!" she replied. "I…I just read about you guys a lot on Digital Watch, and your lives are so eventful. So interesting, and so odd," she explained. "And, I don't know, I just had the weird idea that I could get involved somehow, find out things that no-one else had found out, become personally involved, weird stuff…" she continued, her words descending into mumbling near the end.

Mari gave her a bewildered look, before Chiyo's eyes locked onto hers. She maintained her nervous expression as a purple hue took to her eyes, spreading into Mari's as well. Oddly overcome by strange feelings, Mari glanced over the girl, looking her curiously up and down with a strange look in her eyes. Involuntarily, her head moved forwards wonderingly, before Chiyo clicked her fingers to bring the brunette back to reality. _"I am not even going to begin to contemplate what would happen if she kissed me. That would blow the whole plan straight out of the water for sure," _she thought.

Mari cleared her throat nervously. What on earth was up with her? _"I mean, this girl is very attractive, and…what the hell?!" _she yelled at herself in her mind, before trying to find something else to distract herself with. _"Although…" _her mind continued.

"_It'll wear off soon enough, but until then I better not stand too close to her. Don't want her randomly moving in for a kiss," _Chiyo thought. _"Just because it works that way too, doesn't mean I want to use it that way," _she added. _"Hell, the other way is bad enough, having random guys swooning over me just because I'm using them to my advantage."_

"So why have you come to find us then?" Matt asked, pondering why this girl had come to see them, despite her zealous nature, despite her fear of being seen, and despite the fact she knew she'd face fierce questioning when she did.

"As I said, I can't do this alone any more," she answered sadly. "I don't even have a proper place to stay, and my parents are dead so I don't even have much money either. I just need some help, and I know that by joining you guys, Hypnos will protect DarkBiyomon from the police," she added. "Then I can start to move on," she continued. "I hope." _"God, I almost sound like I've actually become this sappy."_

"Aw," Sora said, sympathising with the girl. "Don't worry, we'll help you, and I'm sure Hypnos will too," she added, stepping over and placing a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. Biyomon smiled to DarkBiyomon, who warily looked back.

"Thanks," Chiyo answered. _"Mission accomplished," _she thought.

"**I don't believe you,"** Chaos interrupted, Chiyo looking to Takato with surprise crossing her features. This she definitely hadn't anticipated. **"I think you're just making this all up," **he added.

"**Chaos, are you just going to waste our time again?" **Harmony asked, rolling her eyes at her companion.

"**Can it Harm, I mean it this time," **Chaos insisted. **"I think she's hiding something," **he noted, giving her a sneering look.

"Like what?" Mari asked curiously.

"**Chaos, stop wasting our time," **Harmony complained.

"**God, you've all become so easily trusting. Well, not me, you have to earn my trust," **he asserted, looking the girl straight in her eyes.

Suddenly, a wave of bleeps raged over the group, some varying, but all conveying the same message. Takato glanced to his red and ruby D-Vice in surprise, Chiyo subtly did likewise with hers before hiding it again under her sleeve. She glanced to DarkBiyomon, a plan coming to fruition in her mind.

"I'll earn your trust now then, shall I?" she said to Chaos, who looked to her in bewilderment, mixed with irritation about how his inquisition had been halted by the bioemergence. She pushed past him, DarkBiyomon in tow as they began to run. Chiyo had memorised the direction on her grey and purple D-Vice. It was too dangerous to get it out again and risk a clear identifier of her status as a Demon being discovered. They would've known that Taiki had a grey D-Vice just like it.

"Come on," Tai said, equally determined as he glanced at his orange ringed blue buttoned D-Arc. "It can't be far!" he noted.

As the others raced away, Takato paused and glanced to Rika, not exactly sure how to ask the question.

"I'll see," she answered. As much as she yearned for a battle, she knew that she didn't want to be personally involved, such as when she had to biomerge. The two quickly ran after the others, their partners in quick pursuit.

Kazu turned to Kenta as they ran. "Psst…Chumley, do you think this Chiyo-girl will go out with me?" he asked, grinning.

"Yeah, go get her," Kenta answered, not realising how naïve they were both being about his chances.

"Cool, because she's totally hot and she doesn't hate me yet like all the other girls do," Kazu added eagerly, clenching his fist.

"That's not going to last," Terriermon quipped quietly, but not quiet enough for his target not to hear. Kazu snorted, giving him a sneering look as the dog-bunny simply grinned widely. He looked around at the large group, all the Tamers and Digimon in one place. He looked down to Henry, whose head he was sitting on. "Heh, Digital Watch'll get a kick out of this battle for sure," Terriermon noted.

"You said it," Henry added. "Let's hope none of them get killed in the process."

"It'd be their own damn fault."

"Terriermon!"

"Momentai!"

**END OF PART THREE…**


	32. The Trick To Reunion Part 4

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 29**

_The Trick to Reunion_

**Part Four**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Central Park Flea Market, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:50 JST**_

Chiyo quickly and subtly glanced to her hidden D-Vice again, making a prompt turn along the paths of the park as they broke out into a wide open area. In the sky above, Tokyo Tochō, also known as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, watched down on the flea market, abandoned stalls lacking most of their merchandises – the well-prepared retailers had fled at the first opportunity. The roar of water from a nearby fountain could hardly be heard, as an even louder burst like a white geyser interrupted it. It spread outwards; caking the area in a white fog and making it clear to all non-Digital Watch members of the public that this was probably the time to run like hell.

"Why can't they ever attack somewhere where we're not going to kill everyone?" Kazu blurted tactlessly.

"Tokyo is one of the most populated cities on earth, where are they meant to attack where there isn't the risk of killing someone?" Suzie asked, rolling her eyes at the older Tamer.

"Let's see, what have we got here," Davis said enthusiastically, raising his D-Arc to the air at a trio of silhouettes that had materialised within the fog. "No data yet," he noted, frowning as DemiVeemon tried to focus his eyes in on them, but to no avail.

"That's not good, there are three of them," Cody noted.

"Pah…so?" Terriermon asked, looking at the boy with a patronising expression. "Geez, Cody's so scared, three Digimon up against…god, it's not even worth counting."

"Terriermon!"

"Just digivolve me already," Terriermon insisted, leaping to the ground in front of Henry and clenching his small paws into fists. The group had by now gathered in a line, awaiting some sign of their foe, every Tamer with their partner, either eagerly or nervously awaiting the coming battle.

"Ryo, are we going to fight?" Monodramon asked, looking up to his Tamer's worried face with concern.

"I don't think so," Ryo answered, glancing to his friends, who hadn't noticed their conversation. "I don't want to risk you hurting them."

"Gotcha," Monodramon answered, nodding.

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**MiniDonmon Digivolve to…Donmon!**

**DemiVeemon Digivolve to…Veemon!**

With the sound of digivolution, two similarly looking Digimon changed into Digimon who only remotely looked alike. Ryder looked down to Donmon, who stared back determinedly.

"Ready to go it alone?" Ryder asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

"Oh, thanks for the reassurance," Donmon replied. Rika grinned in amusement.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Digivolution Activate!" Henry yelled, sparks flying through his green D-Arc as the algorithm of the card was unlocked.

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Terriermon Digivolve to…Gargomon!**

Gargomon grinned, racing forward into the fog with gauntlets ready. Henry looked to his D-Arc, just hoping that his partner wouldn't make a rash decision; he was going in there on reconnaissance after all. Then again, this _was_ Terriermon he was talking about here: Terriermon would make a tactless joke in a cemetery if he thought it was even remotely funny.

DarkRenamon glanced to Mari, the girl nodding before the fox made pursuit after the dog-bunny. Out came the girl's black and blue D-Vice in its expanded form, her eyes intently focused on the display of DarkRenamon's view on its wide holographic screen.

"Chiyo, what do you want me to do?" DarkBiyomon asked, looking up to her Tamer who now looked determinedly into the fog, trying to make out some familiarity in the shapes she was seeing, but to no avail.

"We wait, and see what we're up against," she answered. DarkBiyomon nodded. This battle would be interesting, that much was clear.

* * *

"Huh, what are you doing here?" Gargomon asked, seeing a black blur follow after him in pursuit.

"Are you complaining?" DarkRenamon teased.

"Heh, no, not really."

"Good," DarkRenamon answered with a sly smile.

Gargomon smirked, before coming to an abrupt stop at the sight of a large orange foot, a red and silver armoured guard rising above it. His expression fell, as he nervously glanced upwards. The form he saw was remotely familiar, and seemed similar in statue to a WarGreymon. Standing two and a half metres tall and with a triple-bladed sword nearing the same height, his gold and silver armour glinted despite the lack of a sun or any real light source nearby. A sharp pair of wings behind vaguely reminded Gargomon of those ears he had as Rapidmon, only gold with red on the exposed underside. Beneath the armour, thick, orange, dragon-like limbs and a medium length tail was a reminder of the lower level forms he was part of the family of, and a determined look in his eyes added to that. A sharp, red and silver blade came forth from his head, and he held the weapon in his hand effortlessly. He looked down at the rabbit with a look of disdain.

Outside, Henry looked at his D-Arc with concern. "VictoryGreymon, Vaccine Type, Mega Level, attacks Dramon Breaker, Trident Gaia and Victory Charge, all using the Dramon Breaker sword he holds in his hand," he read, Gargomon feeling the words echo through the mental link they shared.

"Ah, a pathetic Digimon of the Tamers I see," VictoryGreymon noted.

"Two of them, to be precise," said a deep resounding female voice from nearby. DarkRenamon glanced over to face a new bipedal form in the fog, not much shorter than VictoryGreymon. Its body was a cross between a humanoid and a pale pink rabbit, its torso and head being the former and its legs and abdomen being the latter. On most of its torso, blue armour dominated, broken only periodically for silver armour, or a pair of black straps crossing its belly, securing armour that protected the top of its legs. On its head, a black helm dominated, with eye holes revealing pink pupils, a gap revealing a thin line expression on its mouth, and a pair of pink ears riding out to either side from holes in the helm. On its feet, steel and black shoes took pride of place, while in its hands it held a pair of circular blades, one wider than the other and resembling two phases of a moon. Both were clearly equally as sharp, and were assisted by the presence of a powerful jet-like propulsion system on the rabbit's back, in addition to a pair of medieval damsel hats and ribbons poking forth from the top of the head and appearing rather like a second set of ears.

"Crescemon, Data Type, Ultimate Level, attacks Lunatic Dance, Ice Archery and Dark Archery," Mari noted, DarkRenamon hearing the words echo through their growing mental link. Ryder glanced up, a look of concern and surprise on his face at the name.

"I told you they would come to us," said another voice more jovially than his counterparts. Smaller than Crescemon, but still larger than his current observers, gold armour, like VictoryGreymon's, glinted off its thin bipedal insectoid form. Underneath the armour, twisted flesh resembled cables and formed arms joined to large hands, each of its digits serving as a laser. A golden helm had two seemingly-ornamental pincer-like objects sharply rising out of it, whilst on its feet were sharp gold shoe-like contraptions, which allowed it to hover above the ground, as it did so now.

"MetallifeKuwagamon, Virus Type, Ultimate Level, attacks Homing Laser and Emit Blade," Henry read, Gargomon once again hearing the words in his head.

"Geez, talk about a longwinded name," the bunny muttered. "Who are you nutjobs?" he asked, displaying his usual lack of tact.

"Usually I would kill a pathetic pet like you for a remark like that, but we need you to send a message to your owners," Crescemon noted.

"Owners? Pets?" DarkRenamon asked, bewildered by the use of such terminology.

"That is what you are, is it not?" VictoryGreymon asked. "And there is nothing I look down upon more than weedy, smothered little pests who digivolve faster than anyone else thanks to their Tamers, and demolish the system of hard work and time that has existed for millennia."

"I am not a pet," DarkRenamon claimed.

"Of course not honey," Crescemon mocked. "Now, please go retrieve your owners so we may speak with them."

"HA!" Gargomon laughed, causing VictoryGreymon to raise an eyebrow in bewilderment. "You guys really think you can fight us? Geez, you're in for a serious ass-kicking, you know that?" he asked mockingly.

"We are the Cult of Victory, and we have trained and fought hard to acquire our power. We shall protect the Digital World at all costs, and your Tamers present a direct threat to that. Therefore, if you will not retrieve your Tamers from outside this Digital Field for us, I shall do it for you," VictoryGreymon declared, raising his sword to his front and pointing it out of the fog, towards where Terriermon and DarkRenamon had come from.

It glowed brightly, energy flowing along it and gathering in a concentrated point of light at its end.

"TRIDENT GAIA!" he roared, the tiny point of light expanding massively and shrieking across the Digital Field, Gargomon and DarkRenamon's eyes widening as they realised what the target would be.

"NO!" they both blurted out in horror.

* * *

"GET DOWN!" Henry and Mari blurted at once, seeing events enacted on their digivices. They threw themselves to the ground like everyone else as a thick, huge, golden rush of energy screamed over their heads, followed by a sharp wind that dragged the remains of several trees into the air. More amazingly, the sheer force was enough to obliterate the fog, sweeping it away into nothing and putting their foes in clear view.

Gargomon and DarkRenamon both breathed sighs of relief as they saw their Tamers were safe and sound, if a little shaken.

"Perfect," VictoryGreymon noted, stepping forward.

"Let's get moving," DarkRenamon said to Gargomon, who nodded in response before they began to run across the wide expanse of the terrace.

"Where do you think you're going?" MetallifeKuwagamon asked, imposing himself in their path and smirking widely as his digit-lasers glowed in preparedness.

"MetallifeKuwagamon, hold back. We have to to talk with the Tamers first, then we will fight them," Crescemon ordered. "All the while, it may prove useful to have hostages," she added, glancing to VictoryGreymon who reluctantly nodded in agreement. It was hardly honourable, but it was still a worthy option.

"Seize them if you must," VictoryGreymon ordered. Crescemon rapidly flew forward at the pair, blades drawn and ready to grab. DarkRenamon and Gargomon quickly closed their eyes, knowing it was too late to escape.

"What do you think you're doing?" a high pitched voice, similar in tone to Terriermon's, joked. Crescemon looked forward to see green metallic armour dominating her view, a pair of gauntlet-like arms holding her arms apart.

"Huh?" she pondered, as DarkRenamon did the same. Henry breathed a sigh of relief, returning the blue card to his pocket where it subtly changed back to its previous form.

Rapidmon smirked, holding his guns to Crescemon's face. "RAPID FIRE!" he roared, a pair of missiles colliding at point-blank and throwing Crescemon back across the terrace to where she had stood before, landing with a crash and throwing several stalls to the ground in the process. "No one gets the better of Rapidmon!" the android chuckled, before looking to one side where DarkRenamon stood, astonished. "You okay?" he asked, the vixen nodding and smiling.

"Thanks to you," she answered, before leaping backwards into the air, flipping and landing alongside her Tamer.

"I'm so glad you're safe," Mari noted, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Mari, I may be way out of my league with this one," DarkRenamon noted. "But I will fight regardless if you wish me to," she added.

"Right," Mari answered, raising a card to her D-Vice. "DIGI-MODIFY…Digivolution Activate!" she called,

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**DarkRenamon Digivolve to…Youkomon!**

Youkomon landed gently on the ground in front of Mari, her bells ringing as she determinedly stared at their foes. Rapidmon's jets silenced as he landed in front of his Tamer, ready for battle.

"Ryder, Crescemon looks exactly like Ivy's partner did," Donmon noted. Ryder nodded, frowning.

"We'll have to fight all the same," he decided.

"Veemon, you ready?" Davis asked, clutching his hands into fists.

"Yeah," Veemon answered.

"Davis, Veemon's a vaccine type, use him against MetallifeKuwagamon," Takeru noted.

Davis nodded in agreement. "By the looks of it, MetallifeKuwagamon is pretty fast, so I know exactly what we'll do," he said, removing a card from his deck and clutching it tightly in his hand. It glowed with a golden hue, transforming into the card he needed.

"No way," Takeru noted, seeing the card. He didn't realise that Davis could by now summon this card on cue.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Golden Armour Digivolution Activate!" Davis called, his D-Arc glowing brightly as golden sparks leapt across its surface.

**G-O-L-D-E-N**

**A-R-M-O-U-R**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Veemon Golden Armour Digivolve to…Magnamon!**

Davis grinned widely at the sight of the ever-impressive Magnamon, golden light glinting off his surfaces and proving to be more than a match for VictoryGreymon's armour.

"MAGNA BL…" Magnamon began, gun ports opening.

"STOP THIS NOW!" VictoryGreymon proclaimed, stomping one foot down sharply on the ground and sending some trees crashing to the ground behind. "You will talk, and then we shall fight," he declared.

"What do you want to talk about?" Rapidmon asked curiously, feeling irritated by the way his battle was interrupted.

"I am here to deliver a message from the Sovereigns," VictoryGreymon explained.

"You work for the Sovereigns?" Renamon asked, surprised at how they would send such a large group.

"The Cult of Victory is an independent group, but we sympathise with this cause so long as it granted us access to the real world for a battle with you," Crescemon explained.

"Tell us the message already!" Kazu complained.

"There are actually several messages we have to give," VictoryGreymon elaborated. "Who is Ryder Stevens?" he asked.

Ryder was about to raise his hand, but he realised that meant letting go of his crutches, so he resorted to simply calling out.

"That's me," he called. "What's the message?" he asked curiously.

"Pay close attention."

"That's it?" Ryder asked, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment.

"Yes."

"I see," Ryder answered, uncertainty wrecking his mind and voice. What on earth did that mean? Why were the Sovereigns asking him to pay close attention? It didn't sound like an ordinary message.

"Ryo Akiyama?" Crescemon asked curiously, glancing across at the group as she pressed on with the messages.

"Here," Ryo answered, raising his hand slightly as an unsure expression crossed his features.

"Watch your shadow," she said forebodingly. Ryo narrowed his eyes, what on earth were they trying to tell him? It had to do with Milleniummon that was for sure. But what did they mean by watching his shadow?

Ryo dearly hoped "shadow" didn't mean Monodramon. That would be the worst thing possible in his eyes, but he knew it was also the most likely given recent events.

Then again, how did the Sovereigns even know about all this in the first place? Ryo hardly knew himself, and he was with Monodramon practically 24 hours a day.

"Christ these messages are cryptic," Rapidmon blurted out. "What the hell are the Sovereigns playing at?"

VictoryGreymon narrowed his eyes at the android, irritated by him already. He would leave the pathetic creature for MetallifeKuwagamon or Crescemon to deal with.

"Finally, Renamon," MetallifeKuwagamon continued. Renamon glanced up curiously, not expecting a message and beginning to anticipate what it was.

"Yes?" she asked.

"They are waiting for you to return, and explain yourself," he dictated. Renamon's eyes widened, as Rika looked to her curiously, a mix of shock and horror crossing the fox's face.

"Renamon, what does he mean?" she asked. Renamon didn't answer, instead shaking her head, dismissing an idea from her mind. It continued to pervade her, nonetheless, as she looked over Rika with concern. "Renamon?!" Rika asked, irritated by the silence.

"I do not know," Renamon lied. Rika frowned, looking back to their foes again as Tai took centre stage in the negotiations.

"Now what?" Tai asked, looking over the two ultimates and the mega with bewilderment.

"Now, we shall have an honourable battle, and if you win, you shall have proven to us that you Tamers are trustworthy and are truly powerful enough to defend against the challenges that lay in wake," VictoryGreymon explained. "If you lose, you will have proved to us that a Tamer and Digimon relationship cannot work, and your Digimon will be destroyed one by one."

"Hey, who gave you the right to impose those conditions?!" Matt asked, stepping forward and clenching his fists.

"I gave myself that right. Now step up to the battle, dear Tamers," VictoryGreymon called forth.

"Can't we just talk for once?!" Henry asked, pleading desperately for a peaceful resolution.

VictoryGreymon snorted in amusement, gripping the Dramon Breaker sword in his hands in readiness for battle.

"Obviously not," Rapidmon answered for Henry.

Tai looked to Agumon, determination in his eyes. "You ready?" he asked.

"Uh huh!" Agumon answered, nodding as Tai clutched his D-Arc and threw it to his chest.

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Agumon Biomerge Digivolve to…WarGreymon!**

"Impressive," VictoryGreymon noted, looking upon his cousin's (in digivolution terms) form, tightening his grip on his sword. "But a disgusting origin: a human bonding with a Digimon is a disgraceful act, and degrades all Digimon in doing so," he decreed.

"Stop talking," Tai declared, WarGreymon brandishing his Dramon Destroyers, a pair of gauntlet-like claws, in front of him menacingly. Even with VictoryGreymon not being a "dramon", they could still pack a considerable punch, and they would do so.

"Go on then," Mari noted to Chiyo, calling her to the fray with a smile. "You have to prove yourself, to Chaos at least," she added, continuing to smile. Chiyo looked to her curiously, before nodding determinedly. She reached for her D-Vice and a card simultaneously, Mari's eyes widening as her gaze befell its grey and purple form. Her smile instantly dropped open, realisation flashing through her mind all at once.

Chiyo realised too late what she was doing, and that proved to be her downfall.

"Wait…!" Mari panicked, seeing what it was. A grey D-Vice. A _grey_ D-Vice. That could only mean one thing. "You can't be!" she exclaimed, drawing Ryder and Henry's attentions to the device, a mixture of shock and horror crossing their features as they quickly caught onto the connotations.

"_Baka," _Chiyo inwardly cursed, biting her lip tight.She ignored them for the time being, sweeping the blue card through.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Matrix Digivolution Activate!" she called.

**M-A-T-R-I-X**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**DarkBiyomon Matrix Digivolve to…**

DarkBiyomon's form became enshrouded in a purple sphere, lines of data rushing through it as it grew, turning into a wireframe and being reassembled in the form of a large half-human, half bird form, greatly resembling Garudamon. But this was not like the Garudamon they knew: its form was black, broken only by purple where there was yellow on the original form, and white remained in situ. Great fists were clenched in readiness for battle.

…**DarkGarudamon!**

"You're a Demon!" Mari said, her eyes wider than ever. How had she been tricked? Why did she ignore the evidence? The lie was staring them straight in the face, and none of them had seen it. Rey stared on with a similar look of shock. Why else would someone want to know so much about their group? She didn't seem like an obsessive fan at all.

Chiyo frowned, looking to her. She'd failed. Without speaking, Chiyo ran forward towards the vast bird and grabbed onto the leg of her partner tightly, climbing onto the foot. An angered look on her face, she pointed at VictoryGreymon. Now she definitely had to prove herself.

"Attack!" she ordered. DarkGarudamon nodded, and with a flap of her huge wings, took to the air, rushing towards their foe. The Tamers shielded their eyes from the rapid gust of wind, before watching as DarkGarudamon raced towards VictoryGreymon, a burning fist prepared to attack. VictoryGreymon mockingly crossed his arms and awaited the attack.

"DarkGarudamon, Data Type, Ultimate Level, attacks are Shadow Wing, Eagle Claw and Tornado Inferno," Kristy read off her D-Arc.

"EAGLE CLAW!" she shrieked, Chiyo hanging on for dear life as DarkGarudamon slammed a fist burning with purple and blue flames into VictoryGreymon's stomach, his arms still crossed across his chest.

Chiyo and DarkGarudamon stared on in shock and irritation. VictoryGreymon's form was pushed back slightly by the massive fist, but he didn't seem to sustain any damage at all. This was going to be impossible, they couldn't even biomerge! How on earth was she meant to prove she was trustworthy now?

"Now it is my turn," VictoryGreymon said forebodingly. "DRAMON BREAKER!" he roared, slamming the sword into DarkGarudamon's side. The data-type was sent flying across the terrace, crashing through several stalls as Chiyo gripped close to its form, pleading for dear life that she'd survive.

VictoryGreymon looked upon the injured form of DarkGarudamon, trying to sit up, with a look of disdain and disgust as she groaned in pain. "DarkGarudamon?" Chiyo asked, looking sadly over her partner's buckled form, screaming in her head at how badly events were unfolding.

"I'm…okay…" DarkGarudamon groaned, still struggling to push herself up, to no avail. Chiyo frowned sadly, feeling useless.

They knew her secret. Her partner was lying injured on the ground nearby. And she was about to be outside an interesting battle, one that was meant to give her a chance to prove herself!

Chiyo silently cursed the turn of events.

**END OF PART FOUR…**


	33. The Trick To Reunion Part 5

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

The biomerged form of Leomon and Jeri, SaberLeomon, is a vaccine type in this because Leomon was a vaccine type and I set them as a vaccine type upon their first appearance. I'm noting that here because I know someone will point that out otherwise.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 29**

_The Trick to Reunion_

**Part Five**

* * *

"Unbelievably pathetic," VictoryGreymon commented, looking down at the miserable sight of DarkGarudamon weakly lying on the ground. Chiyo growled at the comment, gripping a card between her fingers as she stood up away from the claws she had previously gripped onto. Her clothes and hair had been ruffled by the attack, but by holding herself close to her partner she'd avoided being thrown off.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!" she called, before moving to send another card through straight afterwards. "DIGI-MODIFY…Power Activate!" she shouted, DarkGarudamon glowing as newfound energy and power coursed through her form. She pushed herself to her feet, but VictoryGreymon was unimpressed by the display.

"So persistent yet so weak," he commented, a bored and irritated expression dominating his face.

"Shut the hell up!" Chiyo yelled, her hands tightened into fists.

"Why is she fighting alongside us?" Mari asked, looking to Ryder standing next to her, before looking to Henry on the other side. "If she's a Demon, isn't she meant to be attacking us, not helping us?"

"I don't know," Henry answered, concentrating his stare on the battlefield. This was all getting very odd, and the battle itself hadn't even seemed to have begun yet.

"Does it matter right now?" Davis asked, interrupting the others. "All that matters right now is that we've got three Digimon to take down, and we've got to attack with everything we've got!" he cheered, Magnamon nodding likewise as he held his fist up in determination.

"Yeah, but our most powerful data-type is out of action," Rika said solemnly, turning to her partner and frowning glumly. Renamon sadly looked at her partner, knowing that Rika felt she was letting her down. _"So this is how it's going to be for the next seven months, huh?" _Rika pondered sadly, before gripping a blue card in her hand in readiness for battle. "Renamon, let's go," she called, determination replacing depression for the time being.

The vixen nodded, Rika promptly swiping the card through her D-Vice and watching as its screen lit up, its internal matrices calculating the data and distributing it to her partner.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Matrix Digivolution Activate!" she called.

**M-A-T-R-I-X**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Renamon Matrix Digivolve to…Taomon!**

"Help out Garudamon!" Rika ordered, as Taomon looked to her for instructions. Taomon nodded, levitating towards their most powerful foe, VictoryGreymon. She paused before reaching him, instead raising her paintbrush to the air to cast a spell. Close combat was not her specialty.

"TALISMAN OF LIGHT!" she called, painting a symbol in the air. It hovered, white light burning out of it and firing towards VictoryGreymon's face. He smirked, raising the Dramon Breaker sword and acting faster than any of them could see.

"VICTORY CHARGE!" VictoryGreymon roared, his sword glinting as it slammed into the white beam of light. Effortlessly, the attack was diverted it across the battlefield into a particularly annoying target.

Rapidmon groaned in pain as his ally's attack hit him at full force, Taomon having put a fair amount of energy into the move and VictoryGreymon's rebounding of it having probably powered it up somewhat too.

"Rapidmon!" Henry yelled in horror. As the dust and light cleared, Rapidmon was still in the same place and intact, but his form was notably smoking from the damage, and he wore an irritated yet dizzy look on his face.

"Geez, thanks a lot Taomon," he said dizzily. The attack had come completely out of nowhere, and it had surprised him no end.

"This guy's fast!" Henry pointed out, amazed by how rapidly the dragon had relayed Taomon's attack.

"I'm faster!" Rapidmon claimed, suddenly vanishing and materialising over behind MetallifeKuwagamon, missiles readied to attack his unsuspecting foe. "RAPID FIRE!" he roared, the missiles flying forth and smashing into the back of the virus. MetallifeKuwagamon was thrown forward, roaring in pain as the explosion flickered over him. He turned, growling at his foe. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Rapidmon cheered with a wide smirk.

"Annoying little pest," MetallifeKuwagamon complained, raising his hands. The lasers on his fingers glowed. "HOMING LASER!" he yelled, ten pale blue laser blasts acting exactly at their name implied. They crashed into Rapidmon's form, throwing him back somewhat, his back slamming into a nearby tree.

"Ugh," Rapidmon groaned, sliding down the tree slightly.

"Now, WarGreymon, we shall fight!" VictoryGreymon declared, looking to his "cousin" who he had ignored in favour of dealing with the annoying little pest. He brandished his sword, pointing it to the similar dragon as energy began to accumulate at its end.

"_Tai, we have to attack!" _Agumon warned in Tai's mind. WarGreymon nodded, energy accumulating between his claws and forming into a gigantic energy sphere.

"TERRA FORCE!" he roared, flinging the blast at VictoryGreymon just as VictoryGreymon replied with his own move.

"TRIDENT GAIA!" VictoryGreymon roared, a huge blast of energy flying forth and colliding with the ball of fiery energy. Those below were forced to cover their eyes from the bright burning sphere of energy, apart from Takato, Davis, Henry, Rika, Mari and Ryder who quickly put on sunglasses or Goggles. The heat seared at the ground, scorching tiles and barely missing the group, those in range having run from the blast as soon as they saw it coming.

"Now THAT is an attack!" Kazu cheered, in awe of what had just happened despite how destructive it had been.

"That could almost have hurt me," VictoryGreymon mocked. "Now, attack me!" he ordered, holding his arms aside in readiness for fighting. WarGreymon nodded, preparing to attack.

"GREAT TORNADO!" he roared, VictoryGreymon and him beginning to duel as the Tamers below began to discuss tactics.

"Guys, we need to have a strategy here," Izzy declared. "This guy is stupidly powerful and he could take us all out in a single shot if we're not ready."

"Yeah, otherwise we're going to get mauled," Takeru added. "Look, we have tons of megas, and several ultimates, but these guys are powerful _and_ they can relay our attacks," he noted. "We need some tactics," he added.

"DRAMON BREAKER!"

"DRAMON DESTROYER!"

"Exactly. Vaccines attack MetallifeKuwagamon, Viruses on Crescemon and Datas on VictoryGreymon," Ryder outlined his plan, as swords and destroyers clashed over their heads.

"It's not that simple," Henry noted. "I counted the other day; we've only got three data types at the mega level, and with Rika not wanting to take the risks of fighting as Sakuyamon, that leaves just Rosemon and Valkyrimon to fight VictoryGreymon, along with DarkGarudamon if she's actually able to cause any damage."

"TERRA FORCE!"

Ryder paused, nodding. "So what do we do?" he asked.

"VICTORY CHARGE!"

"We have way more Vaccine types than it will take to take out MetallifeKuwagamon, we'll use that power against VictoryGreymon," Henry answered, everyone ducking for cover rapidly as bits of trees flew everywhere, WarGreymon having dodged his own attack at the last moment.

"Wow," Matt mumbled in amazement.

"Except…I can't use MegaGargomon," Henry continued, before elaborating on his thoughts. "We're right next to Hypnos and all these huge buildings, and I don't want to risk people getting hurt or killed. As Davis has already decided, the same goes for Imperialdramon, particularly if VictoryGreymon can relay any of Imperialdramon's powerful attacks at whatever he wants. Donmon's out too, unless Ryder wants to risk a biomerge, so MegaDonnermon will have to do."

"Tactics like a proper general," Takeru noted, Jeri nodding in agreement.

"DRAMON BREAKER!"

"DRAMON DESTROYER!"

"So we're up against the bug thingy then?" Rapidmon asked enthusiastically, hoping he was understanding Henry's tactics. Henry nodded, before Rapidmon rolled his eyes. "Geez, whatever happened to "he always circles around like a shark before he attacks"," he pondered. "So much simpler than "thousands of people could die if we get this wrong"," he added.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Henry answered, smiling slyly. "Kenta, you and MarineAngemon will have to heal anyone who gets hurt, okay?" he asked, turning to the shorter boy.

"You can count on us," Kenta answered, clutching a fist enthusiastically.

"DRAMON BREAKER!"

"DRAMON DESTROYER!"

"Pipirupipi!" MarineAngemon agreed, nodding excitedly, although no-one but Kenta could tell what he was saying. Not even those with the Babel ability could understand, oddly enough.

"Perfect strategy," Magnamon commented, preparing himself for battle, as Donmon nodded in agreement.

"Ahem…a _seemingly_ perfect strategy," VictoryGreymon interrupted, looking to Henry as WarGreymon looked at him in bewilderment, surprised that their duel had just been randomly suspended. "I applaud your tactics, boy, but we shall see if they are any good in the field of battle," he noted, Henry nodding determinedly to the dragon as they stared each other down. He turned, facing the others and being surprised at how everyone was listening to me. _"I sure hope this works,"_ he thought. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," the others answered.

"Ready Donmon?" Ryder asked his partner, preparing a blue card in his hand as an eager look grew on his face. It'd been a while since he'd had a battle, and he only hoped he could face the prospect of killing again. In any case, Donmon nodded, clenching his clawed fist in readiness as the card slid through the D-Vice. "DIGI-MODIFY…Matrix Digivolution Activate!"

**M-A-T-R-I-X**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Donmon Matrix Digivolve to…MegaDonnermon!**

MegaDonnermon's great wings flapped, as he pushed himself off the ground, flying towards MetallifeKuwagamon who smirked, standing on the spot and removing his gold "pincer" head ornaments. He tossed them like a boomerang at MegaDonnermon.

"EMIT BLADE!" he called, the weapon glowing with a pale blue light as it drew near, the sharp weapon on a seemingly unstoppable course to hit MegaDonnermon.

"RETCON!" Ryder called. MegaDonnermon felt the weapon scrape past his ear and breathed a sigh of relief. It spun around and made its way back to MetallifeKuwagamon's hand.

"GIGA BLAZE!" MegaDonnermon began, his mouth and cannons glowing and gathering a blast in front of him. He was about to fire it…

"DARK ARCHERY!" Crescemon said, a dark arrow quickly colliding with MegaDonnermon and disrupting his concentration. It threw him aside in the air, before he rapidly tried to steady himself, looking up to Crescemon.

"We can use types and backup from others too, pet," she taunted, levitating over to be closer to her prey.

"Yeah!" MetallifeKuwagamon added, slamming a foot into MegaDonnermon's head and throwing him into the ground where he made a sizable crater in the terrace.

"MegaDonnermon!" Ryder yelled, fearful for his partner.

"GREAT TORNADO!" WarGreymon yelled, intervening as he spun across the battlefield, colliding with MetallifeKuwagamon and protecting his fellow dragon from harm. MetallifeKuwagamon grunted in pain as he was thrown rapidly into trees.

MegaDonnermon got up dizzily, as WarGreymon turned to face Crescemon, both preparing an attack. A glowing orb of energy grew between WarGreymon's claws, whilst Crescemon's Nuova Luna weapons transformed into a blowgun, both determinedly staring down the other.

Crescemon glanced periodically over the dragon's shoulder, and Tai realised too late what she was looking at.

"TRIDENT GAIA!" VictoryGreymon roared.

"TAI!" Kari and Sora cried, as the energy exploded over WarGreymon's back, the Brave Shield on it making little difference at such a close range. Tai and Agumon screamed in pain, before VictoryGreymon swung his blade over.

"DRAMON BREAKER!" he roared, WarGreymon flying into the ground rapidly, and quickly being replaced by an unconscious Tai and Agumon.

"You are all so pathetic," Crescemon noted, looking over the group. "You have the advantage of numbers, but you barely use it."

"We have trained for a proper battle, give us one!" MetallifeKuwagamon taunted, rising forth from the remains of a tree to join his brethren.

"EAGLE CLAW!" roared DarkGarudamon all of a sudden, slamming a fist, covered in far more flames than usual, into VictoryGreymon's back. He was thrown to the ground nearby as Chiyo glared from her position on the ground behind her partner, dropping a collection of modify cards to the ground. Powerful as they had made her partner, she'd pushed DarkGarudamon to the limit by using them, as she could see from her partner's exhaustion.

"Get out of there!" she called to MegaDonnermon. The dragon gave her a look of surprise, amazed that someone who seemed to be an enemy of theirs was helping them. He nodded, flying over to retrieve Tai and Agumon, gathering them before making a bee-line for the group. "Now digivolve for god's sake!" she shouted to the group, who glanced at each other, nodding determinedly.

"Right," Matt noted, nodding as 13 digivices were readied for biomerging or digivolving. Ai and Mako looked to Impmon, who nodded in reply. It was time to fight, before people got hurt.

"Rey, are we going to fight?" Realmon asked her Tamer, who had previously been watching the battle with intrigue. Rey glanced to her partner, before back to the battlefield, the light of digivolution enveloping most of the Tamers. She looked back to her partner, shaking her head.

"As much as I want to fight, these guys need to learn to fight on their own, and we'd make it far too easily. Plus, I want to keep some things a secret, and our mega form is one of them. It'd surprise them too much, and they've had enough surprises today to last a lifetime. The last thing I want to do is to get seriously injured in the past, so we'll be the fallback solution."

"Okay," Realmon answered, nodding.

"We stay out of this," Ryo noted to Monodramon, who nodded.

Takato glanced to Rika. "Good luck," she wished, he nodding as he threw his D-Vice across his chest…

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Guilmon Biomerge Digivolve to…Gallantmon!**

**W-A-R-P**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Impmon Warp Digivolve to…Beelzemon!**

**M-O-D-E**

**C-H-A-N-G-E**

**Gallantmon Mode Change to…Gallantmon Crimson Mode!**

**Beelzemon Mode Change to…Beelzemon Blast Mode!**

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Guardromon Biomerge Digivolve to…HiAndromon!**

**Elecmon Biomerge Digivolve to…SaberLeomon!**

**Gabumon Biomerge Digivolve to…MetalGarurumon!**

**Biyomon Biomerge Digivolve to…Phoenixmon!**

**Gomamon Biomerge Digivolve to…Vikemon!**

**Gatomon Biomerge Digivolve to…Ophanimon!**

**Patamon Biomerge Digivolve to…Seraphimon!**

**Hawkmon Biomerge Digivolve to…Valkyrimon!**

**Palmon Biomerge Digivolve to…Rosemon!**

**Tentomon Biomerge Digivolve to…Raijinmon!**

**Armadillomon Biomerge Digivolve to…TigerVespamon!**

**Kudamon Biomerge Digivolve to…Sleipmon!**

**Lopmon Biomerge Digivolve to…Cherubimon!**

"Finally, a challenge," VictoryGreymon commented, looking at the fifteen megas, four ultimates, the armour and the champion ready to face them.

"Youkomon, we really aren't going to be able to join in this battle, are we?" Mari noted to her partner, who shook her head, bells ringing along with the movement.

"We can get the kids and the others to safety though," Youkomon noted, glancing over the group, now consisting of Ai, Mako, Kenta and MarineAngemon, Rey and Realmon, Ryo and Monodramon, the unconscious Tai and Agumon, Rika, Henry, Ryder, Davis, Chiyo, and Calumon, who was currently gripping onto Rika's head and watching events curiously. MarineAngemon was currently nursing Tai and Agumon, trying to slowly bring them back to consciousness. Mari nodded, the pair turning and walking towards the others.

"There's…um…" Rapidmon began, hesitating as he glanced around.

"Twenty," Taomon prompted, rolling her eyes at her ally.

"There are twenty of us! You may call that a challenge, but I think you're just fooling yourself! This'll be a breeze!" Rapidmon mocked.

"The Cult of Victory has been well trained, and we have awaited this battle for ages. We shall not lose now, alone or together," Crescemon answered.

"Hmph, they _all _say that," Magnamon mocked.

"Good luck my brethren," VictoryGreymon said to his companions, who nodded in agreement. The dragon took to the air, flying straight up and amazing anyone who was watching as his armour glinted in the bright summer light.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" Yolei yelled, Valkyrimon taking flight after the dragon that served as an ideal target thanks to her data type attribute. DarkGarudamon looked to Chiyo, Tamer nodding to partner in agreement before she took flight likewise.

"Good luck," she said to her partner, an actual genuine smile crossing her features. There was a perverse pleasure in "ganging up" to effectively maul digimon like this, and she was enjoying it. It was definitely going to be safer on the ground though.

"Be careful," Rika said to hers, Taomon nodding and taking to the sky. She could at least assist her allies in the battle against VictoryGreymon even if her fighting power wouldn't be enough.

"_This guy must really have trained though, his power is far beyond anything I've seen before__ from a simple bioemergence," _Taomon contemplated as she flew upwards.

MetalGarurumon looked determinedly to Ophanimon, Rosemon and Phoenixmon. "Let's get revenge for how he attacked Tai," he declared, the others nodding in response as the four took to the sky.

"Be careful Suzie," Henry warned, Cherubimon nodding in response.

"I promise big brother!" she answered, the Angel taking flight after the rest. VictoryGreymon smirked, looking down at the "train" of foes that now pursued him.

"_I will not lose to such pathetic pets," _he thought, raising his blade into his hands.

Crescemon glanced to MetallifeKuwagamon. "Go find another battleground, that shall divide them and then we shall conquer the remains," she ordered. MetallifeKuwagamon grinned widely, nodding.

"Right," he answered, glancing across to Beelzemon and the other three Viruses. "Catch me if you can!" he mocked, flying backwards away from the remains of the flea market.

"Come back here!" Beelzemon ordered, taking pursuit with a sharp flap of his huge black wings.

"Let's go!" Izzy said to Cody, TigerVespamon nodding in response before he and Raijinmon followed after Beelzemon.

"Good luck," Rika said to Gallantmon, Takato nodding in response.

"**Oh come on, this is going to be a breeze! Four megas against a single ultimate - he's going to need to have trained for a billion years to even hope to match!" **Chaos boasted, before Gallantmon turned, his white wings flapping and letting him take off in pursuit.

Rika watched him leave, before sighing sadly as Calumon looked down at her head curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked innocently.

"Nothing really, they're going to win inevitably without even needing my help. I just hate feeling so useless," Rika complained.

"Aw."

"Um, Henry, what just happened? Whose idea was that? We just went to the wrong battlegrounds?" Rapidmon asked, looking to Henry curiously. Realisation crashed across Henry's face, as he slapped himself in the forehead.

"DOESN'T ANYONE EVER LISTEN?" Henry groaned.

"Now you know how I feel," Terriermon asked.

"I haven't forgotten," Ken and Wormmon said in their dual voices, pausing and looking to his allies. Henry nodded, at least that was some consolation, and they were clearly beating the enemy in power terms anyway. How did they expect to win apart from tricks like the 'Victory Breaker'? It made no sense, did they really hate the Tamers that much?

"Great, so that's our tactics gone, I suppose we have to rely on pure power," Ryder noted to Henry.

"Well, maybe it's for the better," Mari noted. "Vikemon and SaberLeomon can't fly anyway," she added.

"We have got to work on giving orders to people without them forgetting them straight after," Ryder noted.

"So, that just leaves me with you pets," Crescemon noted, looking about at Rapidmon, Magnamon, MegaDonnermon, Vikemon, Seraphimon, Sleipmon, SaberLeomon and HiAndromon who had remained behind to fight her. Most digimon would cower in fear at such a sight, but Crescemon had been well trained for it. She knew that their long-awaited battle would bring impossible odds, but immeasurable gains if they were to win. It was a matter of pride and honour: Tamed digimon were disgusting cheats who ram-rode straight over the achievements of proper Digimon. They had trained for many years for this, ever since they had first heard about the original Digidestined when they resided in the Eastern Quadrant. Its conversion to the Eastern Region not only allowed them to up their training and have more intended foes for their ultimate battle, but also gave them another reason to fight - the Tamers had caused such chaos in their battles, and the Cataclysm was just one of them. This injustice would not stand any longer.

She frowned; she had hoped she would acquire her mega level before this battle, but no mind. An ultimate level would suffice. She drew her Nuova Luna blades, ready to battle.

"ICE…" she began, the weapon converting into a blowgun and being prepared for firing.

"VIKING AXE!" Vikemon roared. Crescemon screaming in pain as the Mjolner crashed across her skin. Her eyes widened in horror.

"_No!"_ she screamed in her mind in realisation as pain tore through her, more pain than she had ever experienced in the whole of her existence. Searing at her skin and ripping it, pain straight to the core. She clenched her teeth, as Vikemon moved away, others approaching to attack and preparing their cannons for other shots.

It couldn't be hopeless! They had to win! After all this anticipation, after all this training, they couldn't lose!

It wasn't fair.

**END OF PART FIVE…**


	34. The Trick To Reunion Part 6

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 29**

_The Trick to Reunion_

**Part Six**

* * *

_**Skies over Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:20 JST**_

"Humph, if I were a weaker Digimon I'd call this a biased fight," VictoryGreymon noted, looking at the eight digimon that had taken up positions around him, all flying over Nishi-shinjuku, the skyscraper district of Shinjuku Ward. He gripped his sword, unfazed by his foes as he prepared himself for combat.

"It _is_ a biased fight," Matt noted, amazed about how this digimon could simply ignore the odds like that.

"Enough talk," VictoryGreymon decided, holding his sword out as he charged energy in the blade and faced MetalGarurumon.

"_Mimi, now's our chance!" _Palmon said to her Tamer, who nodded within her rouge sphere.

"Right," Mimi answered, noting how they were conveniently the other side of VictoryGreymon, a perfect position to attack.

The jewel on Rosemon, the Tifaret, glowed brightly, as the flower on her head bloomed rapidly. A blast of energy flew forth from her body, complimented by rose petals.

"FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION!" she called in the dual voices of Mimi and Palmon.

"_Gotcha!" _Mimi thought, clenching her fist within her sphere.

"VICTORY CHARGE!" VictoryGreymon roared, holding the Dramon Breaker over his back, right in the course of the burst of energy. It ricocheted off, but with a new target.

Phoenixmon roared in pain, the data-type blast hitting her and causing far more damage thanks to her vaccine-type attribute. Mimi and Palmon stared on in horror as VictoryGreymon grew a wide smirk on his face.

"You bastard!" Matt yelled, MetalGarurumon gathering energy in his mouth before shooting it forth at VictoryGreymon at a sharp pace.

"METAL WOLF CLAW!" he roared in the dual voices of Matt and Gabumon. VictoryGreymon smirked, turning unbelievably fast and sweeping the Dramon Breaker at it.

"VICTORY CHARGE!" he roared again, but this time the target wasn't a Digimon. No, it was a far more substantial and easy damaged target.

"No!" Kari yelled, but naturally it was to no avail, as the blast of energy smashed through the edge of the closer of the two Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building towers. Glass shattered and the outer wall of a pair of floors exploded. Screams sounded as eyes widened in horror. VictoryGreymon didn't even bother to look, instead having a solemn look on his face.

"Pointless destruction," he commented neutrally, uncaring about those who could've been killed or injured but still not wanting to look. "But destruction at your hands," he noted, glancing to MetalGarurumon, who growled.

"You could have killed someone!" Kari yelled, clutching her hands into fists within her sphere as she glared at the dragon, despising this creature which killed innocents simply for the purposes of their battle. Gatomon growled angrily.

VictoryGreymon was unfazed. "You have so many weaknesses. Those who preceded me must have been very stupid if they had never realised that you had such faults."

"QUIET!" Kari yelled, angered as Ophanimon flew rapidly forward at the dragon, grasping the Shining Javelin sharply in her hand.

She stabbed at VictoryGreymon, who dodged backwards, but she continued her assault, spinning it around and throwing it forward into his chest. A minor dent was made as the weapon bounded off again, before VictoryGreymon spun the Dramon Breaker over his head. A great clutter came as the vast sword was halted only by Beauty's Golden Shield; the weapon in Ophanimon's other hand.

VictoryGreymon smirked as Ophanimon stared on, determined. "You are very fast," he noted. "But I shall have the upper hand!" he added, suddenly breaking the Dramon Breaker in two, one half a single longer blade and the other a dual blade with a hilt. He brandished each sword in each hand as Ophanimon's eyes widened. She held off the longer sword as it swung at her head using her shield, but he sliced the other dual blade through the air below towards her legs. She spun her javelin downwards, the weapon only just withstanding the sheer sharpness of the Dramon Breaker blade as she struggled to keep it off.

She felt the pressure on the shield loosen, widening her eyes in horror as the longer one of the Dramon Breakers spun away and downwards, heading for her body.

"Look out!" Suzie yelled, Cherubimon shooting forward and throwing her large bulk towards at the dragon. He paused in his attack on Ophanimon, flying back rapidly and releasing a dazed Angel from his assault on her, albeit placing her now into the path of Cherubimon's body slam. Cherubimon changed her course to go towards the dragon again rather than towards her ally, but VictoryGreymon quickly combined the sword again. He grasped it in his hand, prepared to attack.

"DRAMON BREAKER!" he yelled, sweeping it sideways at Cherubimon's side, Suzie and Lopmon screaming in pain as they were thrown aside. Cherubimon clutched her injured side, Phoenixmon looking at her with concern.

"Cherubimon, are you okay?" Sora asked, concerned for her friend.

"God that hurts," Suzie cried, Cherubimon continuing to grip her reddened side in pain.

Ophanimon frowned at the sight of her injured fellow Angel, before she heard a swishing noise behind her head. At the last moment, she threw the shield up behind her, screaming as it dug into her hand under the force of the Dramon Breaker. She tightened her eyes closed, biting her lip against the pain.

"LIGHTNING ARROW!" Valkyrimon interrupted, firing an arrow from her crossbow at VictoryGreymon. He didn't even blink at the sight, instead tearing the shield and javelin from Ophanimon, who screamed at they were forcibly ripped from her hands. She looked to him in horror, before he kicked his legs out, throwing her aside in pain before using Beauty's Golden Shield to deflect the arrow.

Ophanimon clutched her stomach in pain, looking to a now-growling Valkyrimon. "Ophanimon, you okay?" Valkyrimon asked, concerned for her friend. Kari spoke in pain, but nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah, but that was really painful," she noted. MetalGarurumon and Rosemon growled, angered by how the dragon had attacked their friends without hesitation. Both nodded to one another, preparing their attacks.

"FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION!" Mimi called.

"METAL WOLF CLAW!" Matt roared, knowing that the more attacks they did at the same time, the harder they would be to deflect.

Cherubimon nodded, getting the idea as she put her hands together. "STORM OF JUDGEMENT," she called, storm clouds suddenly gathering directly over VictoryGreymon's head.

Phoenixmon put her wings together, readying her input. "CRIMSON FLAME!" she roared, a huge wave of fire bursting towards VictoryGreymon.

Ophanimon realised their strategy, placing her hands together to join them in it. Ten crystals materialised around her, before she pointed at VictoryGreymon. "SEFIROT CRYSTALS!" she called, the crystals shooting rapidly towards VictoryGreymon from bellow.

DarkGarudamon watched, seeing all these Digimon preparing their moves and fighting, as a team. Why was Chiyo faking wanting to join this? This was amazing, and DarkGarudamon pondered whether fighting them was the right thing at all. If they were dealing such damage, such attacks, to a powerful Digimon, then what would they do to her Tamer?

DarkGarudamon wrenched at the concept, before she put her wings together, purple and black fire gathering in their midst. She suddenly flung them forward, a wave of flame rocketing towards VictoryGreymon.

Taomon grasped her paintbrush, holding it out as it glowed. The individual hairs on the brush separated, each elongating out in a different direction. She swished it through the air, casting a spell.

"_This should stop him returning our attacks," _she thought, concentrating deeply on her moves as she cultivated the spell carefully.

VictoryGreymon looked to the attacks approaching rapidly from every direction. He glanced to the Javelin and Shield, still in his hand. He glanced aside, noting Taomon glowing as a spell began to be cast.

"_Oh no you don't!" _he thought, grasping the spear and tossing it sharply in Taomon's direction. He grabbed the shield, tossing it upwards where it conducted the lightning from the storm before plummeting, no longer needed by the Dragon. He then grabbed the Dramon Breaker sword again, flying downwards rapidly and batting the ten Sefirot Crystals out towards the other attacks. As they collided, they exploded, a halo of fire tearing through the air and even injuring VictoryGreymon, who felt the searing hint burn at his flesh, even through his helmet and armour.

VictoryGreymon looked down at where he was gripping the charred remains of the dual Dramon Breaker. His eyes actually widened, surprised as it shattered in his hands. He growled, gripping the other long blade tightly. He wouldn't be beaten that easily, that was a mere miscalculation.

However, not everything had been a miscalculation.

"Oh my god," Mimi stuttered, Rosemon's hand going to her mouth in surprise and horror. Mimi felt like she would be sick, but she had no idea how to do so within her sphere.

Taomon looked down, at the Shining Javelin sticking out of her, embedded but thankfully not passing straight through her chest. It made it no the less horrific, as she began to feel pain burn through her centre. Her mouth dropped open in horror, as her data flickered uneasily thanks to the hole in her chest, dead through the centre of that symbol of the balance between Ying and Yang: the Taijitu.

VictoryGreymon smirked at his unintended triumph. He had only intended to surprise the wizard-Digimon in order to distract her from her spell-casting, but he had managed a perfect shot.

Ophanimon flew rapidly towards the yellow fox wizard and her own Javelin, hoping to save the fox before her data was rendered null. She rapidly grabbed the Javelin, tearing it out and revealing a large leaking hole of data that went a fair way into the fox. "No," she muttered, grabbing the fox's arms as her eyes began to close, the wizard beginning to drop. "Hang on in there Taomon!"

"First victim," VictoryGreymon tallied.

"That's it; you aren't going to hurt my friends any longer!" MetalGarurumon growled, gun ports opening all over his form. "ICE WOLF BITE!" he roared, missiles launching from them and flying well away from their target, before they all began to circle round, making a bee line for VictoryGreymon from all directions.

VictoryGreymon smirked, rolling his eyes and slashing his blade at the attacks. He suddenly felt very cold as the missiles collided with him.

"Please stay awake!" Ophanimon pleaded.

VictoryGreymon felt unable to move all of a sudden, ice forming all over his form from the missiles as they collided. _"What?!"_ he questioned, realising he had let his guard down.

Taomon's form faltered once and for all, fazing out of existence as Ophanimon felt the smaller form that remained slip from her hands. An unconscious Renamon plummeted weakly down towards the ground below, heading to a certain fate as Ophanimon's eyes widened more than ever. She stared helplessly on, knowing she could never catch up.

"NOW!" MetalGarurumon roared, not aware of the drama erupting behind him.

"THORN WHIP!" Rosemon cried, sending her whip forth. It gripped a partly-frozen VictoryGreymon in its midst, preventing him from struggling his way free of the ice even if he could. "Attack!" she ordered the others.

"LIGHTNING SPEAR!" Cherubimon called, sending a bolt of lightning flying straight at VictoryGreymon's trapped form.

"LASER JAVELIN!" Valkyrimon screamed, sending an explosive javelin shrieking towards her foe.

DarkGarudamon glowed, before sweeping her wings forward and propelling a huge ball of flames at the dragon. "TORNADO INFERNO!" she roared.

"METAL WOLF CLAW!" MetalGarurumon roared, sending his attack through to complete the strategy.

VictoryGreymon roared in pain from the attacks from all angles, as precise and specific as the thorn whip searing him as it glowed to the vast ball of fire which hit him all over. He felt his data ripped, the Dramon Breaker prised from his hand, scratches and dents running across its surface.

VictoryGreymon paused, horror crossing his features at the terrifying prospect of what had just happened.

He had lost.

This wasn't meant to happen! What on earth was going on?

This wasn't fair!

* * *

_**Outside Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Main Entrance, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:20 JST**_

"_Izzy, this isn't going to be the safest of spots to battle in," _Tentomon noted, Raijinmon looking around at where MetallifeKuwagamon had drawn them to. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building loomed over their heads, but the building ran all around them, a far shorter building looping around a large terrace below and serving as the main entrance. A highway ran through the centre, raised above the terrace, while higher-still enclosed aerial walkways linked the shorter building into the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building-proper. People had begun to run, screaming, but many would obviously not be aware yet, innocently sitting in one of the buildings which surrounded them without a clue about the danger they were facing.

"_I know what you mean," _Izzy answered, hearing the peal of a fire alarm resonating from the many buildings. One by one, doors began to open, people flooding out. Some, upon seeing the five Digimon in the centre of the arena, turned and ran back into the building, intending to make an alternative escape, but others simply made a bee-line to the nearest exit from the circular arena. _"He's done this on purpose, he wants us to damage Hypnos," _he noted, seeing car drivers on the highway screech to a halt, turn and drive away in a desperate attempt to escape the oncoming battle as they landed on the roadway.

"_So what do we do then Izzy?"_ Tentomon asked.

Izzy frowned within his purple data sphere. _"I don't think we have a choice."_

"Welcome to our battleground," MetallifeKuwagamon noted, smirking as he turned to face Beelzemon, Gallantmon, Raijinmon and TigerVespamon from where they now all stood on the highway tarmac. "You may have noticed I chose it…"

"For Christ's sake, if I wanted a chat about tactics I'd have gone to see Henry or Izzy! Now be a good bug and take your DOUBLE IMPACT!" Beelzemon taunted, raising his blaster and firing a pair of bullets towards the insectoid.

MetallifeKuwagamon frowned at not being able to finish his chat, before he rapidly grasped his head ornament, spinning it from his fingers like a boomerang. It glowed brightly, edges sharpening and power collecting in the blade. "EMIT BLADE!" he roared, the blade colliding with the bullets and exploding them. The shockwave tore through the roadway, ripping a crack in its surface, and even pushing all five Digimon back with the force. "Not bad,"

MetallifeKuwagamon noted, surprised that he had even been affected by the attack. Clearly, the mega level was a powerful force, and he hoped to acquire such power of his own very soon.

"_He's fast!" _Tentomon noted.

"_Compared to us though, he should be weaker," _Izzy answered.

A crashing noise from above interrupted them, Raijinmon and the others looking to the air to see an icy blue blast skimming across and through one of the two towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building before coming to a stop when it slammed into the other. Glass splintered to the ground below, as Izzy gritted his teeth.

"_Looks like the others are having a hard time too. I swear that was MetalGarurumon's attack, and he'd never attack a building like that. VictoryGreymon must be reflecting all their attacks like when he did earlier," _Izzy thought.

"_So it was a good thing that MetallifeKuwagamon picked this spot to battle in, huh?" _

"_Huh, what do you mean?"_

"_If we weren't fighting here, then they wouldn't have known to evacuate the building like they did."_

"_Yeah, you're right," _Izzy answered. _"But we have to concentrate on this battle."_

"_So what do we do?"_

"_We'll have to use our strength in numbers," _Izzy decided.

"Attack!" Raijinmon ordered, gesturing forth at their opponent before his tail glowed, electricity flickering up its wire-like form, across his back and onto his shoulder-mounted cannons. They blasted forth a pair of electric bolts, as Raijinmon called the attack name. "ELEC-KUGEL!"

* * *

"_This bug is really getting to bug me right now," _Beelzemon thought angrily, listening with growing impatience as MetallifeKuwagamon began to lecture. He finally snapped, deciding to interupt. "For Christ's sake, if I wanted a chat about tactics I'd have gone to see Henry or Izzy! Now be a good bug and take your DOUBLE IMPACT!" Beelzemon taunted, raising his blaster and firing a pair of bullets towards the insectoid.

MetallifeKuwagamon frowned at not being able to finish his chat, before he rapidly grasped his head ornament, spinning it from his fingers like a boomerang. It glowed brightly, edges sharpening and power collecting in the blade. "EMIT BLADE!" he roared, the blade colliding with the bullets and exploding them. The shockwave tore through the roadway, ripping a crack in its surface, and even pushing all five Digimon back with the force. "Not bad," MetallifeKuwagamon noted, surprised that he had even been affected by the attack. Clearly, the mega level was a powerful force, and he hoped to acquire such power of his own very soon.

"_Bastard, he destroyed my bullets easily!" _Beelzemon complained, reloading his gun by his side and preparing it for another round. _"He's an ultimate for flip' sake's, we're just wasting our time with him," _he added.

He paused upon hearing a crash from above, as all eyes turned up to the skyscrapers, an icy blue blast skimming across one tower and only stopping when it collided with the others. Glass splintered to the ground below.

"_Doesn't look like they're having it easy either. Still, I'd rather be fighting that VictoryGreymon guy, at least he'd remotely present a challenge," _he added, raising his weapon. _"Damn virus-attribute, never stopped me before."_

"Attack!" Raijinmon ordered, gesturing forth at their opponent before his tail glowed, electricity flickering up its wire-like form, across his back and onto his shoulder-mounted cannons. They blasted forth a pair of electric bolts, as Raijinmon called the attack name. "ELEC-KUGEL!"

Beelzemon held his gun up, gesturing in the air with it as it drew a pentagram out of nothing. Aiming at the centre, he fired several shots through it, which multiplied up into far larger blasts as they passed through. "CORONA DESTROYER!" he roared, smirking as he saw the attack blast towards their foe. _"Gotcha!" _he thought.

"FINAL JUSTICE!" Gallantmon called from beside Beelzemon, Gungnir throwing a blast of holy energy towards the insectoid Digimon.

"GEAR STINGER!" TigerVespamon yelled, holding up the Mach Stinger, a pair of glowing beam weapons, and firing a flurry of small needles from them towards the bug.

A huge explosion rang through their ears, as the force ripped through the roadway, tearing it down as it crumbled across a single section. The ground shook violently, dust roaring into the air.

"_Perfect!" _Beelzemon thought. _"Bug face over there is getting his comeuppance!" _he added, clutching his weapons tightly in his fists and smirking. This battle was over, and it had been so easy.

* * *

Pain. Pain searing through his flesh. Pain burning into his eyes; cracking his armour; shattering his pincer ornament. That was all that MetallifeKuwagamon could feel, as he stood, in the middle of an intense explosion. The roadway below him began to tear away, as the flames died down. He pushed himself into the air, but his levitation failed, his body falling into the rubble which continued to pile on top of him afterwards.

"_How can I be losing?" _he groaned in his head, pushing himself out of the rubble and turning his eyes upwards, to where the four mega Digimon that had overpowered him so stood on the edge of the cracked roadway, looking down to his form below. He felt something missing, placing his hand on his leg and feeling only flesh. They had destroyed his armour!

They were meant to win! They had trained so hard for this! They couldn't lose!

This wasn't fair.

He pushed himself to his feet, noting that his hands still retained their armour, albeit dents and imperfections now in its surface. His lasers seemed relatively intact too, and he smiled lightly as he realised what he had managed to survive.

This wasn't over. This was far from over.

MetallifeKuwagamon pressed his feet down, leaping upwards out of the rubble and into the air above the collapsed section of the highway as he found himself able to fly again.

"_This may not be fair, but I'm still going to win!" _he thought, the lasers on his hands charging in readiness.

* * *

_**Hypnos Control Room, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building**_

_**17:20 JST**_

"Riley, give me an update on the bioemergences," Yamaki ordered, turning to face his two most trusted operatives sitting in the chairs over his head. The clicking of keypads mirrored the clicking of a lighter, as the data was brought up.

"They appear to be toying with the Tamers…no, wait, they're moving…one of them is coming this way sir," she noted, three red dots displayed on the vast panoramic screen over their heads. She hesitated before asking her follow-up question, knowing the 35 year old man's aversion to the particular organisation. "Should I check Digital Watch sir?" she asked.

"No," he answered promptly. Riley frowned, looking back to her display and continuing to monitor the situation. Her concentration was interrupted as alarm bells sounded, someone in the vast complex that was the Tokyo Metropolitan Building having sounded the alarm.

Yamaki growled, heading towards the main entrance to the chamber. "Sir, are we evacuating?" Tally asked, curious as to the man's actions. He never seemed to flee the control room during an emergency, even when it meant he in the end he barely escaped the oncoming destruction.

"No, I am going to look out the window," Yamaki answered, the ambiguity of whether he was being sarcastic hanging in the air. Tally glanced to Riley, a concerned look passing between them. It was clear that this particular bioemergence had got to the man; it had completely obliterated all of their firewalls and Yuggoth on the way in. Not just slipped past, but obliterated, and Tally was currently hard at work trying to bring the systems back online.

Yamaki stood at the window, staring out at the city below, a slight orange tinge to the skyline on the faraway horizon. He looked down below, to the small dots of the Tamers in a group far below, near the larger dots of their digivolved partners and their foe.

The building shook, Yamaki turning his eyes upwards in alarm to see glass and metal crashing past the windows, one piece of metal shattering a nearby window as it passed and allowing the cold city air to pass into the corridor. "What?!" Yamaki asked no-one.

"I see the Tamers are being as destructive as ever," came a voice from nearby on the corridor, behind Yamaki. Yamaki gritted his teeth, turning to face Rayleigh with a frown, the British man returning a smile.

"Mr Thompson, return to your post immediately," he ordered. "This is an emergency, and I will not have employees wandering about the corridors willy-nilly.

"The pot calling the kettle black," Rayleigh murmured under his breath. "I have accomplished all tasks you required of me, and I still don't think you grasp the full extent of my qualification and intelligence."

"In this organisation, we have a culture of respect. I am your superior and you will answer to me as is required of you, understand?" Yamaki asserted.

"As you answer to the Tamers," Rayleigh added. "Oh, but don't fear, the tide will turn soon enough, I assure you."

"You will not be promoted the way you act. Arrogance is not rewarded in this government."

"I don't need people to think about how I act. My results are all that matter and I assure you they will be truly impressed by that," Rayleigh answered, turning and beginning to walk away. "Goodbye, _sir_," he mocked, turning to speak, before continuing down the hallway.

Yamaki gritted his teeth in irritation, turning and striding back into the control room.

"Talley, contact the glazers again," he noted. "Riley, I am planning to have Rayleigh severely reprimanded for his insolence, please contact the Chief Cabinet Secretary."

Yamaki smirked as Riley and Tally went about their tasks, distraction from the emergency at hand but nonetheless important in Yamaki's eyes.

"_If I have my way, Rayleigh Thompson will never set foot on a government property again."_

**END OF PART SIX…**


	35. The Trick To Reunion Part 7

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 29**

_The Trick to Reunion_

**Part Seven**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Central Park Flea Market, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:20 JST**_

Crescemon groaned as she was thrown back across the battlefield by a Magna Kick to her chest. Magnamon landed, staring down his ultimate-level flow as his weapon ports opened. _"This is just too easy…" _he thought, grinning as his gun ports opened. "MAGNA B…"

Magnamon paused as a shield dropped from the sky and shattered into data in front of him. He raised an eyebrow at it, but shrugged it off, altering his aim and trying again.

Crescemon flipped up from where she was lying in the remains of a tree, deciding to use a particular strategy of hers.

"MAGNA B…are you dancing?!" he pondered, raising an eyebrow as Crescemon began to move as if she were dancing, smiling as she staggered about. She smirked, lifting the Nuova Luna slowly into her hands.

"Magnamon, dodge!" MegaDonnermon warned, seeing an attack he'd seen many times before. It was a trick move of one of his friends, and he wasn't about to see a new friend become victim to it.

"LUNATIC DANCE!" Crescemon called, slashing the Nuova Luna through empty air. She stumbled forward, crashing to the ground in pain as she gritted her teeth. "You are getting annoying," she complained.

"Now you know how it feels," HiAndromon commented, raising his arm and promptly firing a blast of energy. "ATOMIC RAY!" he called, the blast hitting and flipping Crescemon over through the air.

"_I'm losing…this is going so badly," _Crescemon thought sadly. _"We were going to prove ourselves; we were going to prove that Digimon who aren't tamed are just as good. I've let us all down."_

"GRRRR…" Monodramon growled, his eyes suddenly turning feral as he began to move in the direction of Crescemon, looking almost like he was straining against himself.

"Monodramon?" Ryo asked, Ryder and Henry glancing over in confusion.

"Ryo, is he alright?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow. Ryder simply stood there, staring at the dinosaur. Because he knew. He knew the terror of what lay within the purple dinosaur.

"_Milleniummon," _his mind thought, echoing back to a dozen days of simply hearing about the Japanese video games featuring the monster, a monster that even the Sovereigns feared. He dearly hoped that the jogress between the monster and Ryo's partner, Monodramon (although technically they were both Ryo's partner), wasn't faltering, because that could mean destruction on a massive scale.

Ryo didn't even listen to his friends trying to talk to him. His mind was transfixed on Monodramon, acting completely out of character as his pace increased, breaking into a run towards Milleniummon as his form began to reconfigure.

"NO!" he suddenly burst, holding his D-Arc forth and a whip forming on it, latching around Monodramon's arm. He held it tightly as Monodramon strained to turn, his data continually flickering and offering glimpses of his ultimate form.

"RYO…" he growled deeply, his voice chillingly like Cyberdramon's.

"Stop," Ryo ordered, holding the D-Arc even tighter. Monodramon didn't stop, and he pulled sharply on the whip all of a sudden. Ryo almost felt the D-Arc fall from his hand, and that's when he realised what he had to do.

"Ryo, what is wrong with him?" Mari asked, concerned that Ryo wasn't even explaining.

"I'm sorry," Ryo said sadly, as Monodramon glared him in the face. Ryo pressed his hand against the whole keypad of the D-Arc, balls of heightened energy passing along the whip all of a sudden and hitting Monodramon, who screamed in pain. _"I'm losing him," _Ryo contemplated sadly, trying to tune out Monodramon's screams of anguish.

He finally felt the resistance against the whip loosen, prompting him to quickly cancel it. He paced over to where Monodramon had been, bending down to an even smaller form as horror filled his eyes.

"A digi-egg?" Ryder blurted in surprise, seeing the small purple object, white rings running around its surface.

"Monodramon," Ryo murmured, holding the digi-egg in his arms. This was even worse than when he was forced to regress him to Monodramon.

"Ready guys?" Seraphimon asked, raising his hands to the sky as seven orbs began to form.

"RENAMON!" Rika suddenly yelled, caused everyone to turn their eyes skywards, to a horrible sight.

Renamon's form plummeted rapidly, fazing in and out of existence and with a large red mark on her stomach.

"RENAMON!" Rika yelled again, horrified by the sight as Renamon's form sharply skewed, weakening from the severe damage she had taken. She felt paralysed on the spot.

Renamon had been injured, in a battle where Rika was unable to help. What had she done? She'd put her partner right in the line of danger; against a mega level no less, without thinking, and now she could die.

"History isn't changing on my watch," Rey declared, her red and blue wings suddenly swinging forth from her back and propelling her into the air. Air blew aside from her wingtips, as she made a bee-line for the falling fox. "I've got you," she said, grabbing an unconscious Renamon in her arms before coming to a stop.

She felt Renamon faze in her arms as they slipped slightly. She sighed as she realised that she had to do. Her form glowed gold, energy flowing into Renamon as she felt herself weaken.

"_Great, healing one Digimon takes about the same energy as wiping several people from existence…that makes sense…" _Rey thought, feeling her awareness slip as her vision softened. _"Must…keep…flying…" _she thought, before she felt herself begin to drop, then to plummet.

At the last moment, something plucked her out of mid air.

"She's fainted," noted Mari, sitting on Youkomon's back as the fox landed gently on the ground below. The fox stopped, allowing Mari to adjust where she was holding Renamon and Rey in her arms. She let them down gently to the ground, noting Rika running towards her.

"Alright, no-one hurts my friends and gets away with it!" SaberLeomon declared, leaping forward.

"You three are all going to pay for what you did to my sister's partner!" Sleipmon echoed, raising the crossbow on his left hand.

"HOWLING CRUSHER!" SaberLeomon roared, throwing a charged fist into Crescemon's weakened form. When she had moved out of the way, Sleipmon fired and continued the assault.

"INFERNO FROST!" he called, an burning yet icy arrow rocketing towards and smashing into Crescemon, who was thrown back through the terrace, the bunny screaming in pain.

"GRANDIS SCISSORS!" Ken and Wormmon called in dual voices, GrandisKuwagamon slicing his claws across the bunny's body.

"Give up?" Rapidmon taunted. Crescemon growled bitterly, glaring at the mechanoid. She couldn't give up. She'd tried far too hard to give up now, even if the odds were sharply stacked against her. "I'll take that as a no then," Rapidmon answered promptly upon hearing the growling.

"Rapidmon, look out!" Henry yelled, seeing something glint and spiral down towards Rapidmon. Rapidmon instantly manoeuvred away, looking to the ground below where he stood as the longer of the Dramon Breaker blades embedded itself in the ground.

"Well, that was random," Rapidmon noted, watching as the blade suddenly splintered and shattered into data.

"Renamon, are you okay?" Rika asked, racing over to be with her partner as Realmon promptly followed. She kneeled down besides the unconscious fox, who was thankfully stable again. Suddenly, she remembered Rey, looking over to the unconscious form of her daughter.

She looked between them, to the pain she was helpless to stop. To her partner, to her daughter, probably even to Takato in his own battle. She kept looking between them, both unconscious, a huge red injury on Renamon's stomach. She stood up, fire burning in her eyes as she glared at Crescemon, lying helplessly on the ground. Her wings despatched, sharply coursing out to either side.

"No one else is getting hurt today because of me," she declared, standing over Crescemon who stared at her. Her eyes burned sharply with a blue haze, concentrated on the task at hand. Her wings barely moved, exactly in place as she needed them. Her hand, held out, glowed a blue hue.

"_So this is it…" _Crescemon thought, seeing her fate echo before her as the hand drew closer and closer, finally touching her skin as she sealed her eyes shut.

* * *

_**Hypnos Communications Room, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:27 JST**_

Yamaki stepped into the dark confines of the Hypnos Communication Room, the shutters already closed to render the room completely black except for a screen, dimly glowing at the end of the room. He hated this room, it was the room where he would always have to deal with the moronic members of the government who knew practically nothing about Digimon. Even the one who tended to most sympathise with him, the current Chief Cabinet Secretary Eiichi Nakazawa, still knew little about Digimon. Yamaki knew that Chief Cabinet Secretary historically tended to be the last stop before Prime Minister, and that meant that having the current one on his good side was a good thing.

But this room, right now, was his moment to shine, to finally dispel a pest and prove his authority over Hypnos despite it becoming rather lax in its mission lately since it had sympathised with the Tamers.

"Yamaki, I am surprised that you are still in there. There was a call to evacuate, wasn't there?"

"Of course, but they would evacuate that building at even the slightest of problems. I am at the control centre of the government during Digimon attacks, I know exactly how severe and how dangerous the situation is," he noted, looking up to the man was sitting in a luxury car driving along an unknown street, talking to Yamaki over video-conferencing.

"Is that what you have called me to talk about?"

"Not exactly. My current problem concerns an employee of mine, Rayleigh Thompson. I wish to see him dismissed."

"Oh, but wasn't he hired as a young prodigy? He could be infinitely useful to the Japanese government."

"Not at all sir. He has a discipline problem: he intentionally ignores his superiors and acts insolent towards them. I have records of him sending for a gun from the military's Digital Weapons Store, and it is clear he has intentions outside those of the Japanese Government. He is a rogue element in our organisation, and we already have enough trouble as there is without internal forces. He is a threat to security, and I strongly recommend his dismissal and monitoring to ensure he does not cause any further disruption."

"I see," Eiichi answered, pondering the situation periodically. "I am torn Yamaki, I do not wish to see such talent go to waste, but I am also aware about the sensitive nature of Hypnos and its systems. I shall speak to him, and for his sake I strongly hope he has a seriously good reason for his insolence."

"Thank you sir," Yamaki answered, the view screen flicking off as he smirked. It was done.

* * *

_**Outside Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Main Entrance, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:28 JST**_

TigerVespamon stepped over to the edge of the roof, looking down on the rubble below, containing their fallen foe.

"_Is he dead?" _Cody wondered.

Suddenly, the bug pushed himself free of the rubble, standing up and carefully checking his leg to notice that the majority of his armour was missing. Anger crossed his face, which Armadillomon naturally pointed out.

"_Boy, he looks angry," _Armadillomon noted.

"_He looks pretty weak too," _Cody added, noting how the insectoid appeared to be in pain. MetallifeKuwagamon looked up to them, glaring in anger at his four assailants as he pulled himself to his feet. Disturbingly, he smiled slightly, before pressing his feet down, leaping upwards and beginning to fly.

"_Look out!" _Armadillomon said to his Tamer, as MetallifeKuwagamon turned, smirking as he raised his finger lasers. They glowed, as he threw his hands apart, holding them to either side.

"HOMING LASER!" he roared, the ten lasers shooting forth from all directions, before spinning round and colliding with their target. TigerVespamon.

Cody and Armadillomon screamed, TigerVespamon feeling pain burn at him from all directions as he felt his balance slip.

"_Why did he attack us particularly?" _Cody asked, steadying their balance. The other three turned to face their ally, concern in their eyes.

"Cody, are you okay?" Takato asked through Gallantmon's mouth.

"Yeah, thanks," Cody answered, a tinge of worry to his voice, nodding as he stood straight up again.

"HOMING LASER!" MetallifeKuwagamon roared, three sets of ten lasers striking his friends in the back.

"_Cody, he attacked us to distract them!" _Armadillomon explained. Cody's mouth widened within his yellow sphere as he nodded in agreement.

"_We have to stop him!" _Cody declared, watching his friends turn to face their attacker.

"Hey!" Takato complained.

"Okay punk, now you're gonna pay!" Beelzemon spat, growling as he fired another series of shots at the insectoid. "CORONA BLASTER!" he roared, the blasts colliding with MetallifeKuwagamon so rapidly he couldn't distinguish between them. He fell to the ground in front of Beelzemon, who smirked as he walked over, brandishing the gun and putting it to MetallifeKuwagamon's head. "For that, you die," he declared. "DOUBLE…"

* * *

Takato saw the ten blasts slam into TigerVespamon, his eyes widening in horror as they exploded all over him.

"_Ow, that looks like it really hurts," _Guilmon noted as the smoke died down. Takato nodded within his sphere.

"Cody, are you okay?" he asked, concerned for his friend more than for the battle at hand.

"Yeah, thanks," Cody answered, Gallantmon noting a tinge of worry in his voice as he stood up straight again, nodding.

"_Well, at least he's okay," _Takato noted.

"HOMING LASER!" they heard from behind them, the words coming too late to allow them to act. Takato and Guilmon screamed in pain, feeling a series of blasts sharply run up and down their back, stretching their wings and slamming into their armour.

"_Owie, Takatomon that really hurt!"_ Guilmon complained. Takato ignored the name at the moment, it had been a long while since he'd said it and he was a bit too concentrated on the pain at hand to consider such a thing. Gallantmon grated his teeth, turning to face their attacker.

"Hey!" Takato yelled.

"Okay punk, now you're gonna pay!" Beelzemon spat, growling as he fired another series of shots at the insectoid. "CORONA BLASTER!" he roared, the blasts colliding with MetallifeKuwagamon so rapidly he couldn't distinguish between them. He fell to the ground in front of Beelzemon, who smirked as he walked over, brandishing the gun and putting it to MetallifeKuwagamon's head. "For that, you die," he declared. "DOUBLE…"

"Stop!" Takato ordered, Beelzemon pausing and looking at his friend curiously. Seeing the determination burning in Gallantmon's eyes, he stepped aside, allowing the knight to pass by and stand by the broken form of the insectoid Digimon. "We don't have to kill you," he noted. "We've beaten you, face it!" he added.

"_**Great, I get stuck with a pacifist."**_

"_Quiet Chaos," _Guilmon spat, surprising even Chaos with his ferocity.

"_**Geez Guilmon, I thought after millions of years of being partners you'd stick with me through thick and thin. Nice to know where your loyalties stand."**_

"Ugh…I will not…" MetallifeKuwagamon murmured, although it was clear he was finding it hard to talk, let alone get to his feet.

"But you wanted to know if you could beat us, and you've got your answer!" Takato claimed. "Why do you have to die to prove something you already know?" he asked.

"Honour."

"Hello, you're talking to a knight here!" Beelzemon claimed, his eyes widening as he looked to his old friend, one he had once fought against. "I think he knows about honour," he added, before turning back to MetallifeKuwagamon. "Trust me, dying is not a good option, even if you lose to the one person you'd never want to lose to," he added, a thousand miles of hidden depth to his words. "You can recover from anything."

"The Cult will never give in, my allies will win and I would not want to be in a team where I was the only loser."

"No offense, but I think your friends are probably in the same position as you right now," Izzy noted.

"Here," Gallantmon said, offering out his hand to the insectoid. Reluctantly, MetallifeKuwagamon took it, frowning as he was pulled to his feet. "And never attack another innocent again," he ordered, MetallifeKuwagamon nodding in response.

"_It's over," _he thought sadly. _"But at least I now know what I've always wondered. We can't win,"_ he added.

* * *

_**Skies over Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:30 JST**_

"VictoryGreymon, you will pay for what you did to Taomon!" MetalGarurumon declared, gathering energy in his mouth as he glared at VictoryGreymon. "METAL WOLF CLAW!"

"VICTORY CHAR…CHAR…" VictoryGreymon struggled to attack, but failed, the energy required simply missing. He screamed in pain as the icy blast hit his hands where he was tightly gripping the Dramon Breaker, loosening and breaking it from his hands. A look of surprise on his face, he looked up to his attacker as the Dragon Breaker spiralled down below.

"It's over," Matt declared. VictoryGreymon growled, raising his fists. This wasn't over yet.

"I will never lose," he declared.

"They all say that," Mimi noted sarcastically. "Seriously, get some new lines," she commented.

"For god's sakes you are all useless, attack!" DarkGarudamon ordered, realising how much time they were wasting. This battle had gone on far too long already.

"Geez, alright, she was just making a joke," Matt noted, rolling his eyes within his deep blue sphere.

"You treat this as a game when it is really a matter of life and death," VictoryGreymon noted.

"Hey, don't you think we know that?!" Matt asked. "We've seen tons of our friends, fall at the likes of you, evil digimon who don't seem to realise the consequences of their actions! Renamon could be dead now and you barely batted an eyelid!"

"And when you attacked WarGreymon, you didn't care what you were doing either," Sora added, true anger in her voice.

"So excuse us if we make a joke, because we live our lives in such horrible ways that we have to find a way to let off some steam, even if that means a morbid joke from time to time," Matt finished.

"Hmph, hardly honourable, is it?" VictoryGreymon snorted.

"Hey, after what you've done today, you can hardly lecture us about honour!" Yolei argued.

"Yes, but I can still fight!" VictoryGreymon roared, lurching at Cherubimon with his fists. "Take t…!" he began, before Cherubimon used her massive hands to grab his fists.

"Bad dragon, you go play someplace else," Suzie mocked in her best impression of her childish voice, most of which still remained in her current voice. She tossed the surprised dragon upwards, above all the rest. "FIRE!" she ordered.

"METAL WOLF CLAW!" Matt and Gabumon yelled together, an icy beam sprinting in VictoryGreymon's direction.

"FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION!" Mimi and Palmon echoed, a burst of pink light sent forth at the dragon.

"CRIMSON FIRE!" Sora and Biyomon said simultaneously, sending a wave of fire at the foe as he was forcibly flying up into the air.

"LIGHTNING SPEAR!" Suzie and Lopmon called, summoning a bolt of lightning and flinging it at the dragon.

"PUNISHING STORM!" Yolei and Hawkmon yelled, the shield on Valkyrimon arm thrown out to generate a tornado.

DarkGarudamon swept her wings back. "SHADOW WING!" she roared, sending forth a great black and purple fiery bird at the dragon.

"SEFIROT CRYSTALS!" Kari and Gatomon cast, ten crystals flying forth…

But their target wasn't the dragon. In fact, the attacks didn't even reach him, or even skim him. They ran straight into the other attacks, exploding and cancelling them out.

"What?" Yolei asked, looking to Ophanimon, raising her eyebrows within her sphere as the others echoed her motions.

"I won't let this happen," Kari declared. "Why do we have to keep on killing?" she asked, looking to her friends, before looking back towards VictoryGreymon. "I know we sometimes have to, but right now we have a choice for once, and I won't let a being die unnecessarily," she decided.

"What?" VictoryGreymon asked, surprised by the sudden show of mercy.

Kari and Gatomon then began to speak together, as Ophanimon. "VictoryGreymon, I am sparing you so long as you never harm another innocent creature again," she declared. "Do you understand?" she asked.

VictoryGreymon looked at her, Ophanimon staring him back determinedly. _"I have waited for this battle for so long, how can I give up? But I do not wish to die either, which will happen otherwise I am sure," _he thought. "You have proved that I cannot win, and I thank you for that," he answered. "I will go quietly," he decided.

"Good, because I thought we were going to have to force you out kicking and screaming," Kari joked, a smile coming to her face within her sphere.

"That wouldn't be fun at all," Mimi noted, contemplating the possibility.

Sora stared at Ophanimon out of the eyes of Phoenixmon, amazed by how she had acted. _"She really cares about living things. And to think, I was just going to attack with the rest of them…and I have the Crest of Love. Hmm…"_ she pondered, as they began to descend.

"_Kari really doesn't want to see anything ever get hurt, does she?"_

"_I don't think any of us do Biyomon, but there have to be times when we have to fight."_

"_I know. Knowing that doesn't make it any better though."_

* * *

_**Shinjuku Central Park Flea Market, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:34 JST**_

Crescemon prepared to scream in pain as the hand made contact, but she felt no reason why. In fact, she oddly felt better than ever. What was going on?

Her eyes flicked open, seeing Rika staring back into them with a neutral expression on her face. "No one else is getting hurt today because of me," she repeated, Crescemon suddenly noticing the blue hue her hand had taken on.

"What?" she asked, unable to contain her shock.

"I'm healing you, duh," Rika answered, rolling her eyes. "Isn't that obvious?" she asked.

"I thought you were going to kill me?!" Crescemon asked, surprised that this girl was helping her. They were enemies!

"That'd make me just as terrible as all of you," Rika explained. "So, I'm sparing you," she finished, stepping back as the healing finished. Her voice ran deep with wisdom, tinged with Harmony's voice. "On the condition that you leave us all be, and never attack innocents again," she declared.

Crescemon simply stared on in amazement as she pushed herself to her feet, bowing in a nod. "Of course," she answered. "I thank you," she added.

"Seriously, don't mention it. No, I actually mean, seriously, don't mention it, I hate when people get all sappy like that," Rika commented.

"Um, is it over?" Ken asked from within GrandisKuwagamon, looking around at the others who were similarly confused.

"I suppose we should go help the others," Magnamon noted, preparing to fly.

"No," Rika said harshly, glaring at the golden armour Digimon. "This battle ends now, the deaths, the pain, it all ends," she spoke.

"But what about our friends?" Seraphimon asked, concern in his voice. Rika simply chuckled in amusement, looking across to the pink bunny nearby.

"No offence intended Crescemon, but your Cult is useless! You were only beating us before because we weren't very organised, and most of us didn't even digivolve for a while," she reflected. She turned to face Seraphimon again, answering his question. "Trust me, Takato and the others will be fine," she said, a smile on her face.

Seraphimon nodded, glowing as he split into his constituent forms, Takeru and Patamon. GrandisKuwagamon, Vikemon, Sleipmon, SaberLeomon and HiAndromon did likewise, whilst with a sigh of relief MegaDonnermon, Rapidmon and Magnamon shrank back to their rookie forms.

"_It's over," _Crescemon thought. _"But at least I now know that they can be trusted to protect both worlds."_

"We're back!" Mimi called, Rosemon landing on the ground in the centre of the terrace and returning to her constituent forms of Palmon and Rosemon, the same happening to the other mega levels as they landed. Chiyo looked to DarkGarudamon, who nodded before shrinking back to DarkBiyomon.

Kari and Gatomon promptly ran in Rika's direction, eager to see if Renamon was alright. Rika noticed her as she approached, smiling to reassure her. "Is she okay?"

"Thanks to Rey healing her and subsequently fainting, yeah, she's fine," Rika answered.

"Thank god," Gatomon noted.

"Hey, we're back and look who we brought with us!" Beelzemon called, as he, MetallifeKuwagamon, Gallantmon, Raijinmon and TigerVespamon landed on the terrace, before reverting back to their constituent forms.

"Wow, no-one killed anyone," Kari noted in amazement, watching as Sora ran over to Tai and Agumon, checking they were alright. Kari smiled, glad to see that they hadn't been forgotten (although Davis had surprisingly been checking up on them regularly up until now, naturally with some help from Mari since at first he thought Tai was waking up when he was only drooling).

"_I killed Monodramon," _Ryo thought sadly, looking down at the digi-egg in his hands where he sat on the ground. He felt it, a small glimmer of heat emanating from it. How could this have happened? Monodramon had never gone feral before like that, Milleniummon's influence was clearly showing more than ever. "I'm sorry buddy," he thought, looking at the egg sadly.

"Hey Ryo, is that Monodramon?" Ken asked, walking up to his friend with Wormmon at his side.

"Yeah," Ryo answered glumly, nodding in response. "I had to stop him again, and now I could've lost him for good."

"I'm pretty sure that Milleniummon wouldn't let that happen," Ken noted. Ryo half smiled.

"Thanks for the reassurance."

"Hey, Mari," Rika called, looking over to her friend where she stood alongside Youkomon. The brunette wandered over; curiously looking down to the God that was her creator.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Thanks for saving them," Rika thanked, looking down to Renamon and Rey, both now slowly regaining consciousness.

"Waaah!" Rey screamed. "What…what…waa…oh…bah…over?" she stuttered, going through a range of expressions.

"Um, that was weird," Takato noted, joining Rika alongside their daughter.

"Did we win?" Renamon asked, rephrasing the question that Rey had posed in the end.

"Yeah, but it looks like we all spared the Cult of Victory in the end," she answered.

"I see," Renamon answered.

"Hey Takato, I'm a bit concerned about how well our team follows tactics," Henry noted, walking over to his friend.

Takato laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, well Chaos pointed that out to me, but he insisted we didn't say because he wanted to fight MetallifeKuwagamon."

"**Meh, can't deny it."**

"Chiyo, are we going to run?" DarkBiyomon asked, looking up at her Tamer, concern in her eyes.

Chiyo frowned, looking across at the group, all comforting each other and helping each other out. They talked, they laughed, hell they even showed mercy on an enemy that had shown none to them. She felt a tingle in her mind, telling her that, deep down, she really wanted to be a part of that. Unfortunately, with that came a wave of feelings that cancelled those feelings out and overpowered them. Those so called "morals" of hers, sweeping those longings out of the way and telling her only one thing: "Destroy."

"We'll have to stay; otherwise they'll never trust us. They are going to ask a lot of questions though," Chiyo noted, frowning at the last part.

"Hey, guys, I know we've all just spared them with this mercy thing, and that's great, but I do have one question," Ryder pondered, walking into the centre of the area and looking up at the two ultimates and the mega that remained. A bewildered look crossed his face, as he gestured to them. "What the hell do we plan to do with them?!" he asked, his eyes widening in confusion.

* * *

_**Guilmon's Hideout, Shinjuku Central Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**18:11 JST**_

"All done!" Guilmon cheered, leaping forth from the hole and shaking the dirt off in a flurry of brown muck. He grinned widely.

"Wow, that sure was fast boy," Takato noted, stepping up into the hideout and smiling at his partner. His eye caught the hole behind, both widening in surprise. "Wow, when you said bigger, you really did mean it, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Are they going home now?" Guilmon asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Well, if they can fit, but I have a feeling that's not going to be a problem," Takato noted.

"_**I can't believe I went a whole flipping battle without killing anything!"**_ Chaos ranted in annoyance.

"You hear that guys?" Takato asked, turning to face the three high level Digimon who were bored to death of waiting and being forced to engage in brief chats with the Tamers, their Digimon or, worst of all, Terriermon, to pass the time.

"Finally," VictoryGreymon said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going to be trapped in this world forever."

"Ugh, just go already and stop complaining!" Terriermon yelled in irritation.

"Terriermon!"

"What?! Don't tell me it's not getting on your nerves too Henry because I know it is."

"Goodbye," MetallifeKuwagamon said, keeping it short and sweet as he crawled down through the portal, fitting through the easiest of the three.

"Bon voyage!" Tai joked, grinning as he watched the first of the three go.

"So were you once a Lunamon then?" Ryder asked Crescemon curiously.

"Once. That was a very long time ago though," Crescemon answered, beginning to walk over to the hideout, before turning to face a curious Ryder and Donmon again. "Wait, why do you ask?" Crescemon asked curiously.

"I once knew this girl, she had a Lunamon. This battle was really weird for me because of that, it was like attacking a friend."

"What do you mean, she "had" a Lunamon?" Crescemon asked.

"Well, when I was in their world, I mean," Ryder answered.

"Hmm…you're weird, you know," Crescemon answered, a sly grin coming to her face.

"You know, that sounds just like something Ivy would've said," Ryder noted, staring into thin air slightly at the concept.

"Well, goodbye," Crescemon finished, crawling down and into the portal, finding it slightly more difficult than MetallifeKuwagamon had before she vanished in a flash of light. He looked up to Mari, a look of irritation on her face.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, never mind," she answered, rolling her eyes.

"And that just leaves you," Tai noted.

"I wish to apologise for attacking you before I leave," VictoryGreymon noted. "We are both Greymon, we should band together rather than fighting each other."

"Hey, no sweat it," Tai answered, grinning.

"Yeah, it was interesting to fight someone so similar," Agumon added.

"Thank you," VictoryGreymon answered, turning and heading through the portal, eventually making his way through the relatively small gap. A flash of light ended the run of Digimon, a collective sigh of relief going up amongst the group.

Ryder smiled, turning to Chiyo who up until now had been relatively silent, talking only to DarkBiyomon. "And now to deal with you," he noted.

"I suppose hoping you'd forgotten about that was a bit stupid, wasn't it?" she asked, sighing.

"Huh, what are you all talking about?" Mimi asked, confused as to why Chiyo was now the centre of attention once again.

Mari walked over to Chiyo, gesturing for her to demonstrate her point. Chiyo sighed, pulling up her sleeves and revealing her gray and purple D-Vice. "She is a Demon," Mari noted, gasps of surprise crossing the group.

"What?!" Kari asked, horrified that this girl had somehow infiltrated their group.

"**Told you so," **Chaos noted with a grin.

"**Shut up," **Harmony spat.

"I can explain!" Chiyo insisted. "The thing is, up until a few days ago, I was still planning to attack you. I was collecting information. I was reading Digital Watch every day; I even followed you at times and watched your battles. But…but then I realised something, something which the Cult of Victory realised today too. We can't win, and if we fight onwards, we're going to lose to you and die," she explained. "So, I really wanted to get away from that…to have friends, who have Digimon, to be a part of something better. And that's why I wanted to join you guys," she said. _"God, that almost sounded sincere," _she thought.

"Why didn't you just tell us that to start with?" Mimi asked curiously.

"Because if I had, you would never listen to me. You would just judge me as a Demon, and would've killed me! I don't want to die. The last thing I want to happen is for me to die."

"We wouldn't have…" Sora began.

"You would," Chiyo asserted, interrupting the girl, "even if I told you all this."

"How can we trust you?" Matt asked, curious as to why they were simply to believe this girl was telling the truth. She could easily be tricking them.

"Look, let me explain," Chiyo began. "We Demons, in our heads, we have this feeling, this sort of moral, that tells us to destroy. Like you have morals to act good and stuff, we have morals that tell us to do evil, and so it's really hard to go against them. But I promise I'll try…I really want to change my life, so…can you just give me a chance?" Chiyo pleaded with her voice, looking sadly down at the ground. _"For god's sake, please let's have no crying about all of this," _Chiyo pleaded in her mind.

Suddenly, she felt a hand grip hers reassuringly. She looked up in surprise to see Mari, who nodded to her. "Okay, we will," she answered.

"Thanks," Chiyo answered. _"Wow, huge sappy moment…"_ she thought, her mind turning more concerned as Mari continued to stare. _"Oh, I seriously hope that seduction has worn off…" _she thought.

"_Why is Mari staring at Chiyo funny?" _Ryder pondered, before suddenly mentally slapping himself. _"Stop daydreaming for god's sake!" _he yelled at himself.

* * *

**THURSDAY, 22****nd**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Meeting Room 29, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:15 JST**_

"I would like to thank you for coming Mr Thompson," Eiichi Nakazawa, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, said, shaking the man's hand. Oddly enough for a man who knew he was about to go into a meeting room to discuss his future, Rayleigh didn't seem concerned at all.

"Oh, but of course I came," Rayleigh answered, smirking. "Why would I disobey orders?" he added.

"_Hmm…" _Eiichi pondered, the pair stepping into the meeting room and taking seats opposite each other on a large polished wooden table. "Now, Mr Thompson, as you are aware we are here to discuss your future with the government in employment after some complaints by one of your superiors."

"I see," Rayleigh answered.

"The complaint filed mentioned disobedience and suggested that you could be a threat to national security."

"A threat to national security? Come now sir, is that not a bit far-fetched?"

"I have you on record as retrieving an advanced weapon from a top secret military store," Eiichi noted, looking at a report he had.

"I assure you sir that even if you search my person, my office, my home and all places I have ever been, you will not find that weapon," Rayleigh said confidently.

"Yes, but the point is still there. Now, you see, I trust the person who made the complaint, and I know he would not be the type to make such a complaint if there were not a true reason behind it."

"Of course, but my point still stands."

"Which point?" Eiichi asked.

"This point," Rayleigh answered, reaching over the table and gripping Eiichi's hand tightly. "INFILTRATION," Rayleigh called. Eiichi began to struggle in surprise at the unexpected move, before lapsing into a more comatose state as Rayleigh's hands and eyes glowed. "Now, listen here Eiichi Nakazawa, you will ignore all complaints made about me, and you will implement the following plan right down to the letter, you understand me…"

* * *

**FRIDAY, 23****rd**** JULY 2010**

* * *

_**Hypnos, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:00 JST**_

"Right, Riley. Do a scan for all Digital Life forms in the city over the past 24 hours, and cross-reference it with traffic congestion over the same duration."

"Yes _sir_," Riley answered, reluctantly carrying out the task.

"Tally, I'd like you to go on Digital Watch and spam every single page with the word, "Momentai", okay?"

"But why sir?" Tally questioned, curious as to why her boss would want such a task carried out.

"Do not argue with me," he answered. He smirked, turning to his newest employee, who stood down on the floor of the control room, a deep frown of irritation dominating his face.

"And what would you wish me to do?"

"And what would you wish me to do, _sir_, don't you mean?"

His newest underling growled, as he smirked. "Say it."

The man groaned in irritation. "What would you wish me to do, _sir_?"

"Well Mr Mitsuo, I would like a cup of tea with milk and two sugars, thank you very much," Rayleigh ordered, Yamaki grating his teeth before turning to walk away. Yamaki paused, turning as a thought occurred to him.

"Mr Thompson, you do know that this isn't in the job description for a programmer here at Hypnos?"

"I know. You obviously didn't though when I held that job," Rayleigh answered. Yamaki frowned, turning. "Oh, and Yamaki?" he asked, teasing the man and revelling in his misery by nailing the point home.

"Yes _sir_?" Yamaki asked, his irritation reaching new levels.

"Don't spit in it."

Yamaki nodded, turning as he walked out through the doors. "I'll try to resist the urge," he muttered.

Rayleigh grinned widely. _"Ah, step two," _he thought, mentally crossing a task off his list. _"Soon enough…soon enough…"_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, a lovely surprise ending there for you all. Rayleigh is definitely going to prove irritating for Yamaki.

That was a helluva long chapter, wasn't it? Certainly was for me, I wrote it all in one document (so to me it counts as one "chapter"), with over 29,000 words, so it sure felt like it.

A lot of things to comment on I suppose. Rayleigh isn't going to become entirely important just yet, but in time. Chiyo is also now inside the group, which means that should prove to be an interesting dynamic, particularly when they go off to Okinawa, which is the next chapter and is set one or two months after this one.

I hope this experiment in publishing a chapter a day was successful (giving I'm writing this before I started it), and the next chapter will be along soon.

Anyhow, given that I'm now pretty much done and dusted with this part of the plot of Book Six, it's time to look forward to the future with a teaser. Enjoy it to whatever music you want, or no music, if you prefer.

* * *

**Coming (very) soon in Book Six…**

"My name is Naoko Tamiko."

"This city is going to hell, and there is nothing we can do!" asserted Henry.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Terriermon asked.

"I knew it!" Ryder yelled, his eyes widening and a grin of realisation appearing on his face as he stared at her.

"Must…make…Henry…DIE!" Jeri said, clutching a spanner and swinging it at Ryder where he sat with his D-Vice.

"I failed," Rey resigned as she looked at the sky sadly.

"We have one minute before it's all over…isn't there anything we can do?!" Henry asked, his voice alarmed and full of panic at the prospect of certain death.

"Oh, wonderful timing," Ryder said sarcastically, pushing himself up on crutches.

"The poor innocent child," Seiko noted, clutching a cup of tea sadly.

"Trust me," Chiyo noted, smiling.

"What's happened to you?" DarkBiyomon asked, staring at her partner in confusion.

"FATAL ATTRACTION!" Chiyo screamed.

"Run!" Rey shouted, slamming her hand into her time device and vanishing all of a sudden.

"Rika, stop it!" Takato yelled, a wall collapsing to rubble behind him in a flash of blue energy.

"You killed him!" Mari screamed in horror, blood rushing from her face.

"Takato, this is the most amazingly stupid thing you've ever done," Rika said, rolling her eyes.

"So should I take that as a yes then?" Takato asked, smiling his usual smile and anticipating her response.

"Go on Takato, do it!" Kazu encouraged, patting Takato on the back slightly too hard as he winced in pain.

"Once I thought I was lost, taking a path of evil, until they convinced me otherwise. They gave me a purpose in life, and people to care about."

"I've probably never been more nervous in my life…but…I want to be there for you always," Takato began, Rika glancing down, truly gobsmacked at what was happening. "Even without all that Rey business, even without the baby…I still love you, and I always will, and I know that you're worried that isn't true…so, Rika Nonaka, will you…"

"Momentai!" Terriermon grinned, his ears flying up as Henry and Rey groaned.

A large explosion ripped through the city, erasing it from the face of the Earth…

**Coming soon…**

* * *

Well, the exact lines I use later on could vary somewhat from what I've got here, but as a teaser, I have to say, I think it's brilliant. I've put so many things in it to tease you. Really big, important things, and just a few red herrings thrown in to throw you widely off course. Enjoy!

Until next time…


	36. The Trick To Preparation

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 30**

_The Trick to Preparation_

* * *

**MONDAY, 23****ST**** AUGUST 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**07:01 JST**_

"No, I am not looking forward to it."

"Huh, why not?" Takato asked, his previously cheery smile faulting.

"Because Takato, Okinawa is boiling hot, I hate sunbathing and the prospect of spending a week less than a mile from Kazu, Kenta and Terriermon, all as bad as each other, fills me with dread."

"Yeah, but the last time we went, it was nice, wasn't it? I mean, if you discount the battle with that Karatenmon. And I suppose the Divermon the previous year was a bit of a problem. And then there was Mephistomon, but that trip was good other than that," he rambled.

"Takato, that battle was about the whole visit for me," Rika said, rolling her eyes as she closed her "hold all" suitcase on the floor of her room."I guess it'll be fine, but everything bugs me lately, and I don't know if it's the pregnancy or what that's causing it," she pondered, as Takato reached out to carry it for her. A slim smile came to her face at his attempt at politeness as instead she pulled up the long retracted handle, tilting the case onto its wheels.

"Just relax," Takato said, smiling encouragingly.

"Easy for you to say, I still haven't got over the concept of pushing a human being out of me six months from now…one who I also know," Rika replied, sighing as she rolled her eyes and groaned in irritation. "Ugh, our lives have really taken a weird turn lately," she groaned, beginning to drag the case into the hallway, before she paused and turned back to Takato, listening intently and hardly having moved from his spot in Rika's room. "And I'm not just talking about the pregnancy either," she noted, knowing that it was what Takato would obviously be thinking. "I mean, there's that weird Chiyo girl and how she practically attacked Kazu for him asking her out, there's how I'm going to have to start wearing maternity clothes pretty soon, as if going back to school when it is noticeable is bad enough. Oh, and then there's that Rayleigh…"

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**07:04 JST**_

"…guy. I still can't believe he replaced Yamaki like that," Ryder said, lying on the sofa and pondering, as Mari rushed around, gathering various things and occasionally giving him looks of disdain.

"Having a nice lie-down?" Mari muttered to him in irritation, pausing as she wheeled her case out into the kitchen.

"And the look on his face when we told him about the holiday…I think we've got a problem here," Ryder continued, seemingly unfazed by Mari's comment.

Mari rolled her eyes, continuing to port their cases and various other things about. "You know, you could at least make it look like you want to help," she said, pausing and placing her hand on her hip as she stared at him across the room.

"You know, you'd think I'd be happy with a fellow Brit to talk to about stuff, but…"

"Ryder, are you even listening to me?" Mari interrupted, tapping her foot in irritation and glaring at Ryder.

"Oh, sorry," Ryder apologised, finally snapping out of his ponderings as he looked up to his girlfriend, standing by a pair of hold-all cases with a peeved look on her face. He chuckled nervously, Mari rolling her eyes at how completely oblivious he had been. DarkRenamon watched the curious scene from where she was hidden in the shadows behind, an odd thing too since there was really nothing to hide from, and MiniDonmon sat on the counter, looking over the pair of humans with interest.

"Are you ready?" Mari asked, as Ryder nodded, grinning before reaching for his crutches. He paused after grabbing the handles, looking up to her with a dry smile.

"Ready? I have crutches, my legs still hurt and I won't be able to do anything. All the same, I'm as ready as I'll ever be for four…"

* * *

_**File Apartment, Bunkyō Ward**_

_**07:20 JST**_

"…weeks of fun, right Tai?" Agumon asked, looking to up his Tamer who nodded and grinned in response, only being interrupted by a knock at the door of their relatively large apartment, particularly compared to their previous dorm room. Matt lay on the sofa, reading a magazine, whilst Joe flicked through a medical journal and Izzy, as always, typed away on his laptop, checking out Digital Watch and doing all those other random things a geek does on a computer. Tentomon watched over his partner's shoulder, while Gomamon absently tried to figure out what on earth the medical journal was going on about. Sleeping through his Tamer's lectures didn't help matters. Mimi stood by her case, Palmon smiling as they contemplated the holiday ahead of them, whilst Sora busily sorted out the various passports, travellers' cheques and other items they would probably need. Biyomon watched, trying to stay out of her way, a courtesy Agumon and Tai didn't echo as they stood in front of the doorway, chatting. Gabumon lay on the floor, watching events as he relaxed.

"Thanks Tai, rub it in our faces that we neither want to go nor are able to go thanks to that Rayleigh guy," Matt complained dryly, not looking up from his magazine.

"Joe, I can't believe you passed up an offer of the sea!" Gomamon complained, glaring at his partner in irritation.

"Do you have any idea how much this medical degree is costing me? I can't afford it!" Joe complained.

"Unlike those three, I much prefer a week of relaxation and the internet to going on holiday to some sun-soaked paradise," Izzy noted, not looking up from his laptop.

"Boring as always Izzy," Mimi noted with a smile at how Izzy passed up something she personally considered to be paradise. Then again, Izzy's idea of paradise was obviously a lot different from hers. It probably didn't even share any details in common.

"I'm sure if you guys really wanted to go, he'd let you," Biyomon mooted, a knock on the door sounding from nearby.

"Yeah, he's not our boss anyway," Sora added, as Tai walked over and opened the door.

"Hey Kari, you ready?" he asked, smiling to see his sister, Takeru and Davis ready and raring to go, hold-all cases prepared and partners primed on heads and shoulders.

"Unlike you," the female brunette answered, nodding as she looked into the room, her brother's case being pretty obvious from just a single glance. It was the one still open on the floor with clothes simply tossed into it. Mimi's was bulging, probably from having too many clothes in it, whilst Sora's seemed to be the only one packed reasonably.

"We have to leave in ten minutes Tai, are you three going to be ready?" Takeru asked, concerned that they would be late. And, given they were talking about a Gogglehead here, that meant _really_ late.

"Yeah, sure, I'll manage it," Tai answered, rushing over to his case as he begun to rapidly stuff the clothes in, even using himself and Agumon at one point to squash it all in, as the others watched with rolling eyes and a sense of amazement at their persistence.

"Hey, can someone explain the name thing again?" Davis asked, pondering as he passed the nameplate for the apartment outside. "What's up with File Apartment?" he asked, gesturing to it with a curious look.

"Don't tell the landlord, but we unofficially named it that," Matt joked, smiling from the sofa, where he continued to casually wait for them to leave.

"Yeah, but why?" DemiVeemon asked from where he sat on his partner's head.

"It's named after File Island, where we all first arrived in the Digital World," Sora explained.

"Couldn't you have thought of something cooler? Like…Digidestined Apartment! Or…Data Apartment!" Davis mooted.

"It's just a part of our history, that's all," Joe noted.

"I'm done!" Tai finished, sitting on the case after closing it alongside Agumon, both breathing a sigh of relief and grinning widely.

"Just don't open it until we get there!" Agumon added. Matt rolled his eyes.

"Now I'm especially glad I'm not…"

* * *

_**Akiyama Residence, Kyushu**_

_**07:35 JST**_

"…going, I don't want to endanger my friends," Ryo pondered, shortly after waking from his deep sleep. He repeated his morning habit of sitting and staring at the egg that had taken pride of place on his table in his bedroom. The object filled him with a strange, and yet worrying curiosity. What was inside the purple and white object? Was it Monodramon? Would Monodramon still be merged with Milleniummon? If not, then what could they do to stop the Digital "God" before he managed to tear a rift through Ryo's relatively stable life?

Ryo frowned, lifting the egg into his hands. Even despite all that, it was still Monodramon he was more concerned about. Monodramon was his friend, his best friend to be precise, and the pair were almost completely inseparable, even if Milleniummon and others had tried to ensure otherwise. When he had lost Hopmon after the D-Reaper, it felt painful. Of all his partners he had had in the past: Agumon, Veemon, Wormmon and Monodramon, Monodramon was the only one that was exclusive to him, that was _his_ partner and his partner only, and that had helped to establish a bond between them. But now, for the first time, Ryo had lost Monodramon because of himself, and he feared that the dinosaur wouldn't forgive him.

"No, that's not what I'm worried about," Ryo muttered, knowing that Monodramon would always forgive him. "I'm worried I won't be able to forgive myself," he sighed, yawning and standing as he walked to the door. "I guess we'll just have to wait and…"

* * *

_**Wong Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**07:41 JST**_

"…see Henry, this is what happens when you try to shut me up!" Terriermon boasted, as his Tamer rushed back into the apartment to collect his forgotten D-Arc, whilst the dog-bunny sat on the case with an irritated glare and crossed arms.

"Be careful dear," Mayumi, the mother of the four Wong children, said to the youngest. Suzie nodded, smiling and feeling irritated about how she was still being babied. She'd fought against a huge red blob: a holiday hardly compared in terms of difficulty.

"Of course I will mom," she answered. "I've got Lopmon anyway," she added, gesturing to the cream bunny sat on top of her case, who nodded.

"I promise I will keep her safe," Lopmon noted, her gaze determined and sincere.

"Don't worry Henry's mom, with all the bioemergences you get here, it's going to be safer in Okinawa," Jeri joked, smiling and notably not having a case by her. Leomon was currently doing that particular task for her where he stood behind her, his form perhaps being too tall for the corridor and too big to hold the comparatively small bag, amounting to an amusing sight.

Suzie nodded. Jeri was right of course, they'd been plenty of times, and apart from the usual bioemergences that seemed to follow them everywhere they went, it was pretty tame. The people were far more relaxed than in the city, where people seemed to run about like headless chickens at the first sight of trouble. Then again, considering the sort of trouble that seemed to come knocking in Tokyo, that was probably a rather wise move.

"Yeah, the worst thing they have to worry about is dying from one of Terriermon's bad jokes," Jaarin, Henry and Suzie's older sister, noted with a sly grin.

"Hey!" Terriermon complained, pouting and crossing his arms. "Hmph…"

"I've got it," Henry said, stepping out of the apartment with his D-Arc clipped to his belt, finally ready to leave.

"Gee Henry; why not forget the most important thing that you never forget normally?" Terriermon joked, mockingly rolling his eyes before he leapt onto Henry's head.

"I think you hid it," Henry suggested.

"But you can't prove it," Terriermon answered, a grin on his face.

"You're unbelievable at times," Henry noted.

"But ya couldn't live without me!" Terriermon cheered, throwing his ears up happily.

"Can we test that theory Henry?" Suzie asked.

Terriermon looked irritated. "Hey, no…!"

* * *

_**Narita International Airport**_

_**09:12 JST**_

"…wonder they're not here yet, these guys really couldn't keep to a schedule even if the world was on the line," Chiyo muttered, striding walking up and down in front of a set of airport seats in irritation at her "friends". DarkBiyomon sat on the seat, eying her Tamer with a look of concern.

"I'm sure they'll get here soon," she chirped.

"I know," Chiyo answered. "Doesn't stop them bugging me though," she added. "Ugh, just another thing to add to the list of things annoying me right now," she noted, flexing her arms out behind her head in irritation, hearing the bones "click" as her joints flexed.

"Then this'll be a good chance to relax," DarkBiyomon suggested optimistically.

"Fat chance of that," Chiyo replied pessimistically. "I'll just keep thinking about how Rayleigh has done that pathetic show of his powers to make me scared, about how much time I'm wasting because I haven't yet had a chance to do anything, and about how if I have to act like this any longer I'll go insane!"

"So this has nothing to do with Kazu asking you out then?"

"Is that meant to be a joke, DarkBiyomon?"

"Sorry we're late!" yelled Takato, interrupting Chiyo's inquest as he chased after Guilmon who bounded along, trying to make up for lost time. Following the pair with looks of disdain at the sight were Rika, Henry, Jeri, Suzie, Kristy, Kazu, Kenta, Ryder, Mari, Tai, Sora, Mimi, Davis, Kari and Takeru, along with their multitude of partners. Calumon had taken up a spot on Kari's head, looking cute as always while Gatomon jealously eyed the creature that had taken her rightful place.

"You have a habit of that," Chiyo noted, a sly grin on her face. "Seriously, I am beginning to have second thoughts about this whole "changing my ways" thing, I think I'd win with ease," she boasted mockingly.

"What?!" Kari blurted out, surprised by the random suggestion. She couldn't possibly be suggesting what they thought she was, could she? She was meant to be their friend, wasn't she?

"Calm down lightie, I meant because you'd all be late to any battle. Seriously, how on earth have you guys ever saved the world, let alone ever managed to catch a flight?" she asked, looking around at the group with a bewildered look on her face.

"Luck," Davis answered. "And stop calling her that!"

"Oh, I do apologise Gogglehead for insulting your girlfriend," she said sarcastically. Chiyo rolled her eyes, looking over the group and their various cases. "Still, I suppose I have to thank you all for looking after me the past few weeks, and letting me go on holiday and all. And paying for it too, which surprised me no end," she noted, smiling almost sincerely at the group. It had been an odd few weeks: after she had made herself known to Hypnos, she was able to reveal herself to the police without losing DarkBiyomon, and her story checked out too so she was free. Hypnos (or, as Chiyo suspected, Rayleigh and whatever his ability was) had used its connections once again to provide her an apartment, but oddly, none of the others were ever invited there. Then again, she did seem to express disdain when made to hang out with certain members of their group for any length of time, so they just presumed it was a place of sanctuary for her. Chiyo found this rather amusing: it was true as well, but the place also provided her space to think.

"Heh, it's nothing," Tai said, grinning.

"Yeah, we're glad to help you recover from the death of your parents," Jeri said, smiling encouragingly to the Demon.

"_They have no idea. Better it stays that way," _Chiyo thought, smiling and nodding. "Yeah, that's what I meant, so "thanks"," she reiterated.

"All this chatting is getting boring, can we go already?!" Kazu asked, groaning as he threw up his hands in the air in irritation.

"Quiet," Chiyo snapped.

Rika smiled, it was good to meet someone with as much hate for Kazu as her. At least Kazu had never asked her out like he had done to the Demon. "You know, as much as I hate Kazu and really resent having to say this: I have to agree," Rika added, groaning. "As Takato well knows, I hate anything sappy like that, and this conversation is going down a particularly sappy road. Now let's get moving already!"

"Mood swings?" Mimi asked, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"No, this is just me," she answered, a slight grin coming to her face. "Now come on, we have an airline crew to scare with all this Digimon."

"**Until Calumon there makes them all melt down with his cuteness," **Harmony noted, looking over to the fairy-like Digimon on Kari's head. Calumon cheered, floating his way across the terminal and bundling into Rika's face.

"Yay!" he cheered. "Eskimo kisses!"

"_And here we go again…"_ Rika contemplated, rolling her eyes as she pulled the physical embodiment of all things cute off her face. This was just going to be one of those trips, wasn't it?

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And so, we steam onwards through this plot, heading for a rather short story arc that will nonetheless prove rather important with some of its events. Can't really think of a decent clue for next time, so meh.

Until next time…


	37. The Trick To Okinawa

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 31**

_The Trick to Okinawa_

* * *

**MONDAY, 23****RD**** AUGUST 2010**

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**15:02 JST**_

Water softly rushed up the beach, a pleasant and calm breeze gently wafting along the beach as the sun beamed down on it from above. Various shapes of footprints found themselves in the beach, over a dozen forms making them as they walked.

"This place is paradise," Mimi noted cheerfully, smiling at the bright sunlight and contemplating how relaxing the next week would be.

"Yeah," Chiyo noted, surprisingly speechless at the seemingly perfect sight. Only a few clouds dotted the sky, which was otherwise a huge blue expanse, and the only water that wasn't blue was turned a green-like colour by the many reefs below.

"TAKATO!" yelled a figure from further up the beach. Kai was grinning widely at the sight of his cousin and what had to be the most Digimon he'd ever seen. Short of when Mephistomon had gathered a large force to attack them, of course, but they were no match for Growlmon or Seasarmon.

Takato smiled in response as Kai ran towards them, Takato smiling at the sight, oddly reminding him of Guilmon. He came to a stop in front of him, grinning widely at the sheer size of the group.

"Hey Kai," Takato greeted, nodding to his cousin in greeting.

"Kai!" Calumon cheered, floating across onto the boy's head happily. Kai glanced up, smiling, before looking about at the group as his smile dropped into astonishment.

"How many people did you bring?!" Kai asked in amazement.

"This isn't everyone either," Takeru noted jokily. "My name's Takeru, this is Kari, Davis, Tai, Sora, Mimi, Mari, and the one with the crutches is Ryder," Takeru introduced, gesturing to the various members of the ground. "Oh, and this is Rika's sister, Kristy,"

"What?" Kai asked, cocking an eyebrow at Takeru.

"Don't ask," Rika answered for him.

"Yeah, and I think you know the rest," Takeru added.

"Well, it's great to meet you all," Kai greeted. "And bad luck mate, having crutches on holiday," he added, glancing to Ryder and nodding.

"Thanks for forgetting me moron," Chiyo cursed to Takeru, who gave an apologetic look as he realised his error. "I'm Chiyo, since no-one else was going to say it," she introduced.

"Hmm…" Kai pondered, looking her up and down with a smile and going to open his mouth.

"Don't even think about it, Kazu knows where that particular road leads," Chiyo threatened, gesturing to the brunette behind her who took on an irritated expression at the mention of that event.

Kai gulped. "Point taken," he noted, before glancing across to Rika with an amused smile as he noted her slight bump. "Well, Takato, I have to say, you've done some pretty weird things but this has to be the weirdest…"

"I'd suggest you don't finish that sentence," Rika warned, shooting a death glare at the laid-back teenager.

"God, everyone is so touchy today," Kai said, rolling his eyes but continuing to smile.

"Uh, Kai, you're going to want to stand back," Ryder warned all of a sudden, Kai giving him a bewildered look as the boy with crutches glanced up periodically. Kai's smile dropped, an eyebrow rising.

"What are you talking about? I mean, I know Rika's a bit violent at times, but…"

Kai didn't have time to finish that sentence, as another redhead crashed down on top of him, a nine-tailed fox landing majestically alongside.

"We have _got_ to get that sorted out Rey!" Realmon said, turning to see her Tamer and the crumpled form of Kai below. Rey laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head, before hearing muffled groaning from below.

"Oh, sorry!" Rey quickly apologised, standing up and looking down at Kai, who stood up, brushing the sand off his shorts and legs with a grin still on his face.

"Yeah well, thanks for dropping in. Who are you?"

"Rey Matsuki, here to blow your mind," she greeted, a hand out to be shaken. Kai gave her a bewildered look, before glancing to Takato and Rika, who nodded to confirm his suspicions.

"Yeah, this is our time-travelling daughter," Takato explained. "Don't even try to think about it, I don't even understand it myself."

"**There's a reason…" **Chaos noted.

"Oh, hey Chaos, still a world-hating sadistic moron?" Kai greeted, grinning at his cousin who had taken on a different look.

"**Hey Kai, still a laid-back goofball who really needs to stop surfing and do something else for a change?"**

"I am _never_ going to understand this group," Mari muttered in contemplation, Ryder nodding and grinning in agreement.

* * *

_**Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**20:15 JST**_

The light evening night was punctuated by a gentle plucking of the Shanshin by the grandfather of the Okinawa family, Wataru Urazoe, providing a pleasant background to the various humans and Digital life forms scattered through the traditional Okinawan home. Warm lights illuminated the roof, casting light down below, on calm conversations, on plates carefully cast aside, on a variety of futons prepared for, or, in some cases, or brought with, those who had come to stay. This annual holiday served as the usually quiet home's peak period, and it was far more packed than any previous year. Some seemed relaxed, but others seemed to have a deep-seeded concern, although it was unrelated to, and perhaps, alleviated by, the pleasant surroundings of the home.

"I am not a dog!" Gatomon insisted, outraged at the concept as the music stopped.

"Grandpa, we go over this every year, they are Digimon, Digital Monsters from another world, not dogs," Kai asserted.

"But he is a dog," Wataru added, gesturing to Terriermon, who looked up, surprised by the reference.

"Hey, I'm not a dog either!" Terriermon argued. A gentle, warping sound came from behind him, DarkRenamon appearing to burst his bubble from where she now leaned against the wall.

"Yes you are," she noted. Terriermon turned, his angered expression dropping as he pouted.

"I'm a bunny too!" he moaned.

"A dog-bunny then," DarkRenamon added, smirking subtly.

"Yeah, I don't know what our creators were smoking either, but yeah!" Terriermon answered, grinning.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded.

"Momentai!" Terriermon laughed.

"_Hold on, why doesn't _that_ translate?" _Mari pondered, listening to the conversation intently as she sat against the wall of the home.

"See, they are dogs, I told you that Kai," Wataru reiterated.

"But Grandpa, they are not dogs," Kai added again.

"It does not matter whether they are dogs or monsters, what matters is who they are," Wataru noted, displaying his wisdom.

"But…" Kai began, but he was interrupted by the music as Wataru continued to play the banjo-like instrument, oblivious to the irritation his suggestion was causing his guests.

Mari chuckled at the conflict between Kai and his grandfather, before turning her head to face Ryder, Rey sat next to him. Currently, Ryder was not paying any attention to the dog-versus-Digimon conflict raging in the group, instead looking intently at the time device, currently in his hands instead of on the redhead's wrist.

"I still don't get how I invented this. In school, I couldn't even solder wires without having them fall off five minutes later," Ryder noted.

"Well, it _is_ broken, so it's not a complete stretch to think it could be you Ryder," Mari said mockingly, putting her input into the conversation with a smile.

"Thanks for that," Ryder noted, returning the smile, before looking down to the device again.

"It's still an impressive device though," Rey noted, peering over at it. "I still can't believe it works in the first place, to be perfectly honest."

"Um…how _does_ it work?" Ryder asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion. "I mean, the only feasible suggestions of time travel that would be even remotely possible in the next five hundred years, if at all, always seem to require huge machines that throw particles through space and whatnot."

"I don't really know," Rey answered uncomfortably. "It just _does_, okay?"

"Hmm…" Ryder pondered, turning the device over and looking at the initials RM printed on the back, his own RS initials rubbed out. A set of four screws were laid into the back, giving Ryder a curious thought. "What's inside it?" he asked, looking to Rey. "I created it, maybe I can fix it?" he added.

Rey hesitated, pondering how to reply. "It's better if you don't know," she answered, snatching the device back. "Sorry," she added.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ryder said dryly, turning to Mari and sighing. "Ah well, looks like that's just another mystery to add to the list,"

"Occam's razor Ryder," Mari noted, Ryder nodding in response.

"Wish there were a simple answer to start with," he sighed.

"You live with Gods in a faraway yet nearby world that used to be in a TV series, and you seemingly can't die. What part of that was Occam's Razor designed for?" Rey asked, cocking an eyebrow in bemusement.

"Ryder, why do you need a shave?" MiniDonmon asked, bewildered by what they were all talking about. "And who's Occam?"

"Never mind," Ryder answered, sighing.

"So, TK, ever surfed before?" Davis asked, grinning to his friend.

"No, first time," Takeru answered. "And I already said it's Takeru," he added.

"Oh, okay," Davis replied. "I'm looking forward to seeing you fall off," he answered.

"Davis, last time you went surfing, you got knocked off within ten seconds," Kari said, bursting Davis' bubble.

"Heh, ten seconds?!" Kai laughed, joining their conversation. "Heh, looks like you'll both need some tutelage, and I'll be happy to provide it," he added.

"Wow, won't that be fun Davis?" Kari mocked, smirking at her boyfriend, who laughed nervously.

"Uh, sure," Takeru and Davis said together.

"Sounds like fun," Takeru said sardonically.

"Yeah, it should be easy," Davis added, each looking at each other nervously. Kari chuckled. This was going to be fun.

* * *

**TUESDAY, 24****TH**** AUGUST 2010**

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**11:29 JST**_

The morning break rushed up the beach with a scouring sound, gently moving only a slight amount of sand a short distance down the long, bright strand, going out as far as the eye could see. The sand was undisturbed, only small dents in it from the feet of chairs, from the feet of people, and, of course, the feet of Digimon, in a wide variety of shapes.

Well, the beach was _almost_ undisturbed. Apart from that bit that was being dug up by hands (both human and robotic) and by bluish bubbles, it was completely undisturbed, nature taking its course.

"This is brilliant!" Kenta whispered to Kazu, grinning widely as they shovelled another load of sand across.

Kazu sniggered, as he put a finger to his mouth. "Shush, don't wake him," he warned, the pair smiling as the sand landed with a thump.

"He sleeps like the dead," Kenta noted.

"Heh, that was a good joke," Kazu replied, laughing.

"Huh…oh, right, yeah, I get it!" Kenta replied, smiling and laughing. "I mean…I got it all the time! I was just…"

"What on earth are you doing?" a voice asked, Kazu and Kenta looking up from where they were burying a sleeping Ryder, laying on the beach in his black swimming shorts and with his crutches left nearby, to see Tai, peering down at them curiously. Agumon stood alongside, mimicking his Tamer's bewildered stare.

"What does it look like?" Kazu answered, grinning. Kenta shared his grin,

"Tai, is that a good idea?" Agumon asked, looking up to Tai for guidance.

"Well, not really," Tai answered, not sure whether to join in or not. Maturity had brought with it a reluctance to engage in activities such as this, and so Tai was…"Meh, it looks like fun, let's get digging!" Tai decided, grinning.

"Yay!" Agumon cheered, pushing his claws into the ground as he began to shovel up a heap of sand onto the boy's form. Tai quickly got to his knees, grabbing a handful of sand and adding to the pile that now covered Ryder's torso.

"Hmm, I wonder where MiniDonmon has gotten to," Tai pondered, looking around in confusion before shrugging.

"Idiots," Chiyo cursed, turning her head to the side from where she lay on a towel, sunbathing in a purple bikini, on the sand nearby. DarkBiyomon lay alongside, although she doubted she would be able to get a tan like her Tamer would be able to.

"What are they up to then?" DarkBiyomon asked, sitting up and looking across at the group of pranksters. "Oh, I see," she noted.

"I mean, seriously? Burying someone in the sand? Idiots. How have these guys ever managed anything?" she muttered, before seeing Rey and Realmon join Kazu, Kenta and Tai, at first in conversation.

"Burying Ryder?" Realmon asked, bewildered by what was going on, and echoing her Tamer's bewilderment.

"Count us in," Rey added, grinning at the concept. "Now, let's see," she pondered, bending down as her hands glowed, a relatively large square of gold illuminated brighter than the rest. She lifted her hands as the others watched in amazement, before she moved it over Ryder's form. "And, release," she said, the sand dropping over him.

Kazu grinned and pumped a fit. "Now _that_ is going to make things a lot easier!" he noted, Kenta nodding in agreement as MarineAngemon chirped likewise.

Chiyo groaned as she watched, rolling her eyes. "Oh god, what are they doing now? Ugh, I wish that Rey would stop flashing her powers at every opportunity, it's just stupid. Pah, why is she even here from the future? If she really cares about those people in the future, why isn't she there helping them fight? And how much help is she really going to be if she hasn't even remembered that the Second Demon attacked them?"

"What if you don't?" DarkBiyomon blurted, before immediately regretting it.

"What?" Chiyo asked, turning and sitting up, looking down to her partner with a part-irritated, part-bewildered expression.

"I meant..."

"I know what you meant DarkBiyomon," Chiyo asserted. "And I'm telling you that you're wrong. I _am_ going to do what I have planned, I'm not going all happy and sappy and becoming all goodie two-shoes, got that?" she asked, glaring at her partner. "Geez, seriously, sometimes I wonder if you're really on my side at all."

"I'm sorry," DarkBiyomon apologised. "And I will stick by you in anything, you know that."

"So _why_ do you seem to want me to change sides properly?"

"I…I just don't want you to be hurt Chiyo," DarkBiyomon mumbled nervously.

"DarkBiyomon, you have no idea how much _this _hurts," Chiyo replied, placing her hands on the sides of her head. "Every day without fail, I wake up and feel painful and miserable and depressed. This crushing, endless, monotonous pain on my head…and I just want to get rid of it. And I know that the only way I can do that is to kill them all, to kill all the Angels, even if it means that I have to become friends with them first, or so they think. But I can't let them live!" she insisted.

"I know," DarkBiyomon answered. _"I just wish there was another way," _she thought sadly.

"Thanks all the same, I guess," Chiyo added uncomfortably. "For looking out and caring for me, and all that stuff," she added, sighing as she looked back to the burying, which had now progressed to cover Ryder's legs, with an even higher mound covering his torso.

"If you hate them, why don't you join in?" DarkBiyomon asked curiously.

"Hmm…I have to agree with you there, that sounds like fun," Chiyo answered, before her face turned determined. "But this is _not_ because I want to be friends with them, okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, okay," DarkBiyomon answered, as Chiyo stood up, heading in their direction.

A wide-eyed Kazu began to have a nosebleed at the sight of Chiyo in her purple bikini, before an angered Chiyo kicked him in the nose and gave him an _actual_ nosebleed, before turning to face the others. Kazu fell on his side behind her, gripping his nose in pain.

"Oh god it hurts!" he moaned.

"Right, let's hurry up and finish this, so we can bury him next," Chiyo ordered, gesturing to the nose-holding brunette behind. A smirk came to her face, as Kenta looked on nervously.

"_I don't know which is worse, her or Rika__," _he thought.

* * *

Speaking of Rika, Kenta had little to be worried about. Although, given the opportunity, she would've still jumped at the chance to bury Kazu; she right now would've had none of the enthusiastic determined passion and hatred that normally empowered such a move. Right now, she was to be found lying on a towel, eyes closed despite the sunglasses still being on, whilst she wore a seemingly permanent frown on her face. Her hand rested on the slight bump on her belly, her mind following the now well-beaten tracks over the subject. Takato sat nearby, and Renamon watched Guilmon digging a hole for a reason that god-only-knew. Then again, given that collectively, the two humans and two Digimon there made up God, and not even they knew why Guilmon was digging, it seemed that not even that figure of speech was correct in this instance.

"Yay, I found the fish I buried!" Guilmon cheered, Rika, Takato and Renamon physically wrenching at the sight of the year old rotting-fish. Rika gagged especially badly.

"Guilmon, get that the hell away from me, you're making me sick and I sure as hell don't want to be sick again today!" she shrieked, sitting up, lifting her sunglasses and holding her nose.

"Oh, sorry," Guilmon giggled, apologising before dropping the fish back in the hole, shovelling sand on top. "See you next year," he said to it, even Renamon eyeing him strangely as he did so.

"O…kay, moving swiftly on," Takato said, breaking the bewildered silence that had descended. "Do you want to go surfing later or something?" he asked.

"You can go if you want," Rika answered unenthusiastically.

"I know, but what about you?"

"I don't care."

"But I want you to…"

"I don't care!" Rika yelled, lifting her hands and sending a flurry of sand in Takato's direction with a blue blast of wind. He quickly covered his eyes, coughing from the swarm before Rika looked even sadder.

"Ugh," Takato groaned.

"**What the hell was that for?!" **Chaos yelled.

"Sorry," Rika mumbled. "Just go…go and have fun, I know you want to and I know I'm just boring you," she added.

"But Rika…" Takato began.

"I just want to be alone, okay?" Rika answered. "I'm having one of those days. I'll join you guys later, okay?" she said, frowning as she looked at him. Takato sighed.

"Okay, if you insist," he reluctantly said, standing up with a frown, before moving in for a kiss. "Love you," he noted, pausing before beginning to walk away. "Come on Guilmon, we'll have to dig up all the other stuff you buried and check that it isn't going to poison the beach or something," he noted, without the humour that would normally go behind a joke like that.

"Okay Takato," Guilmon agreed, leaving his mostly-refilled hole and following his Tamer away. Renamon eyed the pair with concern, before eyeing her Tamer with even more concern, a deep frown displayed on her face, and for once being obvious to all observers.

"_Oh Rika," _she sadly sighed.

* * *

"Right, now, once you've swum out close to a decent wave, you climb on the board," Kai began, demonstrating with his white surfboard before looking to the other two as a wave gently lapped under his board. He didn't even need to grip onto it for balance as his board sunk below again, having mastered the element of keeping perfectly balanced even in lieu of a wave propelling him along. "Now you try," he instructed.

"Well, okay," Takeru answered, pushing himself up and nervously kneeling on the pale blue board. Hearing a splash, he turned aside to see Davis crashing off his white board into the water below. A slim smile came to Takeru's face, although it rivalled neither the big grin that Kai had at the sight nor the embarrassed grin which Davis had once he resurfaced.

"Sorry, just a bit rusty," Davis lied, scratching the back of his head. "From now on, I'll wear my goggles," he added, pulling Tai's old goggles down over his eyes before giving climbing onto the board another go.

"Why didn't you do that to start with?" DemiVeemon asked, sitting on the front of the board and watching his Tamer's antics.

"Forgetfulness," Davis answered with a grin. "Now, let's go ride some waves!" he cheered. Takeru moved into a standing position, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds like more fun, even if we will probably fall off endlessly," he agreed.

Kai chuckled. "You sure? cos it gets pretty rough out there!"

"Yeah, we've both faced a lot worse than…waah!" Takeru wailed, suddenly losing his balance and falling into the water, his board tipping over as he did so.

"Haha!" Davis chuckled, pointing and laughing, before that gesture tipped his own board over, throwing both himself and DemiVeemon into the water.

"You okay Takeru?" Patamon asked, Takeru spitting out water as he surfaced.

"Yeah, salt water tastes bad though," he answered.

"Davis!" DemiVeemon yelled at his Tamer.

"Heh, sorry about that," Davis replied, chuckling nervously.

"God, those guys are completely useless," Suzie noted.

"Yeah, thick-headed too," Mimi added.

"Yeah, I mean, who are they trying to impress?" Mari asked, looking to the pair of them rhetorically. Both shied away from the question, as Mari gave them a bewildered look. _"O…kay, have I just said something I shouldn't have?"_ she pondered, glancing about to see Kari and the other girls lying on towels alongside them, watching the others systematically making fools of themselves. She had pondered freeing Ryder from his sandy tomb, but then again, he had been a pain when she was packing, so she supposed it served as a sort of comeuppance. MiniDonmon sat on her head, watching the scene curiously.

"Part of me wants to free him. The other part wants to see how long it is until he wakes up," the bat-dragon muttered.

"Same," Mari echoed.

"Davis is off the board again," Kari reported.

"And there goes Takeru!" Jeri added.

"Ryder's neck is submerged," Sora added, laughing at events.

"Stupid boys," Kristy noted, chuckling at the others. "Huh, that's a thought," she pondered, a bewildered look on her face as she glanced around. _"Where's Rika and Takato? And Henry?"_ she thought.

"_Okay, three, two, one and…" _"TERRIER TORNADO!" Terriermon yelled, suddenly surprising the girls as he swept up a huge vortex of sand, whipping all over them. He wore a wide grin on his face as the sand settled, covering the girls from head to toe in some cases and sticking especially to where sun cream had been applied, and would probably prove hellish to get off. And this, of course, Terriermon knew, beyond the fact it would be seriously annoying to start with. This was why Henry should never let him out of his sight.

"TERRIERMON!" Suzie yelled at her brother's partner, pointing a finger in anger at the dog-bunny, who laughed so much he fell over backwards onto the sand, before sitting up for the punch line.

"Sand enough for ya?" he asked.

"That does not even make sense," Lopmon noted.

"Well then cover your eyes, cos it's time for round t…" Terriermon began, suddenly being snatched out of thin air by a large black paw. The girls breathed a sigh of relief, Mari nodding and smiling to the owner of the paw.

"He has to be the most annoying Digimon ever," Mimi noted, sighing as she brushed some sand off her arms, the grating feel against her skin being very irritating.

"I don't know which is worse, him or Gomamon," Sora pondered as she did similarly, before sweatdrops appeared on the oldest pair of girls' faces as they contemplated the same situation with a Marching Fishes attack. Yeah, both would probably be equally bad.

"Don't even make me imagine it," Palmon groaned, echoing that sentiment.

* * *

"_What's happened?" _Takato pondered with a frown, drudging through the sand. The bright light beaming down on him and the beach was completely antagonistic to his internal feelings, and Guilmon's ears drooped forlornly as he sadly watched his Tamer.

"Takato, are you okay?" he asked, his Tamer swiping a bit of sand out of his hair before looking down to his saurian of a partner.

"Hmm…I don't know Guilmon," he answered with a frown, looking back to where they were headed again, back in the direction of the beach.

"What's wrong with Rika?" Guilmon asked, deciding to press on the point in a different manner.

"I really don't know Guilmon. I thought it was just her usual mood swings at first, but this one…it's just different, and I really don't know why she's acting this way," he said, sighing as he glanced around the beach, the site of many a happy day. Those past few years of the Tamers visiting the paradise: of surfing; of splashing each other in the sea (which Harmony and Chaos had a habit of being a bit _too_ competitive in); of burying a sleeping Guilmon; of laughter. Those days had always been fun, particularly as Rika and Takato's relationship developed and they began to enjoy the romantic side of the holiday more (although the girl of the two wouldn't admit to it), albeit the childish games never truly going away.

But, all of a sudden, they seemed over, right as they gained more friends on their holiday to laugh at, play with and bury. Takato had pondered many times what their lives would be like if Rika had never got pregnant, if they still had that childish innocence. And yet, oddly, it felt like a catalyst. A catalyst to develop their relationship, a catalyst to grow up. But was it too fast?

Was that what was bothering Rika? The fact she was pregnant, at the age of sixteen? A few weeks back, Takato would've thought that was the case, but he knew that wasn't the case. She had gotten past the age problem, knowing that events had happened and that they were inevitably going to happen anyway, courtesy of Rey. And she'd put past the fact she would have to care for a child too, her ever-growing bond with her newfound younger sister (despite the sibling rivalry that remained as always) demonstrating so. Rika's growing maternal instincts were shining through to some extent in that respect, even if she still had a short temper in dealing with Kristy's nuances.

So what was it then? Was it he, himself, that was the problem? _"But why?" _Takato wondered. _"What on earth have I done? I've tried to help her out, to be there for her, to encourage her to join in and all that…have I made another mistake or something?" _he puzzled, sighing in irritation. "I think I should go back," Takato pondered out loud.

"Huh?" Guilmon wondered. "But didn't Rika just tell you to go have fun?" he asked innocently.

"I know Guilmon, but she's just…worrying me, that's all," Takato answered. "I don't know what's bugging her, but I do want to help her get past it, whatever it is," he added.

"**Takato, she said she wants to be alone, and I really don't think you're going to help things. Plus, I really can't stand any more of this touchy feely crap, which you'll shovel on by the bucket load if we go back again," **Chaos added, Takato sighing as he came to a stop.

"I suppose so," he mumbled, Guilmon coming to a stop alongside him as Takato stared blankly at the sand below. His eyes tinted red, focusing on an object below, as Chaos reached down to pick up a solitary pebble.

"**Hello old friend," **he mumbled, looking at the object in his hand curiously, but with a frown, as a designer would look over his finished project with pride yet tinged with sadness that it probably isn't quite as good as someone else's.

"Takato?" asked a voice, Chaos looking up to see Henry. He quickly dropped the pebble, an embarrassed grin coming to his face.

"**Um, hey Henry," **he greeted with a fake smile.

"Oh, hey Chaos," Henry greeted, a frown on his face.

"Hey Henry," Takato greeted dourly, a deep frown replacing Chaos' grin.

"Takato, are you okay?" Henry asked. "You don't sound too good," he added. He'd headed away from the group to check up on two of his closest friends who seemed to have separated themselves from the rest. Perhaps it had been a mistake as it left Terriermon up to his own devices, but he knew that this was more important. Still, it would be worth keeping his trip short: Terriermon would eventually see the opportunity he now had.

"I'm fine," Takato said, frowning as he walked past Henry.

"You don't sound it," Henry added, Takato pausing and turning his head back. He sighed deeply, frowning even deeper.

"I don't want to talk about it right now, okay?" he said, unusual behaviour for a boy who would usually let out all feelings with ease. Henry frowned, looking at his old friend with concern. Something big was definitely bothering the boy if he didn't even want to talk about it with him.

"Okay," Henry answered reluctantly, as Takato turned and continued to trudge towards the beach.

Henry frowned, crossing his arms as he looked out to sea, the glistening, calm oceans clearly having no connection to whatever was troubling Takato. And Henry already knew what the problem was anyway, it was obvious that the only thing that could trouble Takato this deeply had to be his relationship with Rika, and given the change in their relationship lately with a child on the way, Henry didn't doubt that was the root of the problem.

"_At least, I think it is at least. It isn't like Takato to be this closed about things unless he's really unsure about them, so…I really need to talk to him, I hate seeing my friends depressed like this." _The look on Rika's face as she headed away from the group, with Takato in tow, had been bad enough, but it seemed there was something beneath it all. He pondered going to see Rika himself, but he greatly doubted he would be able to get any more out of her than Takato had, and he knew that the only being she would even remotely consider talking to about this was Renamon. Or possibly Harmony, although Rika wouldn't really have a choice in that case.

The air rippled, a black blur landing on the sand to his side with a cream object in its hand, as he casually turned to face it. "I think this is yours," DarkRenamon noted, holding out the cream and green dog-bunny, gripped by the ear in her paw.

"Thanks," Henry said with a frown, taking his partner's ear as Terriermon hardly struggled.

"Please take better care of your belongings in future," DarkRenamon noted playfully, glancing to the bunny with a sly grin, before vanishing into nothing.

"That was fun!" Terriermon cheered afterwards.

"I bet it was," Henry said, a subtle grin on his face.

"What are you implying?"

"You know what I'm implying Terriermon," Henry answered, before sighing, a frown coming to his face as he decided to ask the inevitable question. "So, what did you do this time?"

Terriermon gave the look that a small child wears when he had to admit to a prank he really enjoyed doing. "Terrier Tornado'd the girls," he said.

"Terriermon!" Henry complained.

Terriermon grinned widely.

* * *

_**14:05 JST**_

Brown pupils blinked open in the mushy darkness, only a few specks of light on the face preventing it from becoming completely black. A look of panic crossed the face, as in pain he struggled to move his feet, before realising that he'd have to resort to another option or risk worsening his condition. Pressing his arms upwards, he pushed the bulk up as it bulged, slowly moving aside before he pressed his head up into it.

The sun burst into his vision as he spat out sand everywhere, closing his eyes to clear the grains dotting them, and shaking his head to get rid of that sand.

"What the hell?!" he asked, finally speaking before he opened his eyes to see Mari sitting there in a deep blue bikini on the now empty beach, looking down at him with her soft brown irises.

"Personally, I'm surprised you didn't wake up," she noted, a slim smile of amusement on her face.

"What, did you bury me?!" he asked, a look of shock still on his face.

Mari shook her head, a smile coming to her face. "No, but Kazu, Kenta, Tai, Rey, and, most surprisingly of all, Chiyo, did," she noted, glancing over the rather large pile of sand they had assembled over him. "I'm actually rather impressed," she noted.

"Oh, thanks, so you didn't consider freeing me?" Ryder said in irritation.

"No, partly because I didn't want to spoil their fun, partly because you looked so peaceful sleeping, and partly because I wanted to get my own back after you didn't even attempt to help yesterday," she answered. "I poked you some air-holes though," she added.

"Ugh, being buried alive is not something I ever wanted to experience," Ryder said, pushing himself up and out of the sand, sitting on the sand and looking at where it had stuck to his swimming shorts, skin and hair, beginning to brush it off. A disturbing thought came to him. "Mari, can you promise me that if I can actually die and come back to life again, you make sure they don't bury me in the interval?" he asked.

"Sure," she answered, her smile not echoing the dark situation he described. He glanced around at the beach, a look of bewilderment coming to his face as he saw no-one, and only a few towels and disturbed sand scattered about to suggest they had ever been there.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Lunch," Mari answered, gesturing to his D-Vice, which he glanced to for the time.

"Holy crap, how long was I asleep?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"About three hours," Mari answered, before reaching for his crutches. "Now hurry up, I'm hungry and I stayed behind because I knew that otherwise you wouldn't be able to get up," she added, smiling as she handed the implements to him.

"Gee, thanks," he answered, Mari outstretching a hand to assist him. "Waited, but didn't consider freeing me," he noted sardonically, taking the hand and pushing himself to his feet with her and his crutches' aid. She put an arm round his shoulders afterwards, grinning widely.

"I'll help you get your own back later," she whispered in his ear playfully.

"Okay, now _that_ makes things a lot better," he answered, with a grin, his eyes eager at the prospect. "Any ideas?" he asked, looking to her curiously.

"I'm sure we'll think of something," she answered.

It was going to be a fun week after all.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

A nice, cheerful chapter there with some darker undertones. This chapter was rather fun to write thanks to its liberal sprinkling of humour, so I hope to have this be a bit of relief from the far darker edge the series has taken on. Then again, Rika and Takato's situation should still provide that emotional depth, so blah blah blah blah no one actually reads this.

Until next time…


	38. The Trick To Pranks

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 32**

_The Trick to Pranks_

* * *

**WEDNESDAY, 25****TH**** AUGUST 2010**

* * *

_**Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**10:02 JST**_

The soft air of the island was filled with laughter as another day of fun began, most running towards the practically-private beach at top speed, their feet making deep trenches in the dunes. Smirks were worn on some faces, knowing smiles on others, and some just dumbly ran onwards, not knowing what Destiny held in store for them that day. Indeed, even the Angel of that element didn't have a clue, the skills to master knowledge of the vast ocean of Destiny beyond even the Gods. Nonetheless, if she knew what were to happen, she'd probably have tried to prevent it.

"Mari, why do you have a plastic bag?" Mimi asked, bewildered by the determined look on the girl and her boyfriend's faces, the former wielding a white grocery bag.

"Revenge," Ryder answered, the older girl eying them curiously before shrugging, deciding the point wasn't worth pursuing.

"Well, so long as you leave me out of it, go ahead," she said. Mari smiled, nodding.

"Of course, you're certainly not on our list of targets," she joked.

"So who is?" Mimi asked curiously.

"You'll see," Ryder said with a sly grin, continuing to move with his crutches through the soft sand which they easily sunk into.

* * *

However, not all were eagerly running for the beach. Takato glanced with a slim smile as Guilmon ran away with the others, glad he was having a fun time. He turned, frowning and walking over to the thing that still continued to concern him: a frowning Rika, leaning against the wall of the traditional home, hand on her stomach bump as she looked off into nothing.

"Rika, don't you want to come?" he asked, bending down like he was talking to a moping child. His enthusiasm in his voice was quickly tiring, and now it had simply become irritation, although he knew he was wrong to direct such irritation at her, particularly given her current state. The last thing they needed was two irritable, saddened teenagers.

"I really don't feel like it," Rika answered, frowning and sighing as she looked up to him. "Sorry, but every morning lately I just wake up and feel tired, depressed, and generally like crap. So just hope I get over it by this evening like I did eventually yesterday, okay?" she asked.

"Hmm…" Takato mumbled. She was right, it had eventually passed and she had eventually joined them, but she continued to seem distant all the same. "Okay," he answered finally. "But I'm not just going to leave you here all alone," he added, sitting himself down next to her. "You'll get bored, for starters," he joked. "Not that I'm any more fun. Well, unless I do something stupid."

Rika shortly held a slim smile. "Nah, you are fun Takato…especially when you do something stupid…but…" she hesitated, her smile going back to a frown. "I don't want to feel that I'm holding you back from having more fun," she continued. "This is your holiday too, after all, and I don't think you want to spend all of it with your depressed, pregnant, teenage girlfriend who is at the trough of a mood swing," she added.

"**Wow, way to sell yourself," **Chaos said dryly.

"Oh, and I don't want to listen to that either," she added, pointing to Takato's forehead with a slim smile on her face.

"I'll keep him quiet, I promise," Takato said with a grin, before it dampened into a more serious expression. "I just want to stay and keep you company," he added.

"Takato, I don't want to ruin your holiday," Rika answered, sighing. "Go on, go have fun," she insisted, pointing towards the beach.

"But…" Takato began to object.

"Takato. Go. Away. Have. Fun. Now," Rika ordered. "Before. I. Have. To. Set. Renamon. On. You. Okay?" she added, continuing to stress each word in turn.

Takato sighed, nodding in response. "Fine," he answered, bending down and sharing a kiss with her as each gripped the other in their arms, before Takato stood up again, a reluctant look on his face. Despite the fact he would probably be bored out of his mind, he wanted to stay with Rika, hoping that at some point they would stir up a conversation. Then again, there was equally the chance that she would stay quiet all day and he would eventually be forced by Chaos to shoot himself, or worse.

"Have fun," Rika wished. "I'll be out later so you can gawk at my figure," she joked, a full, if a bit sarcastic, smile on her face, a rare sight so far this holiday

He smiled equally sardonically, nodding. "Looking forward to it," he noted, turning and heading away from the home.

Rika sighed, a slim smile remaining after watching him walk away. Anyone else would've gotten really aggravated with her by now. _**"Why do you keep pushing him away?" **_Harmony asked, Rika frowning as her concerns were voiced, albeit only in her head.

"_I don't," _she insisted.

"_**Rika, as much as I hate to say it, given he's Chaos and all, you **_**can**_** trust him. He won't run away, you can't keep thinking that," **_Harmony insisted.

"_But how do I know? This is Gogglehead we're talking about here, I'm surprised he didn't wet himself regularly back in the early days," _she reflected. _"He loves to run into things, but when the reality hits him, he's not always so good at keeping it going," _she noted with a frown.

"_**Rika, even if he isn't father material, you know he's going to try his best," **_Harmony noted.

"_I know he will…but…what happens once he realises he's not up to it?"_

"_**But he will stay!" **_Harmony insisted.

"_That's what I thought about Dad,"_ Rika reflected sadly.

"_**Rika, you can't let your judgements on all men ride on one person's actions," **_Harmony noted.

"_Well duh!"_

"_**So why are you so afraid?"**_

"_Because it has always hurt, and it still bloody hurts, and I don't want another pain like that on my heart, okay?!" _Rika insisted. _"I became a moody bitch the last time round, what do you think would happen this time? Suicide? Running away from home? Abuse? Heck, every time I get even remotely attached to someone, I suffer from horrible withdrawal symptoms. Sorry, but I just don't want that pain again," _she noted sadly. _"How can you even be sure we're still together in the future? People change Harmony, and you should know that most of all. The kindest people can become monsters in bad situations, and I don't want to let that happen to him," _she finished, sighing as she laid her head back, closing her eyes and hoping to get some sleep.

"_**Oh Rika," **_Harmony sighed sadly, as Renamon frowned, seeing her Tamer's range of facial expressions.

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**10:16 JST**_

"So she just told you to go have fun then?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow as he ensured he was understanding things correctly. Takato nodded in response, frowning sadly.

"I knew it wouldn't last," Terriermon chirped cheerfully.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded, seeing a frown on Takato's face, the pair sitting on surfboards in swimming shorts, floating in the calm water. The poor surf something which irritated Kai, and overjoyed Davis and Takeru who were glad to escape further embarrassment. Terriermon sat alongside Henry on his board, and Guilmon swam with the fishes below, although not in the way that that phrase normally implied. A number of killed fish occasionally floated to the surface, prompting rolled eyes from Terriermon, and notes about the smell from the two humans.

"Geez, sorry!" Terriermon replied. "Was only a joke!" he added.

Henry sighed, looking back to Takato and continuing their conversation, ignoring his quick-witted partner entirely. "I can't say I haven't noticed it, to be honest. I spoke to Jeri about it last night after dinner, and she has too, and it's really concerning her to see Rika depressed like this."

"Yeah, same, but I really am not sure why. I've got all these ideas of why she's like this, but I can't seem to get any clarification out of her," Takato noted. "And I thought I was the one she was most open to."

"Besides Harmony and Renamon, of course," Terriermon chirped in. Silence ensued as they watched a fish bob to the surface after a short flurry of waves on the surface, before continuing their conversation.

"I mean, it can't just be mood swings," Takato finished.

"Well…Jeri suggested one reason why she could be so depressed," Henry noted, a pondering look appearing on his face as he contemplated the idea the brunette had suggested. It did make sense, but Henry knew it was also a personal issue for Rika, one that she rarely talked about, even to Takato. Indeed, she had fainted once for it.

"Which is?" Takato asked, noting Henry's hesitation.

"Well…Rika's father left her when she was young and her grandfather is absent," Henry began.

"I think her grandfather died of cancer," Takato noted with a frown.

"Yeah, so, has Rika ever had a male figure in her life that hasn't left for some reason?" Henry concluded.

"Not really. I mean, I had pondered that, but even I never really want to ask about that sort of thing. So do you think she doesn't trust me to stay?" Takato asked, a frown still on his face as the board was gently lapped by the calm waves.

"Maybe," Henry said uncertainly, not sure whether he was implanting bad ideas in Takato's head. The last thing they wanted was another depressed teenager.

"But she knows I won't go, doesn't she?" Takato asked, uncertainty shared in his voice. "I mean, we're having a kid together. And…Rey in the future…and all that," he tried to elaborate.

"Yeah, but we're not sure that'll even happen now or not. She could've changed anything, and that one tiny spark of doubt is what must be eating away at her."

"Plus, I hate to break it to ya, but has Rey ever said you're together still at that point?" Terriermon asked.

"Um…I'm not sure?" Takato asked. Henry and Terriermon frowned. "But, she's always insisted we're good parents!" Takato added, trying to convince his friends and reassure himself.

"Which of course, is something that every child from the future continually and endlessly insists to their parents…" Terriermon said, rolling his eyes. Henry gave him a slightly stern look, a frown on his face. Terriermon simply shrugged in response. Takato sighed, looking down into the water, his face reflected in it as a few fish swarmed away from Guilmon's form below. His head came to the surface, poking out curiously.

"Takato, are you okay?" he asked, concern in his eyes at his Tamer's frown.

"Not really," Takato sighed. "Rika doesn't trust me, she doesn't even talk about it and I have no idea what to do next."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Guilmon insisted, a smile on his face. Takato always managed to find a way out of any situation he found himself in, and doubtless he would this time too.

"Wow, that'll help," Terriermon said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at Guilmon.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded.

"But seriously Henry! Takato doesn't have a clue what to do, and he's not the most logical of people in situations like this," Terriermon insisted.

"Terriermon, he'll think of something," Henry insisted.

"No, Terriermon's right. What on earth do I do?" Takato asked, feeling completely out of his depth in this new situation as he stared down into the water again, hands round his neck. Terriermon, Guilmon and Henry put their hands on their chins in contemplation.

"You could always marry her?" Terriermon mooted.

Takato's head shot up with a look of surprise, and Henry's head turned round with a look of horror, whilst Guilmon held a look of confusion. Terriermon grinned widely despite all this.

"What?!" Takato stuttered.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded.

"Marry?" Guilmon asked, not sure of the concept.

"What? He wants to prove he'll be there, she's pregnant, and it's going to happen anyway, so why not now?" Terriermon elaborated, shrugging.

"But, Terriermon, they…um…" Henry began to reply, hesitating as he tried to think of something. Takato looked to Henry for a defence in this situation, or at least something to shut Terriermon up. The dog-bunny, by now, had begun to grin widely, amused by how effectively he'd managed to surprise Henry and leave him unsure how to respond to the throwaway comment. "Well…"

"You can't think of a problem with it, can you?" Terriermon said, grinning.

"You can't?!" Takato asked in surprise. "Come on Henry, the idea's insane!" Takato insisted. "I'm sixteen, I can't get married now," he added.

"But you could propose at least," Henry pondered out loud. Takato's eyes widened in amazement, why wasn't Henry defending his case? The idea was truly insane, and why couldn't they see that?

Takato put his hands out defensively. "No, just no! I'm not proposing to Rika yet, I mean, come on…are you guys even hearing yourselves talk?"

"Are _you_ Takato?" Henry echoed, reflecting Takato's point. "I mean, you two have been together for three years so far, you're having a child together, hell, you are both Gods…"

"_**And once one and the same, much to my disdain," **_Chaos chirped in, silently voicing the point which Henry didn't know about.

"And you've met the child from the future, and her surname is Matsuki so clearly you and Rika were married at some point."

"But that still doesn't mean I have to marry her yet," Takato noted, still amazed by the odd point. "I mean…yes, I probably will marry her at some point…if we're still a couple…"

"Wow Takato, you sure are confident about your relationship with Rika," Terriermon interrupted sarcastically, rolling his eyes (to the best of his ability).

"Okay, yes, we will definitely marry at some point; I get that but why…now?" Takato asked.

"Because that would prove that you're going to be there for her," Terriermon answered.

"Takato, what's marry? Is it related to Mari?" Guilmon asked naively.

"No, it's…ugh…" Takato began, flustering as he tried to think of how to explain it. "It's when two people love each other very much…"

"**And the stalk comes and chucks a baby down the chimney!"**

"SHUT UP!" Henry and Takato bellowed, leaving Guilmon more confused than ever.

"What's a stalk?" the saurian asked.

"Guilmon, marriage is where two people who love each other a lot decide they want to spend the rest of their lives together, and so they have this big ceremony called a wedding with all of their friends and family, and one takes the other's surname and then they legally become a couple, and live together."

"Yeah, and at the big ceremony, I eat the cake," Terriermon blurted cheerfully.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded, irritated by how Terriermon kept making life difficult. "That isn't what happens."

"It's what happened at the last wedding we went to," Terriermon added with a wide grin. Henry sighed, putting his hand on his forehead.

"Oh, who am I kidding, Guilmon will do that anyway," he noted, Terriermon nodding in agreement.

"Before the wedding too," he added.

"Oh, so you want to marry Rika?" Guilmon asked, pondering whether he was understanding things correctly.

"No!" Takato blurted. "I mean yes, but…ugh! I can't take this anymore," he blasted, groaning in anger before loosing his balance and falling backwards off the board into the water with a great splash. Guilmon watched him curiously, Henry watched him with concern, and Terriermon…Terriermon was too busy laughing himself to death to even keep his eyes focused on the subject of his amusement.

Takato surfaced, his hair ruffled and his goggles slightly ajar as he looked up to the other three, all staring at him.

"Right, that's it, I'm going…come on Guilmon," he decided, looking to his dinosaur-like partner as he pulled down his goggles. Guilmon frowned, nodding before leaping into the water alongside him with an even bigger splash. "Maybe Kai has finished teaching the others to surf," he noted, as they began to swim away.

Henry frowned, watching Takato escape the conversation, rather literally too. He sighed, looking down to the board he sat on still, Takato's unoccupied board gently floating nearby. "Was I too hard on him about it all?" he pondered.

"I don't know, but you know what I do know?" Terriermon asked, enthusiasm in his voice.

"What?" Henry asked, concern and reluctance to know the answer in his voice.

"I get his board!" Terriermon said, leaping across to Takato's board. "Now digivolve me, I want to show off my awesome skills!" he cheered.

"You're incomprehensible, and I also get the feeling you want to show off to someone," Henry replied.

"Henry!" Terriermon complained. "Stop with all of that!" he added, a slight blush on his face.

"I really don't get why you like her so much," Henry sighed, continuing to ponder the mystery of his partner as he looked up to the sky above, only a few wispy clouds obscuring its consistent bright blue. "I mean, you never felt this for Renamon," he noted.

"Yeah, but that's different," Terriermon insisted. "She tried to kill me."

"So has everyone Terriermon, so has everyone," Henry joked.

"Well, then I don't know. You willing to tell me _you_ understand love Mr. "Valentine's doesn't really matter, she won't care all that much"?"

"Touché."

"Hey, that's my line!"

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**10:21 JST**_

"Okay, you distract her, and DarkRenamon will get her, okay?" Mari whispered in Ryder's ear, her voice with a slight sinister tone. The white grocery bag was now absent from her hand. Ryder nodded, feeling rather unsure about the first prank he had done in…ever. Still, it would prove good revenge for being buried alive.

"Okay, but how do I distract her?" Ryder asked unsurely. Mari gave him a look of disbelief.

"Ryder, it's _you_ we're talking about here. Trust me, if I wasn't there to interrupt you, you two would talk for hours on end about everything under the sun, and then-some," she noted, before pushing him forwards sharply, although not sharp enough to make him fall off his crutches. "Now go on," she said, before quickly heading out of view.

"Uh, hey Rey," Ryder said, he and MiniDonmon walking and flying over to the redhead sitting quietly on the beach with Realmon. The pair were previously looking curiously at the time device whilst talking.

"Hey Realmon," MiniDonmon added with a nod.

"Hey," Rey answered, Realmon simply nodding in response as the boy and the bat-like Digimon on his shoulder reached them.

"Um…" Ryder hesitated, fishing for topics before unsurely (and unstably, thanks to his crutches) sitting himself down. He knew it would've flashed through Mari's mind by now that, if they were to do the prank now, he'd be got too, but he just hoped she would restrain herself from such an order. "What are you trying to do?" he asked, pondering as he looked over at the time device on the girl's wrist which they now seemed to be so engaged with.

"Fix it really," she answered.

"Did it just stop working at some point then?"

"Nope, it was like this to start with. As amazing as this device is Ryder, please when you do make it remember to make it better next time," she asked, a slight grin on her face at the concept.

"Fine, but I don't think it'll make much difference," Ryder answered, sighing. "I really don't understand all this time travel stuff. I mean, are you influencing time or aren't you? How can we find out?" he pondered.

"No idea, but…I still haven't got to the event I have to nullify yet," she noted, sighing. "At this rate, I don't think I will. I really know I have to get moving, I know I have to jump on a bit but…I love life like this. It's so calm, so teenage, so…weird. Hell, when I was a kid, I didn't have nearly as many friends as this. There were just D…well…there were a few people," she noted, avoiding the name. She had no idea how telling people now the names of the future could affect them when they finally met them. She hardly wanted her friends to be given strange looks all the time.

"So, this event you have to cancel out…how big is it?" Ryder asked curiously. "I mean, are we talking about, prevent someone from turning right at a junction, or are we talking about preventing someone from dying?" he elaborated.

"It's…well…" Rey pondered, trying to figure out the significance of this particular event. "Well, it is rather important, but once I've fixed things…it'll make things weird I suppose. I don't know what'll happen to me. Will I vanish entirely? Will you guys even remember me? I suppose that's why I'm staying behind too…I don't want to waste what could be my final days," she sighed.

"I see," Ryder answered, glancing across the beach to where a black blur quickly sprang into the air. _"Damn, and I was just getting somewhere with this conversation," _he thought. Rey raised an eyebrow, seeing his odd glance away, before it all hit her.

"Oh crap," she cursed, Ryder attempting to fun away from her (a rather amusing sight thanks to his crutches) as she was hit by a volley of water balloons from above, soaking both her and Realmon, and inflicting MiniDonmon and Ryder with slight splash damage.

As the water slowly began to soak away in the sand, she pushed herself into the feet, hands in fists of anger. Realmon shook the water off herself in irritation, it splashing gently down into the sand around her.

"Consider that revenge for burying Ryder," MiniDonmon noted cheerfully, his Tamer pushing himself to his feet on his crutches.

Rey's expression faltered, as she sighed. She groaned in irritation before looking down at the sand, reluctantly bring her eyes back up to look at Ryder, MiniDonmon, DarkRenamon and a newly arrived Mari. "I suppose I earned that, didn't I?" she noted.

"To be fair, it was a rather poignant prank, having a heavy weight land down on you from above," Ryder noted.

"Why is t…oh you bast…" Rey cursed, before smiling reluctantly and hesitating. She had to agree, it was a rather poignant prank. "Fine, I'm sorry for that then," she apologised, stressing her words with her arms crossed rather stubbornly. "I'll be more careful next time," she added.

"And that's all we ask," Mari said cheerfully, holding out a towel to Rey with a smile. "Want to help us get the others?" she offered as the girl took the towel.

"Okay, but it's not all going to be water balloons, is it?" the redhead asked, beginning to dry her hair.

* * *

_**Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**13:02 JST**_

"Pebbles?" Rey asked, raising eyebrows at her partners-in-crime as the group arrived back at the house for lunch, the crisp smell of local food cooking filling the air as a redhead and two brunettes engaged in conversation quietly where they sat near each other whilst waiting.

"Well, you see, I noticed how all the Goggleheads wolf down food without thinking. Well, apart from Ryder, he's a rather fussy eater but that's another matter entirely. Anyway, the point is, I pondered what I could replace Tai and Agumon's food with, and so…" Mari explained, a smile on her face as she held the three or four pebbles in her hands. She returned them to hiding afterwards.

"Chaos will be pissed, you know that?" Rey asked, a smile on her face at the concept.

"Of course," Mari answered. "It's all part of my master plan," she added with a grin. "To…err…somehow get several people with pranks," she mumbled unsurely.

"You know, I'm kinda glad you're helping me with this, I would've run out of ideas," Ryder said, smiling.

"No problem, although I'm slightly worried someone might try to get revenge on me," Mari noted.

"Don't tempt me," Rey mumbled.

"So how are you going to get them to eat them?" Ryder whispered as people began to sit down.

"Hmm…I was hoping to just add them to the food that Tai and Agumon eat," Mari noted. "But everyone else will probably notice," she said, frowning.

"You know, we could just add them to the pile, and just continually retcon until you get a situation where they eat them _and_ no-one notices?" Rey suggested.

"If I faint, please catch me," Ryder joked to Mari, nodding in response to the idea.

"Thanks Grandpa," Kai expressed his gratitude as the plate of food was placed down on the table.

"Yeah, thanks," Tai added, the others also putting in their gratitude.

Rika began to put the food on her plate, but noticed something very odd going on. Every time she lifted the food up, she suddenly realised she hadn't. Shrugging, she just kept trying, eventually getting food onto her plate. She went to bite into it, but noticed an oddity across the table.

"_Okay, why is Takato staring at me like that?" _she pondered, bewildered. Takato, noticing her stare, instantly broke out of it, realising he had been staring at her with only one thought running through his mind again and again and again and again…

"AAAARRGGGHHH!" Tai groaned all of a sudden, proving to be the perfect interruption to Takato's train of thought. Agumon gulped at the same time, his face soon turning red. "My teeth," Tai complained.

"You okay Tai?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow as Tai looked at the rock he had attempted to bite into.

"What the hell? A pebble?" he asked.

"Uh…oh…" Agumon said in realisation, hand going to his mouth. "Tai, I think I'm going to be sick!" he said, rushing from the table.

Tai, all the while, had begun to inspect his teeth. "Oh thank god, not broken."

Suddenly, Ryder fell sideways into Mari's arms, unconscious. Mari looked over him, concern flashing in her eyes. "Ryder, you okay?" she asked.

"_Okay, maybe a bit too much energy use with retcon," _Rey reflected. _"Nice alibi all the same," _she added, pondering how the others would just assume he'd also eaten a pebble.

Chiyo raised an eyebrow. What the hell was going on?

Chaos stood and raised the pebble up with him, eying the group in annoyance as he held it out. **"Okay, who did this?!"** he asked. **"Who let the pebble get hurt?"** he added.

"Uh, mate, it's a pebble?" Kai asked, bewildered by the God's reaction to it all.

"**It's my greatest creation, I'll have you know!"** Chaos insisted.

"**Hmm…which is more impressive…creating life, or rocks,"** Harmony pondered, her hands held out like scales as she weighed up the idea.

"**Not life, a tiny, tiny bacteria which I had to corrupt and mutate to get it to do anything," **Chaos replied. **"You cannot claim that as entirely your own," **he added.

"**Who is more significant, the person who has the idea or the person who makes it work?" **Harmony argued back and getting to her feet.

"Okay, mum, dad, shut the hell up," Rey said, standing up herself and glaring at the pair with her hands out defensively to "block" their insults. "I'm pretty sure that Takato and Rika don't want to put up with your bickering, and I think I speak for all of us when I say…We. Don't. Give. A. Crap."

"**Humph," **Chaos and Harmony huffed, going back to be seated on the floor.

"Ever get the feeling your life just stopped making sense entirely?" Sora noted to Mimi.

"All the time," Mimi answered.

* * *

_**22:05 JST**_

The night had finally settled in, although the outside world continued to be lit by a dim glow. The sounds of the night had begun: of animals unknown; of waves crashing against the beach; of the winds twisting their way through the trees. Most had resorted to the land of nod, but of those lying on the floor in futons in the few rooms of the home, most in the main room with its doors now closed to the elements, a few stayed awake.

"Ryder," Mari muttered, looking across to the boy in the adjacent futon, the boy by now attempting to get to sleep but having little luck as he had ended up simply staring at the ceiling in contemplation. He turned his head to the side to face her, her hair now down and ruffled by the absence of any need to keep it maintained. MiniDonmon slept on the floor alongside his Tamer, his chest going up and down with his soft snores, whilst DarkRenamon slept against the wall a short distance away.

"Yeah?" Ryder asked, his voice but a whisper.

"I was wondering, and, since everyone else is asleep and all, what can we do tomorrow?" she pondered. Ryder sighed in contemplation.

"I don't know. These pranks seem a bit…cruel."

"Oh come on Ryder, they buried you!" Mari insisted, her voice still a whisper.

"Yeah, you're right there. I was kinda worried we'd end up breaking Tai's teeth though," he noted with a frown.

"Yeah, maybe we should avoid such physical pranks from now on," Mari agreed. "Who do you want to get next then?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm…" Ryder pondered, sitting up in his pyjamas and looking across the group, shortly after followed by Mari in her pale pink pyjamas. Kazu and Kenta were busily snoring away, another incentive to prank them. But Mari's eyeline was more attracted to the girl who seemed to have distanced herself from the group, even in sleep, her partner silently sleeping alongside, both with concerned looks on their faces.

"Chiyo?" Mari mooted.

"Yeah, but how?" Ryder answered. "Wait…I've got an idea…well, it's kind of mean, but…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

A mix of comedy and progress here, which is good after the amount of angst and concern we've had for a while now. Nonetheless, Ryder and Mari are going to begin to regret the harsh nature of some of their pranks…

Also, probably about the first time anyone has thought twice about something Terriermon has blurted out. Well, at least Henry thought twice at first, Takato's still in the "oh my god how could you even consider suggesting that?" stage.

Until next time…


	39. The Trick To Heartbreak

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 33**

_The Trick to Heartbreak_

* * *

**THURSDAY, 26****th**** AUGUST 2010**

* * *

_**Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**08:20 JST**_

Sunlight gently wafted in through the translucent doors of the home, lighting the inside with a yellowish tone. Those who would sleep through anything continued to lie in the land of slumber for some time yet, but others were far more wakeful.

Her dark hair ruffled, Chiyo stretched out and yawned, her black D-Vice on her arm as ever. DarkBiyomon gently blinked her eyes open, noting her Tamer awake. Chiyo, in her dazed state, glanced to her black D-Vice for the time, nodding when she noted it was not long after eight. She glanced around, everyone still asleep, although some looked pretty close to waking.

"_I could kill them all now if I didn't have to leave that gun back in Tokyo. Damn bathing suits," _she reflected, rolling her eyes before wiping the sleep from them with her D-Vice arm, noting the blinking time on her black D-Vice once again.

She paused.

"_That's not right,"_ she thought, her eyes turning to her black D-Vice. "What the hell?!" she mumbled, attracting her partner's attention as the bird looked up to the device.

Her eyesight clearing, she growled in irritation, noting the paint crudely splashed all over the usually grey device's surface, the only sign of any care being taken seeming to be round the screen.

"Who…what…" she pondered, looking around at the still sleeping group before pushing herself to her feet, looking for whomever had done this childish prank. She growled in irritation again, storming out to the sliding door and slamming it closed behind her and her partner, waking everyone inside.

"Waaah!" Kazu exclaimed, startled.

"What time is it?" Mimi mumbled, tired and irritated.

"Ugh, 8:20," Sora groaned, looking to her D-Arc.

"Too early," Kristy sighed.

"Yeah, who the hell slammed the door?" Tai asked, grouchy about being woken up and about the pebble incident the previous day. Who had done it? Why? It couldn't be Ryder; he was unconscious, meaning that unless he had made a huge cock-up and became a victim of his own prank, he wasn't the culprit. Plus, how the heck would a crippled boy get a pebble without large amounts of pain?

Mari and Ryder tiredly awoke, looking across to each other before the comment by Tai simultaneously registered in their minds, looks of surprise crossing their faces.

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**08:24 JST**_

"Those _stupid_ morons!" Chiyo cursed, sitting by the water's side in her pale purple pyjamas as she furiously scrubbed at her D-Vice's surface. She growled again at the difficulty of getting it off, DarkBiyomon looking to her with concern.

"Chiyo?" she asked, too quiet to be heard above the girl's irritation.

"You try to make friends with them, and look what they do," she scowled. "Bastards," she added, yawning out of exhaustion, tiredness and boredom from the task at hand as he head subsided, wanting simply to land itself in the water-rushed sand and scream as loud as possible in anger.

"Sorry," came a voice uncomfortably from behind, interrupting her rants.

"I hate the both of you," she scowled, turning bitterly to face the culprits, both of whom's tiredness had quickly been replaced with concern.

"It was just…a prank," Ryder noted, pushing himself up on his crutches which threatened to dig deep into the sand.

"But you knew it'd hurt!" Chiyo spat. "You re-coloured my D-Vice, do you know how painful that is as an idea?" she added.

"I know, but…" Mari began.

"I mean, do you think I'm happy to be a Demon?!" she spat. "Heck, I have the thought running through my mind right now to slit your throats and run to get your friends too, but I resist it, and this is the thanks I get?!" she continued, looks of surprise and horror on the Angels' faces at the concept as she flashed her (still mostly black) D-Vice at them.

"That's horrible," Mari noted.

"I know," Chiyo sighed, looking back to the water as she once again tried to get the paint off. "But the last thing I want is to be told I have to be like you," she added.

"We're not telling you to…"

"You all wonder why I'm so distant, so difficult to approach," she interrupted. "It's because every single minute of every flipping day I'm suppressing the urges to hurt you all, and it's painful," she continued, amazed by her sincerity. _"Maybe it is real sincerity," _a voice in her mind chirped, but she quickly suppressed it.

"Like when you see a train entering a station and wonder what'd happen if you jumped in front?" Ryder asked, before going on the defensive as the other two looked at him with a mix of shock and bewilderment, raising his palms slightly on his crutches. "Hey, I probably can't die; you have to excuse me for thinking that way!" he added.

"The "probably" bit is the bit I'm worried about," Mari noted, frowning before sighing. "Can I help clean the D-Vice at all?" she asked. Chiyo sighed, tapping its display and thankful to see it was fully grey still underneath. Unfortunately, when it returned to normal, it was black again.

"No," she sighed, realising that it'd be nigh-on-impossible to get multiple people around the D-Vice to clean it.

"Sorry again," Mari said sincerely.

"Mari, all these ideas are a bit…cruel," Ryder noted. "Shouldn't we quit while we're ahead?" he pondered.

"Hell no, I want to join in," Chiyo noted.

"Huh?" Ryder and Mari said together.

"You haven't got Kazu yet, and I'm not going to let the opportunity to get him be passed up," she decided.

"Well, do you have any ideas?" Mari asked curiously.

"I want to break his heart," Chiyo decided, a cruel smirk on her face.

"Haven't you already done that?" MiniDonmon asked.

"No, I mean properly," she elaborated.

"How?" Mari asked.

"I want to make him think I want to have a relationship with him, and play along and all, and then, just when he's revelling in his moment of happiness, just when I'm about to kiss him…BAM!"

"Well, you're lovely aren't you," Mari said sarcastically.

"This is coming from the girl who did this," Chiyo noted, flashing her D-Vice again, a few more grey patches showing through.

"Touché," Mari exclaimed with a slim smile.

"Terriermon would kill you for using one of his catchphrases like that, even if he _has _only just started using it," DarkRenamon noted, materialising.

"What do you care?" Ryder asked curiously.

"No reason," DarkRenamon replied, sitting as she joined the conversation.

"Hey, Chiyo, I've been wondering…what is it really like to be a Demon?" Ryder asked, deciding now was a good enough time as any to pop the question. "I mean, there must be some good bits to it…right?" he fished for ideas.

"What kind of powers do you have?" Mari rephrased.

"Well…" Chiyo began, uncomfortable as she questioned the merit of telling them about her powers, unconsciously scratching the back of her neck. "I'm not sure…if you really want to know," she noted with a frown.

"No, go on. I mean, how bad can they be?" Ryder said, voicing those too often fatal words that seemed to always bring destruction on anyone who said them.

"I can seduce any living being," she answered bluntly.

"Really?" Mari asked, cocking an eyebrow. That did seem like an odd power to have, particularly for a sixteen year old girl of all people.

"Yeah," Chiyo replied, nodding.

"Okay, maybe it's disturbing, but how exactly is it evil?" Mari asked curiously, Chiyo frowning before standing up to face her opposite in Angel terms (although powers didn't correlate like that). Mari looked on with concern, Ryder with bewilderment, before Chiyo's eyes glowed purple.

"SEDUCTION," she called, Mari's pupils flashing as a look of alarm crossed Ryder's face. Mari eyed Chiyo up and down with a smile that left Ryder in unease. It was a disturbing look on his girlfriend; particularly given she seemed to pause at curious moments when looking Chiyo over. He begun to ponder whether it was better to snap Mari out of her trance now before anything bad happened, or to wait and see exactly what these powers entailed. If Mari had been in the right mind, she would have doubted he was entirely thinking with his head there.

"Mari?" Ryder asked, deciding that he had to do something. The look she was giving Chiyo was weird, and Ryder had a feeling he knew why she was giving it. Mari failed to hear his voice, now staring into Chiyo's eyes longingly while Chiyo studied the girl's behaviour: her oblivious nature, her subtle movements towards the Demon – this was the kind of thing that she had become used to in many uses of her power.

"Mari," Chiyo said calmly yet forcefully, oddly snapping Mari out of her fantasy and coaxing a large red blush to her cheeks.

"Uh," she mumbled, chuckling uneasily. "Sorry, sorta phased out there," she noted, twitching her hands uncomfortably as she quickly diverted her glance.

"Mari, are you okay?" Ryder asked unsurely. Mari looked upon him with scorn, before answering harshly.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" she said, hoping Ryder would get the hint that this situation wasn't one she wanted interrupted. She was _this_ close, and…

"Mari," Ryder repeated. "You don't seem okay?" he noted.

"Shut up," she spat, laughing off her bad temper before turning back to Chiyo, unconsciously twisting her hair around her finger as she felt the warm feeling return at the sight of the attractive girl who she had for the first time managed to get so close to. "Now, what were we talking about?" she asked cheerfully.

"We were talking about how I want you to punch Ryder," Chiyo ordered, a slim smile on her face at the concept.

"Oh, no problem, I'd do anything for _you_," Mari said cheerfully, smiling nervously at the object of her affection. She turned quickly and threw her fist into the boy's chest. He stumbled back and fell to the ground sharply, a wide-eyed look of surprise on his face before he winced in pain. Mari's eyes flashed with concern in a moment of self-realisation, while Chiyo coolly watched, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Ryder reached for his crutches again, pushing himself back to his feet with difficulty and anger.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" Ryder yelled, both at his girlfriend and at the second Demon.

"I'm so sorry!" Mari apologised, still in shock at what she had done as her hand went to her gasping mouth. "I…I didn't mean it…you told me to…uh…sorry…" she apologised to Chiyo, worried that she'd done something wrong. Chiyo completely ignored her, instead explaining what she had done to Ryder, who looked to her with a confused expression.

"It's what the power of seduction does. Love is a powerful tool…well…calling it love is perhaps being a bit vague…lust is a better word…" Chiyo noted dryly, uncaring for the victims of her prank, pondering how Mari had followed her orders exactly. Even though it involved revealing her powers to them in the process, this had proved a perfect test bed for her ideas. Lust truly was a powerful force.

"Ugh…don't tell me you used that on Kazu?" Ryder asked, eyebrows rising as he loosely clutched his winded chest while balancing on the other crutch.

"I wish, because then at least it would wear off. Nope, he's just thinking with the wrong head," Chiyo noted, rolling her eyes about the visor-wearing Tamer. She turned to Mari, who had gone back to staring at her oddly. "Uh…can I help you?" she asked - a look of fear and unease in her eyes as she had a premonition of what was about to come.

"_I know she's__ probably evil, but…my god is she hot…" _Mari thought, not remotely in her normal state of mind. An idea flashed over her mind as she peered into the Demon's eyes, glancing over her face periodically. _"No, I can't do that…but…maybe it would make things work…but…uh…oh, what the hell!"_

Chiyo's fear was quickly brought to reality as Mari pressed her lips against the girl's, the lighter brunette pushing her tongue forward in the attempt to turn it into a deep kiss. She closed her eyes hopefully, praying to the gods she wasn't making a mistake.

A look of shock quickly materialised on DarkBiyomon, MiniDonmon and DarkRenamon's faces. Ryder wasn't sure how to react, staring at his girlfriend kissing another girl mere moments after telling him to shut up. This was beyond even soap operas. _"My life would make one helluva soap opera," _Ryder contemplated.

Mari wrapped her arms around the girl, wishing that this moment wouldn't end.

"Get the hell off me!" Chiyo growled in irritation, pushing the girl sharply off her before wiping her lips off. Mari stumbled back, a galled look crossing her face as she felt fit to cry.

"_What have I done?!" _she pleaded with herself. _"I ruined it…"_

"Ugh," Chiyo groaned. What the hell was the girl thinking?

"I'm…I'm sorry," Mari apologised nervously. "I…I thought you felt the same…" she began, before self-awareness flashed over her all of a sudden. She shook her head sharply, dizzy and confused from events. She clutched the sides of her head, trying to force the invading thoughts from her mind as she looked back up to Chiyo "What the hell have you done to me?" the real Mari asked.

"As I said, it's only a temporary thing, which I'm thankful for because otherwise I would probably have a thousand Kazus after me," Chiyo said to Ryder again. She wasn't yet comfortable with talking to Mari yet, given she still couldn't be sure if she was talking to the real Mari or the Mari who was infatuated with her.

"What did I do?" Mari asked, wondering whether the past few minutes really happened or were some disturbing dream. "Oh god, I…I kissed you…" she gasped, hand over her mouth.

"And you just proved why I don't like to use these powers," she added.

"You could've just told us!" Mari suggested, anger on her face.

"Yeah, but that wouldn't have been nearly as amusing, nor proved my point about all boys…" she noted with a smile, before looking to Ryder with a glare, which caused him to gulp in surprise. "Nice attempt at even thinking of intervening," she said bitterly.

"Heh, heh," Ryder chuckled uneasily. "Well, I would've stopped her, but…I was…um…in shock? And it all happened really fast too!"

Mari and Chiyo both rolled their eyes together, arms crossed.

"Well, I do have crutches!" Ryder noted in addition, defending himself against a losing battle. Hell, he doubted he would've won even if he were right.

"You are so transparent," Mari laughed.

"Pervert," Chiyo noted, a slim chuckle coming to her face.

"What's so funny?" MiniDonmon asked, confused by the strange turn of events.

* * *

_**Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**10:00 JST**_

"Last one to the beach is as rotten as one of Terriermon's jokes!" Kazu laughed, running out of the house towards the beach across the sand in his shorts, the peace and tranquillity of the island once again interrupted by loud-mouthed teenagers and their odd monsters.

"HEY!" Terriermon cursed from his spot on Henry's shoulder. He leapt onto his Tamer's head, gripping his hair as Henry looked up curiously, before wincing in pain as Terriermon pulled on it like a set of controls. "After him Henry-bot!" he called, gesturing forwards.

"Terriermon, that hurts!" Henry complained.

"Sorry," Terriermon said sarcastically. "Don't you want to get Kazu?"

"Not really, he's one of our friends," Henry replied.

"Has "friends" been redefined as "an intolerable jackass" since I last checked?" Chiyo noted, smiling as she watched them heading down to the beach for the first time that day, knowing she had something else to attend to before following.

"Hey, I think I'm going to like you," Terriermon said, agreeing with Chiyo's comment.

"And I hate you, so go cry like Kazu did," Chiyo replied harshly, turning and heading back towards the house.

"I would, but I don't have tear ducts," Terriermon joked. "Now after him horsy!" he said again, yanking Henry's hair and forcing the poor boy to continue walking.

"STOP IT!" Henry yelled. Takato laughed, running after to catch up with the others. He stopped at the sound of an unexpected voice.

"Takato, aren't you going to insist I come play with you and the others on the beach?" Rika asked, both surprised and mockingly as Takato headed off to the beach with the others. Takato turned to face her, noting with surprise she was already in her two piece bathing suit, an oddity since she hadn't been down the beach at all in the morning in the past few days.

"Uh…" Takato replied, noticing her teasing smile as he tried to get himself out of the situation (and avoid a probable nosebleed). "Well, I got the impression you didn't want to...and…uh…"

"I'm feeling a bit better now," Rika said as she walked up to him, before coming to a stop and gripping his hand encouragingly. "Plus, I had the most brilliant idea of drowning you," she added, Takato eyeing her with a mix of confusion and shock.

"I can't tell if you're joking or being serious," Takato replied.

"But I know you'll risk it anyway," Rika replied, smiling slyly.

"Uh…huh," Takato grunted, nodding and staring curiously at Rika's face periodically. She raised an eyebrow in bewilderment.

"Yes?" Rika asked, tapping her foot gently in irritation.

Takato turned red, laughing uncomfortably. "Uh, nothing!" he insisted. "Let's go to the beach," he added, beginning to walk in that direction. However, his movement was hindered when Rika gripped his hand tighter and refused to move.

"You've been acting pretty weird around me since yesterday," Rika commented, Takato turning to face her.

"Uh, yeah, so?" Takato asked.

"So you've noticed?" Rika asked.

"Um…yes?"

"Why?"

"I…don't know what you're talking about," Takato answered, more confused than ever about how on earth he would get out of this uncomfortable situation.

"Takato, I know that you're lying to me, and unless you tell me the truth, I'll grip your hand so hard your fingers will pop out of your skin," Rika noted, tightening her grip to show she wasn't joking.

"_Oh crap, what do I tell her?!" _Takato wondered, face flashing with alarm. _"Chaos, any ideas?"_

"_**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" **_

"_Oh come on, you have to help me!"_

"Let's see, by the fact you're obviously pleading to Chaos for an excuse, it's clearly something you don't want to tell me about…" Rika pondered out loud, eyeing his nervous form slyly as she continued to grip his hand. "Did you do something stupid?" she asked.

"No," he answered.

"Um…do you have something planned?"

"Uh…no," Takato replied. Well, it was a white lie.

"So what the hell is up with you?" Rika asked. "And what happened to "we're a couple", let's tell each other everything?"" she added.

"**Yes, what did happen to that, **_**Rika**_**?"** Chaos asked, adding his two yen to the conversation. Rika frowned when she got the gist of what he was talking about, sighing.

"Fine," she huffed. "Come on Takato, let's go drown you already," she added, dragging him towards the beach.

"Does that constitute a healthy relationship?"Mari whispered to Ryder as they sat on the floor of the home with Chiyo, the boy shrugging in response. His crutches lay nearby.

"No idea," he replied. "Speaking of relationships, Chiyo, are you sure you're okay with this prank?" he asked, looking to the girl curiously.

"Breaking Kazu's heart? I'm in any day," Chiyo said, smirking.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Mari asked.

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**10:10 JST**_

"Aw, what a lovely couple," Sora noted, looking at Rika and Takato smiling together for the first time in a while as they arrived at the beach, "holding" hands with each other, albeit rather more painfully than that concept would usually imply.

Kazu nodded, making a snide remark. "Yeah. So, when's the wedding?" he asked jokily. Rika clenched both fists, forcing an already blushing nervously Takato to turn an even brighter shade of red, albeit now in pain.

"Shut up Kazu," Rika said harshly.

"This is so ironic," Henry noted from where he lay on the sand.

"Yeah," Terriermon agreed, watching the scene.

"Huh? Why?" Jeri asked, sitting up and looking over at him curiously.

"Uh…nothing," Henry replied uncomfortably.

"You sound just like Takato," Terriermon whispered.

"Looks like whatever you told Takato in the end actually worked," Jeri noted, looking back over at the pair as Kazu fled in fear of an angered Rika. "Um, what did you tell him?" she asked.

"Just what you said," Henry replied.

"Hmm…" Jeri pondered, surprised that her words had had so much of an effect. How had Takato acted on them anyway? Then again, it could just be another of Rika's mood swings, for the better for once, although right now seeing her threaten Kazu, you wouldn't know it.

"Well, he's scared," Takato noted, watching as Kazu fled for his life.

"He should be. I mean, come on, what a stupid idea!" Rika asked, raising both eyebrows.

"I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it literally," Takato noted, now completely unsure. Maybe Henry was wrong after all?

"Still…" Rika mumbled, dismissing the thought and dragging Takato further down the beach. "Anyhow, I'm still planning to drown you," she noted.

"Okay, that relationship is definitely one of the weirdest I've ever seen, and I watch every soap opera going," Mimi noted, watching the pair.

"I hope she doesn't actually drown him," Palmon chirped.

"Yeah, what would we do with the body for starters?" Terriermon added morbidly, suddenly appearing behind them.

"Do you just sit around, waiting for a chance for a joke?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow at the dog-bunny.

"I have a joke-dar," Terriermon replied, grinning and raising his ears. "What else are these big ears for?"

"Knowing when to shut up?" Suzie suggested, her voice overflowing with irritation at how her brother's partner was interrupting her peaceful sunbathe.

"Touché!" Terriermon replied, smirking.

* * *

"Hey Kazu, you okay?" Kenta asked, finding his friend hiding behind a tree.

"My life just flashed before my eyes," Kazu noted, breathing deeply after the long run and the fear of being on the wrong end of Rika. Again.

"Was it brave and heroic?" Guardromon asked in his usual, slightly medieval tone.

"Yeah, of course!" Kazu insisted, smirking with his hands in fists.

"Pipipi!" MarineAngemon chirped.

"Yeah, as you said, "sure it was brave and heroic"," Kenta noted with a grin.

"Hey!" Kazu exclaimed. "If you're going to insult me, at least do it in a language I can understand," he added.

"So that leaves Japanese out of the equation," noted a new, feminine voice from nearby. Kazu paused in surprise, before reluctantly turning to face Chiyo, smiling to him slyly.

"_Great, another of the girls who would let go of my hand if I were dangling off a cliff," _Kazu thought glumly. "Oh god," he sighed. "Is it "everyone beat up on Kazu day" or what?" he added with a frown.

"Not exactly, but I'm sure that'll come eventually though," Chiyo noted, smiling still.

"Why are you here then?" Kazu asked, unsure why this girl was voluntarily going to see him. Did she enjoy his misery or something?

"To see you of course," she said cheerfully.

"Uh…" Kazu uttered, not sure how to deal with this bizarre girl who had replaced the usually harsh and evil Chiyo who he had somehow become infatuated with. "Wh…why are you smiling like that?" he asked unsurely. "Is this going to hurt?" he quickly added.

"Only if you're a glutton for punishment," Chiyo noted, striding towards him and preparing her hands. Kazu gulped, wanting to turn and run, but finding his legs paralysed as she walked towards him, wind gently blowing across her pale skin visible through her purple bikini. Reflecting on it, he'd realise that his paralysis was a mix of two different reasons, only one of which was fear.

Nonetheless, he strapped his eyes shut, and waited with baited breath for the inevitable…

…grabbing of the hand?

"_Is she going to toss me into the sea?" _he wondered, opening his eyes to note that Chiyo was holding his hand.

Chiyo was holding his hand.

Chiyo was holding his hand.

The concept flashed through Kazu's mind, part of it thinking that reality itself was failing and the other half being comfortable with the fact that it was. His face turned both red and white simultaneously, a mix of blushing and shock.

"I realised that I probably didn't even give you a second thought, and that you're probably a lot more than you seem," she noted, her voice oddly mature and seductive, something which forced any sinister intentions from Kazu's mind.

Kenta, all the while, watched, not really sure how to react. This sort of thing just didn't happen.

"If you'll leave us alone for a bit, we have to talk," she said, Kazu gulping. Was this really happening?

"_Hell, who gives a crap if this _is_ a dream, it's a good one!"_ he thought, grinning.

"Well, okay," Kenta noted, turning and uncomfortably leaving his friend to what was either a wolf or a bunny. Hopefully only metaphorically.

"Go on Guardromon," Kazu said to his partner, the rust-coloured android doing an approximation of a nod.

"Certainly Kazu," he said gallantly. "And good luck with the lady," he added, nodding again to the girl who smiled slyly back.

"Pipipi!" MarineAngemon agreed, before the pair followed Kenta away.

"Now, Kazu, let's talk," Chiyo said, turning and smiling to the boy.

* * *

"Is it ready?" Mari asked, turning to the boy who watched his partner furiously shovelling sand into a large wet pit.

"Not yet," Ryder answered, Mari frowning.

"There's not much time left. How are we going to get him over here anyway?" she asked, looking at the sky and pondering.

"No idea, but I'm sure if we distract him enough in conversation, it'll work," Ryder replied.

"What do we even talk to him about? I don't think I've ever talked to him properly before," Mari noted.

"No idea," Ryder noted. He frowned as a silence descended between them, broken only by the sound of sand spluttering down into the pit nearby.

A slim smile came to Ryder's face as he contemplated something.

"You know, I thought _you_ were the jealous one, and I was the one who accidentally ended up kissing the wrong girls," Ryder noted with a teasing grin.

"Hey, I'm straight! I mean, hello? This is coming from my boyfriend of all people!" Mari said, eyes widening in bewilderment, before a smug smile crossed her face as a thought occurred to her. "Evidently however, you weren't jealous enough to stop me. Then again, a boy's girlfriend in a lesbian kiss with another attractive girl who he's also kissed. You know what, I don't think you were jealous at all," Mari replied dryly, crossing her arms.

"Okay, you've got me there, but my other point was true, about kissing the wrong girls," Ryder restated, laughing nervously at her point.

"Well, I'll give you that one, even if the word "wrong" suggests I would do it anyhow," Mari noted, a slim smile on her face at how pathetically he'd tried to get himself out of the situation he had unfortunately landed himself right in the middle of. Ryder, in response, frowned.

"Mari, doesn't it worry you that there's a girl in our group who can make us do things like that?" Ryder asked with a concerned look on his face.

"It does worry me a bit, but I genuinely think she wants to change, and that's not just the seduction talking, before you suggest it."

"I wasn't going to," Ryder insisted.

"Hmm…this has got to be one of the strangest situations I've ever landed myself in," Mari noted. "That seduction is powerful stuff, and it's a lot more powerful than any normal attraction. She made me do something I'd never even consider doing…did you just frown?"

"No, stop being so suspicious."

"Fine," Mari huffed. "But the thing is, she did seem really reluctant to use it at first. It was like she didn't want us to think wrong of her."

"Yeah, it must be really tough for her," Ryder noted. "Although, I'm surprised she doesn't take advantage of the chance to get _any _guy she wants," he added.

"She's a bit young for that," Mari noted. "And maybe she doesn't want that? I mean, what's the point of getting a guy if all that happens is that it wears off a short while after?"

"Hmm…good point. She seems to enjoy more inflicting pain on others."

"What, you mean like burying you and where she is right now, torturing Kazu?"

"Exactly. That isn't exactly normal behaviour."

"I think she just wants to join in."

"Hmm…"

"You're right that it must be difficult for her though given the voices in her head always telling her to kill us. She's obviously in a lot of pain from that, and that's a bit of a disincentive to be friends with us, but she looks like she wants to fight it." Like, when she was burying you yesterday…"

"Ah, six words that occur in every healthy relationship," Ryder noted sardonically.

"Anyway, when she was burying you yesterday, she really looked like she was enjoying it."

"Well duh!" Ryder said, giving his girlfriend a bewildered look.

"No, I mean, like she was enjoying having friends. She doesn't act like she's had any real friends before, probably not helped by her Demonhood, and we're obviously helping her move on and resist the constant voices in her head," Mari noted. "I really think we have to give her a chance," she finished.

"Hmm…" Ryder pondered. "Hey, does this make up for…"

"No."

"Well, was worth a shot," Ryder sighed. "So, we've now both kissed the same girl. Yeah, I think my life has officially gotten weird, and I'm rather surprised I'm not enjoying it. A while back, I'd have loved this concept."

"Aw, one girl not enough for you?" Mari teased.

"You know what I mean," Ryder replied with a smile. "Once I would've described my relationship status as Single with Crush. Now, I wouldn't know what to say."

"What about…Taken?" Mari asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah, you're right there. I was thinking more along the lines of "JUST DON'T ASK!""

"It's catchier than "it's complicated" at least," Mari noted.

"Still, it's nice to have someone for once," Ryder said, smiling to Mari. "Even if both of us seem to end up with others accidentally or purposefully more often than not," he added.

"Aw, I love you too," Mari replied, the pair kissing, albeit quite awkwardly thanks to the crutches. Mari grinned upon pulling away, an amusing comment occurring in her mind. "Yeah, you're definitely a better kisser."

"I would say "thanks", but then again, Chiyo did appear basically to clamp her teeth shut."

"Studying closely were we?"

"Only so much as I was in shock…and slightly attracted I'll admit…"

"At least it was me involved and not some other random girl like usual."

"Yeah."

"Hmm, I can tick that off my list of "wild insane things I was out of my mind to do and will never ever do again," at least I suppose," Mari noted, pondering.

"I would try to avoid having a list like that, I couldn't cover all the bizarre things life seems to make me do," Ryder replied with a smile.

"You couldn't exactly do a list of "things to do before you die", could you?"

"Rather morbid methinks."

"Yeah well, if I'm going to be honest Ryder, I'm split on whether I want you to be immortal or not," she noted, Ryder looking to her curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"Done," Donmon said, finally finishing and wiping his forehead with the back of his claw.

"I'll explain some other time," Mari concluded, turning to face the dragon Digimon sitting alongside a large circular patch of sand, slightly darker in colour than the rest. Ryder blew a whistle of appreciation, while Mari put her hands on her hips as she inspected it closely from above.

"And why exactly couldn't you free me from where I was buried again?" Ryder joked, Donmon smiling.

"Aw, forget about that will you?" he asked.

"Yeah, because this looks perfect," Mari noted. "Let's hope it works," she added.

"He is approaching," DarkRenamon said, materialising alongside them where they stood under some trees in the forest that overlaid the dunes near the beach.

"Let's get moving then," Ryder said to Mari, the girl nodding as Ryder pushed himself up on his crutches properly again. The pair headed out towards the beach, knowing the plan they had would end amusingly.

* * *

"Okay, that was weird," Kenta reflected unsurely, not sure how to react to Chiyo's amorous advances towards his best friend. Something was wrong here, and he couldn't quite put his finger on why. Was he meant to snap Kazu out of it? But what if it was real? He didn't want to risk wrecking his friend's first ever chance at a relationship.

"Kenta, what's up?" came a voice, Kenta looking up to see Ryder and Mari walking towards him, the former with crutches as always (well, at least for most of the time he had been in this world).

"You look a bit…worried," Mari noted, echoing her boyfriend's sentiment as she looked over him with faux concern.

"Well, I'm more confused than worried," Kenta explained. "All of a sudden, Chiyo just turned up and is now treating Kazu like she wants to get together with him."

"Shouldn't you be happy for him?" Mari asked, as the pair began to guide Kenta towards their trap.

"Yeah, I mean, Kazu must be over the moon right now," Ryder added.

"Yeah, but Chiyo's never shown anything towards him," Kenta explained. "So something is really weird here," he added.

"Maybe it's this peaceful getaway to Okinawa that's allowed her to think things through?" Mari noted.

"Yeah. I mean, he may be a jerk, and she may be a cow, and both may be more different than even Takato and Rika, but look at how they made their relationship work."

"Such a polite way of putting things," Mari mocked.

"Thanks," Ryder replied, grinning.

Kenta finally glanced around, curious at why they were walking through the forest for some reason. "Why are we going this way?" he asked, a bewildered look on his face.

"Oh…" Mari began, not sure how to continue and looking across to Ryder to take the baton and run with it. Ryder paused unsurely, before suddenly grinning as an idea occurred to him.

"Davis hurt himself while surfing, so we need MarineAngemon to help him heal faster," Ryder said. "So this is a shortcut back there," he added.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's hurry!" Kenta said, running ahead of the others, who stopped to watch their plan work perfectly.

Kenta's foot landed in the wet sand, and got stuck. Then, while trying to free that foot, his other foot got stuck, and the pair began to sink as his eyes widened in alarm.

"What?!" he exclaimed in surprise, looking around to Mari and Ryder who watched with smiles on their faces. "Hey, you guys, help!" he pleaded, Ryder and Mari walking towards him and making it look like they were about to help…

…until they walked straight past him on either side.

"What, aren't you going to help me get out?!" Kenta asked in surprise, struggling to turn and face them. Ryder turned on his crutches, grinning widely.

"Call it revenge," he noted coolly, Mari nodding in agreement before the pair turned, walking away from him while his knees became submerged.

"Oh great," he grumbled, looking up to MarineAngemon and Guardromon, hoping they'd help him get out. MarineAngemon furiously sent bubbles towards the boy, which only succeeded in deepening his placement further.

Guardromon reached out, knowing that he could probably try to save the Tamer, but he paused when he heard a shrill scream.

"Someone is in danger!" he said gallantly, swooping off into the sky and completely ignoring the person who was _actually_ in danger.

"Oh great," Kenta sighed.

* * *

"_Oh my god, this is really happening, this is really happening…heh, do I sound like Chumley or what?"_

"_This is easier than I thought it would be."_

Kazu glanced aside, smiling as Chiyo continued to hold his hand, the pair strolling along the beach, the sun and waves gently both crashing against it. Everything was so perfect. This couldn't be happening. It was just too…perfect. But it was. He was walking along a beach, hand in hand with a beautiful girl in a bikini who seemed to want him to be in a relationship with him. He half-expected to wake up, but he didn't.

"_Finally, something good is happening to me,"_ Kazu thought, smiling as he looked back to where they were going.

"You know, when I met you, I thought you were a complete jerk, but I suppose it took a lot of guts to ask me out."

"Yeah, it really hurt when you turned me down," Kazu said with a frown.

"Sorry, but I was in a really bad place. I mean, my parents had just died, and you were some idiot, turning up randomly to ask me out on a date," she noted, amazed by how convincing her release of emotions was.

"I know, and I'm sorry for that," Kazu noted. "I suppose I was just amazed by how attractive you are," he complimented.

"You're not very tactful, but to be honest, I couldn't put up with some nervous guy like Takato or one of the others. I'd be like "GET ON WITH IT" all the time when they were muttering and trying to figure out what they should say."

"Thanks, that's probably the best compliment I've ever got," Kazu noted with a slim smile.

"Bit sad to know I'm the first," Chiyo said, smiling. "But it won't be the last," she added, stopping and holding both of his hands as she stared into his eyes, the light gently lighting her body as Kazu began to wonder whether he had died and gone to heaven. Then again, if this was heaven, it wasn't that bad.

"Yeah, hopefully," he noted, as he looked curiously at his face, doing her best approximation of a longing look and pursing her lips. _"Um…do I kiss her?" _he pondered, not sure how to react.

"_Working like a charm," _Chiyo reflected, smiling. Her smile changed to a playful smirk as he looked at her in confusion. "Hurry up and kiss me already," she prompted, a look of surprise crossing his face before he nodded.

"Okay," he said enthusiastically, moving towards her and the pair pressing lips against one another. _"Oh…my…god…I'm kissing an amazingly hot girl, in her bikini, on a beach, she likes me back, this is so perfect!" _he thought.

"_And now to burst his bubble," _Chiyo thought, smirking as he began to move his tongue forwards. She moved back, only, it wasn't her tongue.

Kazu screamed loudly in pain and gripped his crotch as Chiyo retracted her knee. He looked at her in horror, falling back to the sand with a splat. She stood, laughing loudly at him while he gripped his crotch and looked up at her with a betrayed expression.

"Seriously, you are SO gullible," she noted, continuing to laugh.

"But…like…kiss…hot…amazing…perfect…" he mumbled in between groans of pain.

"Incoherent, just like all boys in love. And in case you want to know why I did it, it was to get revenge both on my behalf and on Ryder's, so smell ya later Kazu," she joked, wandering away from him down the beach. "Hopefully a lot later," she muttered, wiping her lips as DarkBiyomon followed her.

"Kazu, are you heroic in love conquest?" Guardromon asked, flying over to his Tamer enthusiastically. His enthusiasm quickly dampened when he saw the look on his Tamer's face. "What is wrong young Kazu?" he asked. "Where is Chiyo?" he added.

"I hate that cow," Kazu cursed, pressing himself to his feet, still clutching his crotch. "Oh, why can't I ever get anywhere in love?" he asked.

"Oh well, I am sure you will succeed in romantic conquest one day," Guardromon encouraged.

"I sure hope so, because right now Chumley is beating me at it, and that's not a position I like to be in," Kazu sighed, frowning and listening to the soft crash of waves against the sand while trying to drown out the pain surging through his groin. "Guardromon, am I really a jerk?" he asked, looking to his partner.

"Uh…" Guardromon began, not sure how to respond. "No Kazu, whatever made you think that. You are the greatest Tamer in existence!" he replied gallantly.

"_Probably not the right person to ask,"_ Kazu thought glumly.

* * *

"Ugh, two unwanted kisses in the same day," Chiyo groaned. "I'd wash my mouth out with saltwater if it didn't taste so horrible," she added, frowning. "Still, it was worth it to get Kazu," she added with a smile.

"You looked like you enjoyed it," DarkBiyomon noted.

Chiyo stopped, glaring at her partner. "DarkBiyomon, you know that I don't enjoy having to work with the others," she insisted, wagging a finger harshly. "But getting revenge on them is fun, I'll give you that," she added.

"Hmm…" DarkBiyomon mumbled. "Okay," she said reluctantly, before Chiyo turned, the pair continuing to walk along the beach.

"I know what you're implying, so drop it, okay," Chiyo said harshly, not looking at her partner.

"But you seem to enjoy being friends with them, that's all I'm saying," DarkBiyomon defended herself.

"Well…I don't, okay?" Chiyo insisted, hesitating.

"Okay," DarkBiyomon sighed. _"I just hoped you'd changed," _she thought sadly.

* * *

_**19:04 JST**_

"HELLO!" Kenta bellowed, up to his shoulders in the sand and unable to get help because no-one could understand MarineAngemon. The sky had taken on an orange hue and the light was fading. "ANYONE?!" he asked.

"Pipipi," MarineAngemon chirped sadly, his ears dampening as he watched his Tamer.

"Great…" Kenta said sardonically. "This is what I get for assisting Kazu," he noted, before hearing a bleeping sound from the sand below. His eyes widened in surprise. "A Digimon?!" he asked, recognising the noise as a mist begun to settle.

"Pipipi!" MarineAngemon chirped in alarm.

"Yeah, great timing," Kenta said sarcastically. "What do I do?" he worried, looking into the mist as a geyser rose through it, a silhouette appearing soon after. The mist quickly dropped, the figure stepping out into the rapidly cooling evening, heating it up slightly with the frames bracing his deep blue humanoid form. Unlike a normal humanoid, he had four arms, and three faces, the secondary two obscured in shadow either side of his central face. Other than flames, his muscular form was lit also by golden braces, jewellery and red cloth, including one piece that obscured his white eyes from easy vision.

"Boy," he said forebodingly in a deep voice.

"Uh…I'm armed!" Kenta warned, but it was an empty threat. MarineAngemon readied himself to attack, the beast looking at him with scorn.

"It is not you I am here for," Asuramon noted. "I am here to find Ryder Stevens," he added.

"Why are people always looking for him?" Kenta questioned bewilderingly.

"He seems to be a major figure, and I wish to battle and destroy him," Asuramon answered. "I also have a message to deliver on the behalf of the Sovereigns."

"Do you have an explanation for the last one too? I think we're all still confused by it," he added.

"Stop wasting time, and tell me what I need to know," Asuramon scowled.

"What do you need to know?" Kenta asked nervously.

"You will tell me where Ryder Stevens is, now!" Asuramon ordered.

"Well, I would point you in the right direction, but I'm kind of stuck," Kenta noted, struggling to move his arms under the sand. _"All thanks to the same Ryder Stevens…" _he thought bitterly.

"Hold still," Asuramon said, Kenta looking on horrified as he balled flames around his hands. "FIRE CRYSTAL SHIVA!" he roared, fireballs shooting forth. Kenta closed his eyes, waiting for the pain.

Oddly, this pain was rather warm and all around him too. He opened his eyes fearfully, before noticing the sand had vanished, its form burst into data.

"Uh, thanks," he said nervously, pushing himself out of the hole.

"Now I have helped you, you shall tell me what I need to know," Asuramon demanded.

"Sorry bud, but even if Ryder did play a prank on me, I'm not ratting on him like that," Kenta insisted.

"So be it," Asuramon growled, anger crossing his face as flames balled in his three mouths.

"Uh…oh…" Kenta muttered.

"MULTIPLE FACES!" Asuramon roared, flames shooting out of all three and twisting like homing missiles towards the boy.

"KAHUNA WAVES!" MarineAngemon chirped, a red heart enshrouding and protecting his Tamer, who breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," he said, MarineAngemon nodding. Kenta lifted his D-Arc from his shorts to analyse his new foe. "Asuramon, Vaccine Type, Ultimate Level, attacks Fire Fist of Shiva, Multiple Faces and Fire Crystal Shiva," he noted. _"Great, we really need to get a data type. That problem comes back to haunt us once again," _he thought. _"I really don't want to fight now either, I'm too tired…"_ he added mentally, wanting to yawn but knowing it would just look odd given their current situation.

"You annoying little pest!" Asuramon scowled. "Be gone! FIRE FIST OF SHIVA!" he roared, his fist flying forward towards the fairy.

"KAHUNA WAVES!" MarineAngemon cried again, his now blue hearts colliding with the fist and forcing Asuramon to roar in pain and retract it.

"Run!" Kenta called, MarineAngemon launching one final volley of hearts to distract the beast.

"KAHUNA WAVES!" he called, the hearts going into the humanoid's eyes, Asuramon scowling in pain as his hand went to the area of them.

"Now we run," Kenta repeated, the pair turning and pacing away from the monster.

Asuramon frowned, watching the pair blur into the distance. _"I shall bide my time,"_ he thought, sinking back into the fog.

Kenta looked down at his D-Arc, noting how the compass had all of a sudden stopped. He paused, looking back to where he had come from.

"He's gone?" he asked MarineAngemon.

"Pipipi," MarineAngemon said, uncertainty in his tone. Kenta yawned, stretching as sand fell off his clothes and body.

"Great," Kenta sighed. "Now no-one will believe me. Well, let's just hope he won't be coming back," he noted, turning and heading back towards the house.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And so we come to the end of a long series of rather cruel and unusual pranks. Only one or two more chapters left in this Okinawa story arc, and then I'll be away for writing for a week and a half from Wednesday due to a holiday. Ah well, I need a break anyhow. I'll probably try and put up an extra chapter of Stratagems beforehand or something. I'll try to complete the next two chapters of this Book before I go away, but I'm not promising anything.

Until next time…


	40. The Trick To Even More Messages

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 34**

_The Trick to Even More Messages_

* * *

**FRIDAY, 27****TH**** AUGUST 2010**

* * *

_**Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**00:01 JST**_

"Hmm…"

Asuramon peered over the home from his hiding spot behind some bushes; over the several Tamers sleeping, over their Digimon partners snoring, and considered the merits of getting the battle over with now before he exploded in impatience.

"_But as I know from the Cult of Victory, that is not the way to fight them. Indeed, I do not need to fight all of them, only this Ryder child," _he thought, looking over the home.

The particular boy in question was as fast asleep as his peers, snoring rather loudly as his crutches lay near his legs. MiniDonmon had attempted to steal a section of the cover before falling asleep himself, and the sleeping form of two Renamon could be seen in the darkness behind by the Wizard.

"_I am sure I will fail if I attack them all, but the status of this Ryder child plagues my interest. Why would I need to deliver such a message to him?" _the demon pondered. _"And why do the Sovereigns continue to send others to contact him, even at the risk we will kill the child after delivering the message?"_

Asuramon's eyes on his main face were drawn to a pair of metal implements by the boy.

"_Hmm…he appears already injured, which puzzles me even more. The Sovereigns do act in unusual ways at times, but I can see no reasoning behind this. Nonetheless, I shall not complain, since it has allowed me to get my wish of fighting a Tamer. Even if I fail, it will be a curious battle to see," _he pondered, before vanishing into the night once again.

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**11:38 JST**_

"I'm really starting to hate sunbathing," Ryder commented, a frown on his face as he opened his eyes under his sunglasses. "I never liked it in the first place, I always get burnt…" he noted.

"Yeah, but you're wearing sun-screen, so what's the problem?" Mari asked, turning her head from a book she was reading, to face him through her shades. He lay on a nearby towel on the beach, not entirely by choice. The pair were a fair distance from the others, the potential for being sand blasted by Terriermon or buried by the others (particularly by those who they had pranked in return) not an appealing concept to them.

"I'm bored," Ryder replied. "And I can't do anything fun because of the crutches…in fact, ditch the "fun" part, I can't do _anything_ at all," he complained.

"Well, you sure can make me bored of your complaining," Mari replied with an irritated tone. "Why not go for a walk or something?" she suggested, glancing down to MiniDonmon sleeping calmly on the sand nearby.

"Walk, or desperate fight against the sand which threatens to steal my crutches from me?" Ryder asked.

"Just go for a walk already," Mari insisted, turning back to face the sky and closing her eyes.

"Well, I suppose it'll at least get my mind off things," Ryder replied, rolling over onto his front before grabbing his crutches and pushing himself to his feet. He sighed at the continual use of the pair of devices that were meant to make mobility easier, but in fact made it ten times worse. Well, probably not compared to his damaged legs. "MiniDonmon," he called, looking down to his sleeping, bat-like partner. "MiniDonmon," he repeated, having no effect on the sleeping bat. "Oh come on," he sighed, preparing to use his crutches to wake up his partner.

"Meh, just let him rest," Mari suggested, sighing. "If anything happens, scream like a girl," she added with a sly grin.

"Wow, that fills me with confidence," Ryder replied, grinning in response before awkwardly moving in with his crutches for a kiss. Once it was over with, he turned around and began to make his way along the beach. _"Worst…holiday…ever…"_ he thought.

* * *

_**Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**11:39 JST**_

"Takato, please, just go down the beach and have fun," Rika insisted, back into a bad mood where they sat on the threshold of the home. Takato refused to move, continuing to shake his head in response to her insistence.

"No," he stated.

"Look, I've been through this a thousand times. I don't want to ruin your holiday, so go have fun," Rika repeated.

"Only if you come with," Takato replied, Rika by now being very irritated by how stubborn he was being (and not noticing the irony that she was being equally stubborn).

"I just want to stay here and think," Rika sighed. Takato went to put his arm round her, but hesitated, his imagination at work as she eyed in weirdly. "Hey, what's up?" she asked, noticing how he had frozen.

Takato turned to the sound of her voice, shaking a thought from his mind. "Sorry, just had a disturbing thought," he noted, unconsciously staring at her hands, one particular finger specifically. He promptly looked up to Rika's face, noting her mix of disgust and bewilderment conveyed with a simple raise of the eyebrows. "Not _that_ kind of disturbing thought," he added quickly, hands going up defensively.

"Hmm…" Rika pondered, probing deeply into his eyes. "Then what?" she asked.

"Uh…nothing, don't worry…seriously, nothing…nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing…"

"TAKATO, STOP REPEATING "NOTHING"!" Rika yelled in his ear, which his hand covered to protect against the noise. "Sorry," she mumbled as he shook his head in dizziness.

"Sorry," he replied.

"Now, something is really bugging you, so you either tell me and we talk about it, and then go down the beach together, or you go down the beach alone, okay?" Rika said forcefully.

"Um…okay…" Takato replied, his mind quickly fishing for an excuse. He couldn't tell her _that_: she would probably be thrown for a loop before killing Terriermon, and probably Henry too if she wasn't feeling too charitable. It would also ruin the surprise greatly for her if he were ever to act on it. Then again, Kazu had mentioned it the day before. _"No, that could only make things worse…the last thing she wants me to do is to listen to Kazu…" _he thought._ "And Kazu's in a bad enough mood already after what happened yesterday, he doesn't need to be killed as well," _Takato continued to ponder. Rika grabbed his shoulders, shaking him from his trance harshly.

"Takato, tell me what the hell you're thinking," she insisted.

"I'm not sure how to put this…" Takato began, an odd look of fear flashing across Rika's eyes at those words. _"Wait…that was probably the WORST way to start saying that, particularly given her past…"_

"Yes?" she asked, her forceful tone replaced by a reluctant one.

Takato quickly shook his head, deciding that even going down the beach alone was better than telling her. "Don't worry, Terriermon just made a stupid suggestion and it keeps bugging me," he noted, shrugging and knowing glancing down nervously and knowing that not telling her would leave him in the doghouse for a while, so to speak.

Rika looked at him curiously, before a thought occurred to her, a disgusted look growing onto her face as Takato fearfully awaited whatever she would say next. "Takato, don't tell me you seriously contemplated something Terriermon said about us having sex at some point?" she said, Takato glancing up with alarm at her assumption.

"Uh…" Takato mumbled, not sure how to reply to the left-field remark.

"Just ignore him, okay," Rika said, feeling like she was telling a child to avoid a bully in the playground. "Seriously, I don't get how Henry puts up with him all the time," she added, rolling her eyes and looking back to Takato with a smile.

"Yeah, me neither…" Takato dumbly agreed, his mind still stricken with confusion from the assumption Rika had made. _"Did…did I just get away with that?" _he pondered. _"That…that wasn't exactly…wait, why on earth would she think Terriermon said that? No, wait, I'm forgetting, this _is_ Terriermon we're talking about here: he could've said anything, from the most perverse to the least tactful…and a whole range of things in-between that I'd never even want to think about."_

"I don't think I even want to know exactly what he said," Rika remarked, before standing up and offering her hand to Takato, who paused, still in confusion as he looked at it dumbly. "Well, I suppose I have to come have fun with you then," she said sarcastically as he took her hand. "Yeah, great, having fun, wonderful!" she added, a mocking tone in her voice as she pulled him to his feet.

"_**HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET OUT OF THAT ONE?!"**_

"_No idea."_

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**11:56 JST**_

"And so my life continues to be a chain of unfortunate events sandwiched between misery and stupid mistakes," Ryder said pessimistically, driving his crutches into the sand once again. "First I accidentally make MiniDonmon real, then I get dragged into the Digital World, then this world, then I fall out with Mari, then Mari nearly dies, then I have to kill someone, then I die, then I kiss Ivy somehow, then I die, then I wake up and fall out with Mari _again_, then I end up with crutches, then I get buried and then I'll probably die again for good measure. This is a textbook tragedy if I ever saw one, yet somehow it's amazingly amusing," Ryder ranted. "For others at least," he added with a sigh.

He paused, the beach not even listening to his ranting as the waves relentlessly continued to bash against the shore.

"I was meant to have finished my GCSE exams by now, but hell if I can remember any part of them. Let's see, French…I am called Ryder Stevens…wait, what the hell? Even things _I_ say in French get translated into English…" he continued to ramble. "When did my life stop making sense?" he asked, rolling his eyes at reality. He sighed, looking upwards with a frown to the bright blue skies, only broken by one or two solitary clouds. "Yeah, like you're going to answer me back," he said to the clouds. "God, I'm going insane," he sighed, putting one hand to his forehead periodically before remembering to grab the rapidly falling crutch. He stumbled slightly, irritated by how he was greatly limited by devices that were meant to help him.

"What a shame, because I was hoping for a proper battle," came a deep, harsh voice from nearby. Ryder snapped back to reality, turning to face another figure nearby on the sand.

"Oh, wonderful timing," Ryder said sarcastically, pushing himself up on crutches. He frowned, recognising the figure distantly. Knowing that he didn't have enough time to reminisce about the TV show right now, he looked to his D-Vice, frowning at the lack of data. The words **Name Required** blinked on the screen, Ryder realising that he needed MiniDonmon to do anything right now. "Great…" he sighed sarcastically. "As if things couldn't get any worse," he added.

"You seem depressed," the demon commented.

"Well, being confronted by a Digimon who wants a battle when I don't have my Digimon and hence can't get any information on who you are without your name isn't exactly life-affirming," Ryder sighed.

"Asuramon," the Digimon replied.

"Uh…thanks, I guess," Ryder replied, eyebrows raising in surprise as the name registered on his D-Vice. "Asuramon, Vaccine Type, Ultimate Level, attacks Fire Fist of Shiva, Multiple Faces and Fire Crystal Shiva," he read. "Wait, aren't you the guy that Kenta said vanished into data?" he asked, alarm on his face as he recalled what Kenta had told him privately the previous evening.

"That child," Asuramon scowled. "I assisted him to escape from his trap, and all he did to repay me was to attack me."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Ryder laughed nervously. "But, if you want a battle, I'll need my partner, so can we reschedule?" he asked with a smile, beginning to move away from the Digimon.

"FIRE CRYSTAL SHIVA!" Asuramon roared, a flame barely missing Ryder and making him pause in his tracks, knowing that escaping would be impossible.

"Apparently not," Ryder sighed.

"I have come to fight you, not your puppet," Asuramon declared.

"Well, I can't really put up much of a fight," Ryder replied, lifting a crutch up in demonstration. "I could argue with you for a while if you want a battle of wits?" he suggested. "Or Chess? Chess is good…chess is fun…or at least, better than getting killed," he rambled.

"Nonetheless, I believe you will find a way to fight back," Asuramon continued, clutching his fists.

"How?!" Ryder asked, surprised. "What, am I going to make the sand rise up and attack you? The pebbles? Or will I push you in the sea…wait, that one could actually work…if you weren't so heavy," he mooted.

"Was that a joke about my weight?"

"You're worse than Mari."

"Ah, the Mari girl you speak of. They spoke of her too, although I am uncertain of in what context they meant."

"Wait, what?" Ryder asked, surprised at the reference. "Who did?!" he added.

"Those who gave me the message I have brought for you in return for allowing me to come to this world and fight you," he said, with a frown. "Personally, I would have preferred only to do the latter."

"Who are they?" Ryder asked in surprise, gritting his teeth. "Was there a return address?" he added, a morbid joke considering the circumstances.

"Do you wish to hear this message or not?" Asuramon boomed.

"Well, so long as I don't have to call answer phone. You guys _could_ write these down, you know," Ryder noted, irritation in his voice. Another message? What were the Sovereigns trying to tell him?

"Silence, I wish to fight as soon as possible, and your stalling tactic is wasting my time," Asuramon continued to command.

"You know, that's actually not a half bad idea," Ryder mumbled.

"The message is as follows: "she is coming for you, and she will be here as soon as she can." That is all," Asuramon quoted, Ryder's eyes widening in alarm.

"Ivy?!" he blurted.

"Who is this Ivy you speak of?" Asuramon asked. An angered look crossed Ryder's face.

"Okay, you tell me right now what is really going on here!" he commanded. "I am sick of people being so cryptic, tell me what the hell is going on!" he continued.

"I am not privy to those details," Asuramon replied, preparing his fists.

"The Sovereigns keep sending me messages, and I have no idea why. What on earth do they want? TELL ME!" the boy roared, anger and betrayal flashing across his brown pupils as he stared on determinedly.

"I DO NOT KNOW!" Asuramon roared, fists burning with flames. "Now we fight," he said, closing all his eyes before slamming one fist against the other, flames coursing from one to the other.

"Wait!" Ryder ordered, losing his grip on the situation. "I have to know, who really sent this message?!" he pleaded. "PLEASE!" he screamed, tears of exhaustion and pain gathering at the edge of his eyes.

"FIRE FIST OF SHIVA!" Asuramon called, throwing his flaming fists forwards at the boy.

"RETCON!" Ryder screamed, the attack sliding just past his face as he felt his grip on his crutches and on reality weaken. Asuramon growled, turning to face his foe again after running past.

"So you can fight!" he roared. "Then do so!" he added, raising his blazing fists again.

Ryder felt too weak after the overpowering use of his ability to shout back. "Why do you want to fight me?" he asked quietly.

"Hmph," Asuramon replied. "I am curious as to why you are so important in all this, beyond your status as an Angel," he explained.

"So you're going to find out by fighting me?!" Ryder asked, eyes bulging in disbelief. "Why not just ask me?!" he added.

"Because somehow you have survived all those who have wished to kill you, and I want to prove it is more than chance," he explained, his mouths glowing with fire. "This is the end of conversation," he decided. "MULTIPLE FACES!" he roared, streams of fire coursing out of his three mouths and homing towards the boy.

"RETCON!" Ryder screamed, feeling his crutches drop to the ground out of his weak hands. The fire scraped past his head, heading for the forest behind, which exploded in a cacophony of fire. "Great," he mumbled weakly and sarcastically as he crouched under the rapidly smoke-laden air, before falling to his front.

* * *

_**12:02 JST**_

"So peaceful without him around…" Mari sighed happily, looking at the sky still and hearing nothing but the roar of the sea against the sand, the wind rustling through the trees and the distant laughter of the other Tamers. "God, I make it sound like we're a really jaded couple. Then again, he could complain less," she mumbled. "Still, I'll make up for it later by taking him to the sea or something," she noted with a smile.

A distant explosion interrupted the peace.

Mari sat straight up, lifting the sunglasses from her face.

"Uh…oh…" she murmured, as DarkRenamon realised above her. She quickly stood up, gripping her card pack from nearby and hooking it onto the lower part of her bikini. _"Not exactly ideal battling clothes, but they'll have to do," _she thought, clutching a card in her hand. "**DIGI-MODIFY**…Digivolution Activate!" she called, the card sliding through her wrist-mounted D-Vice.

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**DarkRenamon Digivolve to…Youkomon!**

Mari looked to her nine-tailed fox partner, about to board before pausing to glance at the still-sleeping MiniDonmon below. She contemplated waking him up, but decided against it. She grabbed onto her partner's fur, twisting herself over onto the dark Kitsune's back. "Hurry," she said, as Youkomon began to gallop towards the source of the explosion.

* * *

_**12:03 JST**_

"So pathetic," Asuramon roared, looking down at the fallen form of his opponent. "I am surprised you have survived this long."

"I usually have MiniDonmon to help," Ryder noted, rolling onto his back weakly so he could at least see his opponent. He pushed his hands against the sand, hoping he could find some way to his feet.

"Then you are useless," Asuramon decided. "Goodbye," he said, flames materialising in his hands, before noticing that Ryder was looking over his shoulder at the sea for some reason. "Hello?" he asked, noticing his foe's lack of attention.

"Wow…" Ryder gasped.

"Huh?" Asuramon pondered, turning and gawping in horror at a tidal wave that had materialised out of nothing. "WHAT?!" he roared, as the wave crashed through him and across the sand, oddly stopping just before Ryder. In fact, the wave didn't seem to be aimed for anyone _but_ Asuramon, it ending on either side.

"What was that?" Ryder asked in amazement, while Asuramon roared in pain, relighting his flames brighter than ever.

"However you did that you little scum, you will pay!" he roared. "FIRE FISTS OF…" he began, but was promptly interrupted.

"FOX WHEEL!" roared a voice, a large orange flaming fox roaring through the other flames and absorbing them into its form, crashing into Asuramon in the process and throwing him to the ground.

Ryder turned, a wide smile materialising on his face. "Mari!" he yelled happily, as the girl ran rapidly towards his form, shock on her face. "Great timing," he noted when she came to a stand right over him.

"What happened here?!" Mari asked, shock on her face.

"I feel really weak from using Retcon too much. He just attacked me, saying he wanted to find out why I'm different or something," he explained, as Mari helped him to his feet by wrapping his arm over her shoulder.

"Why?" she asked in surprise.

"FLAME TAIL BLAZE!" Youkomon called, a set of orange flames throwing themselves at the beast, who growled in annoyance.

"MULTIPLE FACES!" he roared, launching his own homing attack. Both were hit simultaneously, explosions streaking across their bodies.

"Youkomon!" Mari called in horror, before looking to Ryder who was still over her shoulder. "We'll have to finish this conversation later," she decided, drawing a card from her pocket and, with difficulty thanks to the heavy load she was supporting, swiping it through her D-Vice. **"DIGI-MODIFY…**Hyper Speed Activate!" she called.

"FOX WHEEL!" Youkomon roared all of a sudden, a bright orange blur streaking towards Asuramon before exploding and throwing him to the ground, as Youkomon gracefully landed, a few scratches on her form.

"Cheater," Asuramon cursed. "Ryder is the only one here I want to fight, be gone!" he roared. "FIRE FIST OF SHIVA!" he growled, throwing both fists towards the fox, who was thrown back across the sand.

"Hey!" Mari called. "You can hardly talk about cheating!" she added. "Attacking a defenceless boy," she condemned.

"Humph, I would hardly call him defenceless. The way people and Digimon act about him, I have begun to think he's more important to existence than the Gods themselves."

"What?!" Mari asked.

"So why are you trying to kill me then?" Ryder scowled.

"To prove my point. If you are really so important, you will be saved. If you are just a weakling, you will die."

"The witch test, if she drowns, she's not a witch," Mari commented dryly. "He's not weak while he has me to protect him."

"Humph…" Asuramon huffed. "A pathetic excuse for a man, requiring a lady to come and protect him."

"Just shut the hell up," Mari yelled, angered by this beast who had dared attack Ryder. "Youkomon, kill him!" she ordered, as Youkomon nodded before leaping at the wizard.

"FOX WHEEL!" she shrieked, her flames roaring brighter than ever as she screamed past the form of their foe, scorching him to his very core as he roared in pain, pain which he seemed to tap into to improve his strength.

"MULTIPLE FACES!" Asuramon roared.

"**DIGI-MODIFY…**Frigimon and Renamon Activate!" Mari called, swiping two cards through in sequence.

"Huh?" Ryder pondered, before looking on in surprise as Youkomon vanished into thin air. Asuramon was unswayed, simply sending the attacks in the direction of her heat signature, or at least, attempting to.

"What?" he scowled as the beams crashed harmlessly into the sea.

"She's cold, and invisible, so you can't find her," Mari explained, Ryder's eyes widening at the rather clever plan. "One last modify card and we're done here," Mari noted, acting out one of the strategies she'd had plenty of time to formulate. Sure, it was intended for combating androids with homing missiles like an Andromon or MetalGreymon, but it worked just as well here, as she pushed Youkomon right to the bounds of the number of modify cards she could use at once. "**DIGI-MODIFY…**Power Activate!" she called.

Silence fell.

"Where is she?!" Asuramon roared, angered by the complete disappearance of his foe.

"Up here," Youkomon teased from above, materialising there and spreading her tails out wide. "DIAMOND STORM!" she called, sending a huge volley of her "cousin's" ice diamonds at the beast. They embedded themselves into his skin, the Digimon shooting one last menacing glare at Ryder before bursting into data, which rapidly flowed into Youkomon.

"Wow…" Ryder commented. "When you're angry, you're really…"

"Impressive?" Mari suggested with a smile.

"Yeah," _"…of course that was what I was going to say…"_

Mari nodded, reaching down with Ryder's arm still round her shoulder to pick up the first of Ryder's crutches, handing it to him for him to balance on whilst she retrieved the latter. Youkomon, meanwhile, quietly trotted over to them, Mari smiling upon seeing her.

"You were really impressive out there," she noted, handing the crutch to Ryder at the same time.

"Thanks," Youkomon replied. "I couldn't have done it without you," she added.

"Aw," Mari mumbled, before turning to face her boyfriend, who was still rather shaken and weak from events as he rested on his crutches. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied, frowning. "That battle was…horrible," he said, not sure of the best adjective to describe it.

"It looked it. So, you said we'd talk about what he said?" she noted.

"Oh, right," Ryder remembered. "Basically, he said that the Sovereigns have been treating me differently for some reason they don't know."

"Do you know why?" Mari asked curiously. Ryder frowned, shaking his head.

"No," he sighed, feeling a bit guilty in the process. "But, he did tell me something else," he added, changing the subject slightly.

"What?" she asked.

"It was another message from the Sovereign."

"What did it say?" Mari asked. Ryder looked to her, a deep frown on his face.

"She is coming for you, and she will be here as soon as she can," Ryder quoted.

"Who's coming for me?" Mari asked, surprised.

"No, that's exactly what he said to me," Ryder corrected, Mari breathing a sigh of relief upon realising the comment wasn't aimed at her. "And it sort of worries me, you know?" he added.

"Huh, why?" she asked, pausing and realising why before he even had to say. "Oh no, you don't think it means…"

"I'm not sure. I don't even know how she _could_ get here; she's in a whole different universe."

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like you gave her the exact coordinates or…" Mari began, her speech slowing as she noticed the nervous look that appeared on Ryder's face. "Oh god, you did, didn't you?!" she asked.

"Yeah," he said uncomfortably. "But, I don't know how she would use them!" Ryder insisted.

"Well, you travelled between universes, what's stopping her doing the same?" Mari asked.

"Nothing. Because I know exactly how she could get here, and it really worries me," Ryder contemplated, staring off into space with a concerned look on his face.

"How?!" Mari asked, surprised that Ryder knew all this time.

"I'm afraid that this is one of those things I just can't tell you…"

"Ryder, tell me right now why she can get here!" Mari insisted.

"I can't tell you because I love you too much," Ryder said, Mari about to bite back before she stopped in her tracks.

"…but what does that change?" she asked, more calmly and quietly.

"I don't want you to be hurt by what I know, because it's thrown me every day since I found it out," Ryder said forebodingly. Mari sighed, frowning.

"This really isn't going to help our relationship if you keep secrets like this."

"Ignorance is bliss, particularly in this case," Ryder noted. "I just…I know too much, and sometimes I wish I could be oblivious but…I have seen things that really shouldn't be possible, and in travelling here, I've been forced to come to terms with a lot of them on the way. If you knew…if you knew, it'd break your heart. It'd break your entire life, and I really don't want to do that to you."

Mari sighed deeply, putting an arm round him to cheer him up as the pair began to walk.

"Fine, never mind then," she noted. "But promise you'll tell me the truth before I die, okay?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"I'd just be comforted if I knew I would find out some day, you know. It'd stop me wondering every day what huge secrets you're keeping from me, and it'd prove that I could trust you if I knew that you weren't keeping secrets from me for the wrong reasons, since you'd have to tell me anyway."

"I promise then."

"Thanks."

"Oh, by the way, thanks for that well timed "Synchronise" earlier," Ryder added with a smile. "That tidal wave really helped."

"Um…you're welcome I guess…" _"What on earth is he talking about?"_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And that's yet another chapter over and done with. I'm hoping to finish up with Okinawa in the next chapter, before moving the action back to Tokyo as things begin to heat up. Takato's not going to forget Terriermon's suggestion any time soon…

And to think, I originally planned this Okinawa arc to be only two or three chapters long. Turned out that more was better because it allowed me to properly introduce some new story ideas before they became central to the plot, and would otherwise have been rather confusing. Plus, it would've been a very rushed and jumpy two or three chapters, so it works better this way. It's also been good to have a large number characters in one place for once and interacting, without a battle.

Until next time…


	41. The Trick To Home

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

* * *

**CHAPTER 35**

_The Trick to Home_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 28****th**** AUGUST 2010**

* * *

_**Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**11:54 JST**_

"Hey, it's working! I'm surfing!" Davis cheered, amazingly for the first time actually going more than two metres on the board without falling off, getting knocked off, bumping into a floating object (Takeru, Veemon or Kai seemed to fulfil this purpose) or making a general fool of himself. He tacked up into the wave, an unusual look of concentration on his face as he did so.

Kai watched intently, wondering if he had actually managed the impossible.

"WOOO!" Davis cheered, promptly falling off his board and into the water.

"_Nope," _Kai answered his internal question, before looking from a groaning and moaning Davis across to Takeru, who stood with his own board awaiting his chance. "Well, your turn now," he noted, hearing loud laughter from the beach from others.

"HEY!" Davis complained. "Not you too Kari!" he added, seeing her laugh and sadly looking down at the ground. He promptly grabbed the board, doing an about-turn and running into the waves.

"Davis?" DemiVeemon pondered, watching his Tamer once again determined.

"He's really obsessed with this," Kai noted as he watched Davis board the board once again.

"Well, to his credit, if he falls off the board, you can be pretty sure he'll always get right back up and on it again," Takeru noted, watching the display.

"Let's go join him then," Kai encouraged, grabbing his own board and looking to Takeru, who picked up his board and nodded in agreement, the pair rushing forward towards the waves where Davis was surprisingly not doing too badly.

"Davis, you're doing great!" Veemon cheered from where he floated in the water.

"Be quiet Veemon, you'll distract me!" Davis warned, concentrating intently on not making a fool of himself.

"Oh, sorry," Veemon replied, before laughing as ironically Davis fell off the board. "I see what you mean," he added. Davis simply groaned.

* * *

"So guys, how do we rate them?" Tai asked jokily, looking around at the group of Tamers who had settled down to lie on the sand.

"They're awful," Kari answered bluntly. "But they're at least better than they were earlier this week."

"Ten out of ten for funny, but neither can really surf," Sora added, as Davis and Takeru both simultaneously fell off their boards to prove her point.

"Yeah, they really suck at this," Kazu noted with a frown, not mirroring the eager tone his words were meant to be said with.

"Yeah, we could kick their asses at this any day!" Kenta added more enthusiastically, before nothing the depression of his friend as he groaned. "Hey, what's up Kazu?" he asked, MarineAngemon looking curiously at the boy.

"Yesterday was just a rough day, that's all," he noted. "Chiyo can go to hell for all I care," he added, his mouth a thin line of irritation, which quickly faded into a frown. "Oh, who am I kidding? I still have a crush on her," he said, sighing as he pulled his legs up and leaned on them, one hand on his forehead.

"Kazu, why not take your mind off things by participating in a prank?" Guardromon suggested, gallant-voiced as ever.

"If you're going to pull a prank, leave me out of it," Kristy lifted her sunglasses and ordered from nearby, the others nodding in agreement.

"Not really in the mood right now," Kazu replied.

"Wow, Kazu's certainly taking this hard," Suzie noted to Jeri next to her.

"It's what heartbreak does to a guy," Jeri commented. "But trust me, he'll find some other girl to pursue and he'll be back on his feet in no time," she added.

"Ahem, if you're going to pull any prank, might I suggest a good target?" Mimi asked.

"Who Mimi?" Sora asked curiously. Mimi grinned, she and Palmon simultaneously pointing across the sand.

"Him," they said together, pointing to the sleeping form of Terriermon on the sand. Henry sat up and raised an eyebrow, not sure whether to help his partner or not.

"Perfect," Kristy commented, getting to her feet.

Henry sighed, falling back to his towel he was lying on. He doubted he could stop them anyway.

* * *

_**12:12 JST**_

The sun beamed down on the beautiful island paradise, wind gently ruffling through the trees as the Tamers enjoyed their final day of vacation. For some of them, the enjoyment meant getting away from the others, who would probably bury them otherwise.

"Ryder, why don't you try to sleep?" Mari noted, after hearing Ryder complain once again about his lack of mobility.

"I would but I don't want to be buried again," Ryder replied from where he lay on an orange towel alongside her blue one, the crutches alongside his form a permanent reminder of his injuries.

"Trust me, I'd make sure they didn't," Mari reassured, turning her head to him and smiling.

"After all the pranks you've pulled this week, I wouldn't be surprised if they buried you too," Ryder noted with a smile. "They were pretty cruel, and I kind of regret doing them now."

"Yeah," Mari replied with a frown. "I agree with you there," she added, sighing. "Oh well, what's done is done I guess."

"Kazu looked really bombed out this morning, and he's been the most eager one of all every other day this week," Ryder added. "The guy really needs a break," he noted.

"Wow, how did we go from being irritated with Kazu to pitying him?" Mari asked, surprised at their change of attitude.

"I'm not all that surprised, I seem to think about each of you far too much, and worry about things about all of you far too much too," Ryder noted.

"Huh?"

"You know, like…um…how Rika and Takato seem really distanced recently, except for moments when they both feel optimistic enough to do something, or how you always seem to worry too much that I'm going to leave you."

"It's not the leaving part I'm worried about, it's the unintentional kisses that I'm more worried about," Mari replied. "And I sort of do that too at times. I mean, look at Chiyo. I keep thinking she's going to change, and then nothing really happens. I really hope she does stay on our side, because she can be a good friend when she's not moody," she noted. "Oh, and when she's not seducing me."

"Mari, when you were a kid, did you ever expect life to be anywhere near as…um…"

"Wild? Insane? Unpredictable?"

"I was thinking more "weird", but those will do too."

"No, I had a pretty average childhood until my parents died. Playing out in the street, not liking my greens, wanting my ears pierced," she noted, showing the single holes in the lobe of each of her ears, currently undecorated. "And then, when they died, I never thought anything would be the same again. I was just a sad orphan, brought up within the card of SDCO and probably a liability to them," she said, frowning as she brought up the bad memory.

Ryder frowned to be reminded of that particular matter, something which he would usually side step because he was unsure of how Mari would react to the issue being raised. "Oh, yeah," he said, cursing himself for sounding uncaring. "Mari…I've always wondered something," he began. "How did SDCO actually deal with bioemergences?"

"Huh?" Mari said, surprised at the question.

"I mean, we have difficulty here in Tokyo dealing with them at time, and we have tons of Tamers now. How did you guys manage it? Did you have Digimon?"

"We had technology," Mari replied. "The gun you've seen me use so many times is just the start of it. It's the portable version, the DC2910 of our full edition weapon that is a full high-tech machine gun, the DC2905, and the far larger versions, the DC2829, our original weapon, and the DC2901, the later upgraded version we took around in larger vehicles for ultimate levels."

"Yeah, but that thing just subdues Digimon in most cases. What did you do with them afterwards?"

"Well…we found ways really. Some we managed to coax round into fighting on our side, and those were the ones used for my psychiatric recovery. But there were always stubborn ones, and with those ones we sealed them in the Datenstaub Device to take care of them."

"What did that do?" Ryder asked curiously. Mari frowned deeply, recalling many a time seeing the huge machine as the vast amount of electricity flowed through it and performed the one horrific task it was designed for.

"It comes from the German words for Data and Dust. Make a guess."

"Oh."

"I used to sit there, watching it become charged up…but…I could never watch the next bit. As horrific as the Digimon were, I just couldn't stand the screams. Even the most dark, evil, tough Digimon would submit to torture in it."

"If it was so bad, why didn't the government at least experiment with Tamers?"

"We didn't know how. This was so early on, even data from Hypnos we couldn't really use because our systems were more advanced, and their chief had a habit of writing far too specialised software."

"Yeah, that's Yamaki in a nutshell."

"It's not like we could borrow a D-Arc to experiment on either. We had the data for how they worked thanks to one of the monster makers, but the actual physical form was still beyond us, and anything we made simply broke. We had to give up in the end. Thankfully, the bioemergences weren't all that often, since Hypnos unfortunately created a rift between the real and Digital Worlds."

"Didn't you just try being close friends with some of the Digimon?" Ryder asked. "I mean, it worked for you and DarkRenamon."

"Most of those we became allies with died in battle pretty soon after. We couldn't control them, they burst into the action at the chance of conflict and occasionally we had to kill them ourselves afterwards."

"So what do they do these days?" Ryder pondered.

"I contact Jeff, my former boss, every so often, but I can't tell you as much as I'd like thanks to confidentiality agreements. Basically though, they're now revisiting the whole "Tamer" idea, contacting known Digimon Tamers in the US and inviting them into the role. But…the Tamers have proved difficult to contact. I mean, what would you do if a government agency that had previously proved unreceptive to your Tamerhood randomly tried to contact you for something completely opposite?"

"I'd tell them to sod off and slam down the phone before they could track my location."

"Which is exactly what those guys have done most of the time. The project's current progress is classified to all but SDCO operators above Level 5 clearance."

"But…I don't understand. Why can't you tell me any more than that?"

"I'd love to get my own back here and say that "it's for your own good" and that "we all need secrets", but I know that'd be a lie. The truth is I am _still _SDCO Operative 2929. Jeff insisted that I stay on so as to ensure I didn't become support-less in my life."

"So that's how we afford that extra stuff on what Hypnos gives us," Ryder said, putting two and two together.

"Well, that and it allows me to keep my gun, even if I don't need it so much any more."

"So in that respect, I'm dating a secret agent?"

"Yeah, every man's dream…at least, it would be if we were a bit older, and if you were a man and not an enigma who may or may not be immortal and who can alter time."

"Life is unpredictable, isn't it?" Ryder noted with a smile, contemplating how both of them had such complex stories to tell.

"Seems to be for us," Mari replied. "Still, it's nice to have someone there to cry to when things get bad," she added, smiling to him, a smile he returned.

"Yeah, but it'd be nice to have a bit of warning of what is going to happen," Ryder noted.

"Other than amazingly cryptic messages, of course."

"Yeah, good point."

"Do you really have no idea what they mean?" Mari inquired.

"What, like "Pay close attention"? What am I meant to be paying close attention to?"

"I don't know. Something weird happening maybe?"

"Meh, all the weird things that happen to me seem to be pretty loud and brash, hardly subtle as the message implies."

"So maybe it links into the other message. What if you're meant to look out for Ivy coming to get you or something?" she asked, a frown coming onto her face as she mentioned the name.

"If she does come here, I don't think we won't notice her, and vice versa."

"Well, it is a big world, and she wouldn't necessarily know that you were with the Tamers of the TV show."

"Are you kidding? Digital Watch has my name everywhere, and I'm practically accepted by all monitors as if I've been here for years. Donmon's a pretty big giveaway too."

"So what is it then? Is it even Ivy who's coming?"

"Who else could it be?"

"I don't know. What other girls were there in your group?" Mari questioned.

"Well, there was Melissa. She was okay, even if she was a bit out of it at times. But our group never got that close when I was there; we never had that truly defining battle all the other guys had. No Dark Masters, no Kimeramon, no Belphemon, not even a Beelzemon or a Sakkakumon."

"Hmm…then who is it then?"

"No idea."

"Ryder, what did Ivy even look like?"

"Huh?"

"Well, if I'm going to help you look out for her, I may as well know what she looks like."

"Uh…okay…well, she was blonde, pale skinned, kinda long hair, shorter than me…"

"Like most people then."

"Yeah. Let's see, D-Vice on her arm, Lunamon either on her head, shoulder or following behind, or just completely absent if we were in the middle of a class or something."

"Right, so I'm looking for a blonde girl with long hair. Great, that helps a lot Ryder, thanks," Mari said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at his useless description.

"Well, what else do you want to know?"

"I don't know, I just wanted more specifics," Mari said, frowning before a thought occurred to her. "What kind of build was she?"

"Huh?"

"You know, slim, heavy, and everything in between," Mari elaborated, gesturing with her hands to demonstrate what she meant as she spoke.

"Mari, isn't that a bit…"

"Okay, fine, fine. Who's more attractive, me or her?"

"You, of course, but I don't see…" Ryder tried to object again, with no luck as Mari continued to ramble on.

"Well, of course you were going to say that, I'm within earshot," Mari rambled, rolling her eyes at the stupid question she had asked. Ryder went to open his mouth to object, but she continued regardless. "Okay here's one. How big are her…?"

"Mari, just stop it, okay!" Ryder snapped. "I don't care; I don't even want to think about it!"

Surprised, Mari decided to stay silent, a look of concern gracing her features as the boy put his hands to the side of his head and lay back down on the towel again.

"I want to forget the past because I know I'll never get to go back, and even if I do that means having to make a choice about you. So stop bringing it up Mari. I love you, but you can be so insanely jealous at times," he said, Mari not sure how to reply. "I make mistakes, okay?" he added, before sitting up to face her again. "My mind gets swept up in events, events which I'd only dreamed could happen, like kissing a crush or having a strange girl randomly attack me in a hospital bed…okay, that one's not so much of a dream as a nightmare, but…I don't always think properly in situations like that, and I make mistakes. But I thought that by being honest with you, I could put some grounding to a relationship where I am forced to keep other even bigger secrets from you," he said, a deep frown on his face as he pleaded his case. "So please, please, please, just trust me, okay?" he begged.

Mari frowned, sighing as she was forced to admit her wrong-doing. "You're right, I'm sorry," she apologised sincerely. "I…I just have never had anything as good as this before, particularly since my parents died, and I just…I just want to know I'm not kidding myself, you know? That I'm not about to have my heart broken all of a sudden and be left watching the flames like when my parents died."

"I know, I know, and I promise that I'll be there for you if I can be," Ryder replied.

"Thanks," Mari replied, both smiling,

"Ugh, we have enough issues to write a book on psychiatry," Ryder groaned.

"No-one would read it, our issues are unique," Mari replied.

"Yeah, but it'd probably be bought by one or two people for comedy value," Ryder noted, a smile on her face.

"You know, you could always take up writing as a job, you know?" Mari mooted, the thought suddenly occurring to her.

"Huh? Why?" Ryder asked, surprised at the left-field suggestion.

"Well, you always break out in these random dramatic speeches, and, even if you can't describe someone I'm sure you spent every class ogling and then turning away from before she saw you, you'd probably be able to describe at least some basic characters."

"I don't know. My writing is sloppy at best."

"What have you written before then?"

"Digimon fanfiction, believe it or not," Ryder said, smiling.

"Aha, so that explains your amazingly detailed and thought out background knowledge of everyone we know," Mari noted, putting two and two together.

"Yeah, but I sort of lost interest once I found Digimon were real though. It gave me a few ideas nonetheless, even if some of them did make no sense and were plot elements that I grew to regret."

"I see. Maybe you should write these fanfiction down for me some time, if you remember them?" Mari pondered.

"I'm not sure," Ryder replied promptly.

"Huh?" Mari asked curiously.

"It's just that…I want to move on from being like that. It was fun and all, but…I have so many things to concentrate on right now, I fear that if I write anything, I'll explode."

"Ryder, you have crutches and we've been on a summer break for weeks with very few bioemergences. What part of that constitutes a busy schedule?"

"Fine, you've proved your point."

"So, if you were to write again, what would you write about?"

"Uh…I don't really know. Maybe some kind of "what-if" situation, like, what if Rika and Takato were the only…"

"Ugh, no way, "what-if" stories suck," Mari interrupted, rolling her eyes at the boy.

"What do you mean?" Ryder asked, surprised.

"Rewriting history to have things your own way. Why not just join the rest of the fans on every forum in the world complaining about how an anime ended?"

"And yet we regularly see a girl who is doing just what you're criticising."

"Yeah, well I get the feeling that's for more reason than just "because they're so kawaii together"," Mari noted, smiling at the concept and then noting as Ryder eyed her curiously, before answering the question he would've asked. "Yeah, I've been on the internet," she noted. "It's…disturbing," she added, some light shuddering on her part at the idea.

"Highly," Ryder said, smiling at the concept.

"So, here's one for you. If you had to make your perfect girl in a fic, realism no-bounds, who you'd actually want to go out with, what would she be like?" Mari asked, looking at the boy curiously.

"You know, Ivy once asked me that question," Ryder pondered, hand on his chin as he recalled the event.

"Yes, and?" Mari asked, her tone conveying how peeved off she was with the subject of conversation once again leaping back to the blonde haired girl.

"Brunette, slightly shorter than me, just below shoulder length hair and a kick ass Renamon in reserve."

"Flattering, Ryder, flattering."

"Well, to be fair, if I had said anything else, you'd criticise me because it wasn't you," Ryder noted, smiling knowingly.

"You know me far too well," Mari nodded, returning the smile before a look of horror crossed her features. "Oh god, we've become a married couple."

"Nah, we're still talking to each other in calm tones for more than five minutes," Ryder replied coolly, a smile on his face.

"Point taken."

* * *

_**12:50 JST**_

Mari and Ryder were not the only couple enjoying the calm sea air of their final day in Okinawa rolling in as the waves gently rushed the sands. In the other direction along the beach from the main group, a rather happier than recently Rika and Takato were to be found, both slightly concerned that the waves were about to lap their feet as they lay on the towels but none concerned enough to voice it. Rika, as she seemed to do from time to time as of late, had her hand on the bump on her belly. Guilmon, for once, slept soundly on the sand, while Renamon, as always, was somewhere'.

"So, going home tomorrow," Takato mumbled in an attempt to make conversation.

"Yeah," Rika replied, frowning. "Thanks for reminding me," she added sarcastically.

"What's wrong with home? I guess it isn't so hot or beautiful, but at least we get to see everyone again."

"Because Takato, our entire class is going to realise that I'm pregnant, and I really don't want to have to go through that."

"Oh, right," Takato replied, frowning.

"Ugh, and I'm getting to the point where I'm going to have to switch to soppy floral maternity clothes…" she groaned, sitting up and running a hand through her hair. "The next few months are going to be horrible, I know that for sure," she noted.

"Yeah, Takato sighed, Rika sighing in response and looking back to the sky. However, Takato did not do the same, forcing the girl to eye him oddly as she looked to his side, meeting his face staring at her.

"Do you mind?" she asked.

"Uh…"

"You're doing it again Takato. Seriously, forget what Terriermon said. That bunny's sick, and even if he says something good you should ignore him," Rika complained, rolling her eyes at both the boy next to her and the dog-bunny, who was currently (although unknowingly to Rika) being covered with several tons of sand.

"Oh, sorry…" Takato mumbled. _"Maybe she's right…maybe I should forget what Terriermon said…ugh, but then, how do I forget it? I can't help but think about it every time I look at her."_

"TAKATO!" Rika yelled, bringing the boy to his senses as he realised he was staring at her again, this time at her hand. "Christ, what the hell is up with you?" she asked, sitting up promptly.

"I have…um…got something on my mind, that's all," he replied nervously, sitting up to match.

"I could see that Takato, but what? Seriously, even if Terriermon did make that perverted suggestion, I think you should be able to ignore it."

"No, it's not that," Takato said, frowning as he shook his head.

"Then what?"

"Rika, I…uh…I really…uh…" he stuttered.

"Spit it out Takato."

"I can't tell you," Takato finally said.

"What?" Rika asked, confused and a little angered. "What can't you tell me?"

"What's on my mind," he mumbled, Rika hardly able to hear as Takato went into uncomfortable mode'.

"Why not?" Rika asked, surprised and a feeling a bit betrayed by the fact that Takato had anything he couldn't tell her. _"Then again, I'm not exactly being the most open of books in return," _she thought, mentally sighing.

"Because…err…it's a surprise?" he said, before rephrasing it as a statement. "It's a surprise!" he said, coughing.

"Takato, I hate surprises, so you better tell me what it is."

"That's the thing, you see, I haven't really…kinda…thought it up yet."

"Then cancel it."

"But it's really important."

"What is?" Rika asked, now completely bewildered by the way the boy was acting.

"_Why didn't I just say "ok" and finish this conversation?" _Takato mentally groaned at himself. "Uh…I can't tell you that either."

"Takato, my birthday was several months ago, as was yours, there's nothing remotely interesting coming up until Halloween which I know you wouldn't plan this far in advance, so unless your surprise is something to stop the weird looks and embarrassment we're going to get in school when we go back, I have no idea what you could be planning."

"I know but…uh…I still need to think and all and uh…could you just trust me…and…err…put up with the weird looks?" Takato asked nervously.

"Hmm," Rika said, eyeing Takato suspiciously. "You really must have something either really smart or really stupid on your mind, huh?" she pondered.

"It could be either really," Takato sighed.

"Okay, but if this is in any way an annoying surprise, or a party, or anything at all that you know I'd hate and call soppy or boring or whatever, I want you to call it off, okay?" Rika asked, staring him in the eye with a look of determination as she granted him an exemption from her questioning, at least for now.

"It's not," _"I hope," _"Thanks," he said, smiling uncomfortably. "For, you know, trusting me and all," he added.

"You better not break my trust," Rika noted.

"I promise I won't," Takato assured her, but she looked a little reluctant to accept his promise. "So, do you…err…think there's any way we can make the embarrassment of school any smaller?" he asked.

"Ugh, I wish. No Takato, I think I'm facing this one alone."

"No you're not, I'm here too," Takato said, his tone slightly hurt by her use of terms.

"Yeah, okay," Rika said, her tone muffled and unsure.

"…_maybe Henry was right…"_

"_**FINALLY! HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO GET THAT FACT?!"**_

"_OW! Stop shouting so loud."_

"_**Okay, but seriously, you are the most nervous person I've ever had the misfortune of embodying."**_

"_I don't think anyone has ever said that before in the history of…everything."_

"_**No one has ever been forced to say that before, that's why!"**_

"So, Chaos making some stupid statement that's distracting you so much you've ended up staring at my breasts?" Rika asked, snapping Takato back to reality as he laughed nervously, quickly averting his gaze from her and subsequently falling back onto the sand as Rika smiled at him in amusement. "You should be a comedian," she joked.

"I would," Takato began, sitting up again. "But I can't make jokes to save my life."

"I meant slapstick comedy," Rika laughed.

"Oh ha ha," Takato said, sarcastically but in an amused way. "Hey, have you ever considered what you want to be when you grow up?" he pondered, a serious yet curious expression gracing his face.

Rika looked surprised by the question at first, before frowning. "No, not really. I mean, I always knew that I never wanted to be a model, I got that much from seeing mom but…no, I never really decided what I wanted to do," she said, shaking her head, before looking down to the bump on her belly. "And with Rey on the way, I don't know if I'll be able to have a career," she pondered, frowning at the concept.

Takato frowned, having not contemplated that side of things. "I think you could," he said optimistically, putting an arm around her back. "Not sure what, but you could," he noted, as Rika returned the gesture.

"**Maybe something where you shout at people and boss them around all day long?" **Harmony suggested.

"**Yeah, like a stock trader, army general, Yamaki, boss of some massive but evil corporation or whatever, it's all good," **Chaos noted with a grin.

"Heh, the idea does appeal to me I have to say," Rika noted with a smile. "What about you?" she asked, curiously looking to Takato.

"Well, I think it'd probably hurt my vocal chords…"

"No, not whether you'd want to do a job involving shouting," Rika interrupted, rolling her eyes at his stumbling. "What would you want to do when you get older?"

"Oh, right, heh," Takato muttered in embarrassment. "Well, I'm not sure. I don't know if I want to take up the bakery, or what," he pondered, sighing as he laid his head on Rika's shoulder and frowned deeply. "I really want to do something bigger and more important than the bakery, but I love that place too, and I know it'd break my parent's hearts if I sold it."

"Yeah, the look on their faces when it burnt was evidence enough for that," Rika noted, frowning as she looked down to him. "Still…" she pondered. "It'll open again soon, and I'm sure it'll be good again," she added.

"I know, it does look good what they've done so far on it," Takato replied, recalling his trips downstairs from the relatively unscathed rooms upstairs to see the scorched bakery. It was a horrible sight, but at least they were home again, the building now secured and safe to live in again while the downstairs was rebuilt. "Maybe we'll have a big reopening party or something. I'm not sure…but…"

"You're split between your dreams and your parent's wishes, huh," she noted, frowning.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,"

"I know the feeling," Rika replied, a slim smile on her face, which widened into a bigger more reassuring one as she looked down to the boy she was hugging. "But you are the biggest dreamer out of all of us, and if anyone of us has the determination, stuck-fastness and blind stupidity to pursue whatever dream we have chosen, it's you for sure," she said, Takato raising his head off her shoulder and looking to her before nodding.

"Yeah," he replied. "Well, I kinda do have one dream job I've always wanted to do, but…I'm not sure how I could accomplish it," Takato noted, pausing as he contemplated it.

"Which is?"

"I've always wanted to work on the Digimon TV show," he replied, worriedly looking to Rika for her reaction.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sorta."

"That's not a bad career choice Takato," Rika replied, smiling in reassurance. "I've seen your drawings, and heard about your crazy ideas," she continued. "I'm sure you could do it."

"Yeah, but how? I mean, even the company that made the show doesn't even realise they did thanks to the Cataclysm," Takato pondered, recalling the oddity.

"**Well, how else would we have cemented the worlds together?" **Harmony asked. **"It was your stupid idea after all Takato."**

"**Quit complaining, it beat Daemon, didn't it?"** Chaos said.

"**Means to an end Chaos, means to an end."**

"So? You could just start up a company and make it, surely? They wouldn't even notice," Rika asked.

"Yeah, but what if they start noticing afterwards?" Takato asked. "And then what happens, do people suddenly realise that the Digidestined were in a TV series and all?" he asked, worried.

"**Takato, people are unbelievably dense. Hell, even if they did realise, they'd probably just think the series was the result of their adventures," **Harmony reassured.

"Thanks for insulting our species, by the way," Rika said, rolling her eyes.

"**Well, you're both not **_**entirely**_** human," **Chaos noted.

"You are a good artist, well, better than me at least, so you could at least give it a try Takato."

"Yeah, I suppose so, but what about the bakery?" Takato pondered.

"I'm sure you'll work something out," Rika replied.

"**Yeah, there are plenty of things you could do with the bakery if you put your mind to it. Tourist trap. Brothel. Public toilet. Pebble museum. University."**

"**Shut up Chaos."**

* * *

_**Underneath beach near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**20:09 JST**_

Darkness. Mushy darkness, which black eyes awoke in.

"Waaah!"

No reply.

"What the hell?" the voice said, a deep tone of irritation in it.

No reply.

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny guys. Now lemme out now!" Terriermon complained, pounding at the roof of his sandy tomb with his paws. A drop of water splattered down on him as he heard the waves rushing over above, a sound which make him stop in his tracks. "Uh…oh…" he mumbled, moving his hands away from what he knew would be a mistake.

The dripping stopped, but the rushes of waves, their sounds muffled through the sand, continued regardless.

"Great, thanks a lot Henry!" He complained. But no one heard him.

* * *

**SUNDAY, 29****TH**** AUGUST 2010**

* * *

_**Underneath beach near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture**_

_**09:48 JST**_

A scraping noise from above woke Terriermon from his long and forced sleep to prevent boredom. "What?" he asked, looking upwards as the sand above heaved over him. "Finally!" he cheered, as light broke through, along with a greyish-white paw. Terriermon stared upwards into the light, a look of awe and infatuation on his face.

"You brought this on yourself, you know that?" asked DarkRenamon, looking down at the dog-bunny through where she stood on the sand. She promptly dragged him out by his ear, holding him as someone would hold a fish that they wanted to avoid being too near because it smelled.

"My saviour!" Terriermon cheered jokily, DarkRenamon rolling her eyes before promptly dropping the smart-alec down on his behind, forcing him to bounce slightly on the sand.

"If you hadn't annoyed everyone, maybe they would have not buried you," DarkRenamon noted.

"Yeah, but that wouldn't be as fun!"

DarkRenamon rolled her eyes again at the bunny. He just didn't seem to get what he was doing. The bunny was by this point looking past her, a look of anger on his face.

"HENRY!" he bellowed as he began to run in the direction of his Tamer. "WHY DID YOU LET THEM BURY ME?"

"Because it was funny, and you irritated us," Kristy interrupted bluntly, Terriermon looking around to see most of the group, with hold-all cases in tow.

"Oh, thanks," Terriermon noted, rolling his eyes while everyone laughed at him.

"So, Takato, you guys all ready to go?" Kai asked, looking curiously at his cousin with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, the flight is at two," Takato replied, nodding. "Thanks for making this holiday good."

"**And entertaining dumb and dork," **Chaos added, looking to Davis and Takeru and rolling his eyes.

"Thanks for continuing to confuse me with your schizophrenia, pregnant girlfriend and convoluted social interaction," Kai replied coolly.

"That's the longest word he's ever said," Rika noted with a smile.

"Hey," Kai complained. "I'm not _that_ laid back."

"And, remind us again, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" Kristy asked, eyeing him with a smirk as Kudamon rolled his eyes. She was becoming more like Rika with her attitude by the day.

"Surfing of course," Kai replied with a grin.

"Exactly," Chiyo noted.

"Mimi, how much did you bring?!" complained an approaching voice, Tai with an irritated and awe-stricken look on his face as he tiredly lugged the handles of three cases behind him, two of which looked fit to burst.

"Well, you did offer to take Sora's case, and I didn't think you'd mind extending the offer," Mimi said, following with a smile on one side while Sora mirrored her on the other, nodding in agreement.

"Being a gentleman is one thing, but this is just taking advantage," Agumon noted, viewing his Tamer with concern as deep tracks were dug in the sand by the cases' wheels.

"Right, I think that's everyone," Takeru checked, looking over the group.

"This is goodbye then," Takato said to his cousin with a nod.

"See you next year then hopefully," Kai joked. "Unless you get killed in the interim," he added morbidly.

"We'll be back," Tai said determinedly.

"Yeah, when Rika and Takato will have a kid, Davis and Takeru might have learnt to surf and Kazu might have a girlfriend," Chiyo joked, smirking at the unlikely concepts of the latter two. Indeed, the first was probably unlikely if she got her way and killed them first.

"Go to hell," Kazu cursed at her, the girl surprised by his blunt nature.

"Hmph, what happened to worshipping where I stood?" she asked, an irritated look on her face.

"Okay, can we avoid one huge argument right now? We're going to have to put up with each other for several hours," Henry asked, sighing at the pair.

"Tell that to her," Kazu noted, frowning angrily.

"Right, that's it, do you want to fight or what?" Chiyo asked, glaring at him.

"Okay, break it up you two!" Sora said, standing between them. "From now on, neither of you talk to each other ever again, okay?" she said, knowing what problems could be caused otherwise. This was a Demon they were dealing with, after all.

"Fine by me," the pair said simultaneously.

"Can we go now Henry? We'll miss the boat," Suzie noted, showing her older brother the time. Henry looked down, surprised by how little time they had.

"Yeah, she's right," he noted, looking along the beach. "We have to get to the port," he added.

"Well then, this will be a quick goodbye from me," Rey noted, before walking up to her parents, who nodded in response.

"Have a safe trip," Takato advised.

"See you soon," Rika added.

"You will," Rey noted with a smile. She looked down to her time device. Realmon quickly leapt onto her shoulder, before the pair vanished into nothingness.

"_Huh? What did she mean by that?" _Takato and Rika thought together, both wondering different things in the same way.

"_Considering how scared she is of these being her final days, I'd guess that "soon" is going to be very soon," _Ryder mentally noted, frowning as he recalled their conversation before she was the victim of their first prank.

"Guys, as fun as staring off into space in thought may be, shouldn't we get moving?" Jeri asked, interrupting their thoughts as Calumon nodded from the top of her head.

"Yeah, right," Takato said, nodding as he was brought back to reality. "Bye Kai," he said to his cousin.

"Bye bye," Guilmon echoed, waving his claw, before nods and wishes of goodbye were exchanged by the rest.

"Bye all," Kai wished, his tone quickly turning into a mutter as he watched them race away along the beach. "Back to boredom I guess."

"Kai, now you've finished playing with the dogs, will you get on with your homework?" asked a voice from behind, Kai turning to see his grandpa. He frowned.

"Yes grandpa," he reluctantly said. His weeks' break was over. _"Roll on next year…"_

* * *

_**Onboard an Air Japan 737**_

_**14:51 JST**_

The plane, by now well on course back for Tokyo, had settled into a single altitude, allowing those bursting for the bathroom to finally relieve themselves, and allowing the trolley serving overpriced small portions of refreshments to begin making its way down the aisle, serving some particularly unusual customers.

"Ooh, Takato, I'm hungry," Guilmon said from where he sat in the aisle seat next to Takato, a seatbelt not designed for him strapped around him as he sat in the seat, usually only used to taking human passengers.

"Sorry Guilmon, but I haven't got anywhere near enough money to buy that stuff," Takato apologised with a frown.

"Aw," Guilmon complained, his ears drooping sadly.

"We'll eat when we get home boy," Takato reassured.

"Where he'll eat you out of house and home," Jeri added from the seat behind next to Henry (at the window with Terriermon on his head) and an unnerved Kenta (in the aisle seat with MarineAngemon sitting on the armrest). She looked to one side, curious about her friend. "What's up Kenta?" she asked.

"He was like this on the way out," Henry noted with a frown.

"I hate flying…the plane won't fall, the plane won't fall, the plane won't fall…" Kenta repeated to himself.

"Hey, do you think that trolley has earplugs?" Terriermon asked.

"Terriermon!" Henry complained.

"They wouldn't fit in his ears," Guilmon noted.

"I'm thinking of getting a pair for myself," Rika noted, frowning in irritation at their banter as she leaned against the window frame, head resting on her arm with her elbow on the wall and her other hand on her leg. She glanced down at it, before up at Takato, who once again was staring at her hand. "What?" she whispered in irritation.

"Uh, sorry…" Takato apologised, realising what he was doing

"Please stop it, you're really freaking me out now," Rika pleaded, both of them still quiet and wanting to keep this conversation to themselves.

"What's he doing, picking his nose?" Terriermon asked, now sitting on the back of Rika's seat and listening in on their conversation.

"Terriermon, get down!" Henry said, pulling his partner down by the ear. Terriermon huffed.

"Henry, I think they're talking about my idea!" he whispered to his Tamer.

"Huh?" Jeri asked.

"Okay, spill it, what was this stupid idea of yours?" Rika asked, turning to face the pair through the gap in the seats. "You sick pervert," she added, glaring at the bunny.

"What?" Terriermon asked, surprise. "What the hell did you say that for?" he asked, questioning her comment.

"_Why did she say that?"_ Henry wondered.

By now, Takato was nervously watching the situation, receiving confused glances from Jeri, receiving throwing-up glances from Kenta and receiving suspicious eyes from Rika.

"Will you guys shut the hell up?" Kazu called through from the aisle seat in front. "I'm trying to sleep here, and putting up with her alone is bad enough," he added, gesturing to Chiyo in the window seat, an unfortunate consequence of how they had arranged the seating on the outward trip. Guardromon had taken up the central seat of three, probably to act as a barrier between them (although he actually, thanks to his large bulk spilling over into other seats, made both their seats thinner and cut their luggage allowance thanks to his weight.

"Pathetic," Chiyo muttered.

"**Someone's in a bad mood," **Harmony noted, rolling her eyes at the boy's outburst.

"Who?" Guilmon asked, looking curiously at her. "Is it Kenta?" he added.

"Takato, what did Terriermon say to you before?" Rika pressed, realising how far they'd strayed from the conversation.

"Yeah, and how was it sick?!" Terriermon blurted out. "God, my one serious idea and it's somehow sick!"

"Your one serious idea was something about me and Takato having sex?" Rika asked, surprised as she looked back to Terriermon. As perverted as Terriermon could be, she would be surprised if he considered that to be a serious idea.

"Huh? What are you talking about, I suggested that he…" Terriermon began, before his mouth became muffled by Henry's hand. Henry smiled nervously under the gaze of Rika.

"What the hell is going on?!" Rika asked, angered by Takato, Henry and Terriermon by now.

"Um…" Henry began, feeling a bit like Takato under the spotlight.

"Henry, what is everyone talking about?" Jeri asked, confused as to what on earth the new subject of conversation was and hoping that her boyfriend could at least provide _some_ answers.

"Well?" Rika asked. Henry laughed nervously, before glaring periodically across to Takato who still peered through the seat. Takato looked nervous: he had unintentionally landed his friend in it.

"It was just some stupid idea," Henry replied.

"Which was?" Kenta asked, not sure about what made this idea so important.

"Uh…" Henry mumbled.

"Um…" Terriermon echoed.

"Err…" Takato added, wanting to help his friend but unfortunately attracting attention to himself in the process.

"Takato, tell me what it was or I swear we will never have sex again," Rika said, eyes widening at the mention. She knew exactly how to get this secret out of him. The flight was empty enough anyway, being a daytime flight and a lot of the seats being reserved by Digimon, even if Renamon and DarkRenamon had vanished from sight as usual. Airline seats were not exactly suited to their forms, particularly the tail. They were also probably ensuring that nothing stupid happened with Calumon wandering about, causing cute attacks in the hearts of the air hostesses (and getting plenty of free food in the process).

"Whoa, now I'm listening," Chiyo muttered, looking towards the boy through the gap in the seat in front.

Takato looked around him nervously, all eyes on him from all directions. "Well…you see…" he mumbled. _"CHAOS, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAKE ME FAINT OR SOMETHING!"_

"_**What?"**_

"_Make me faint! Please!"_

"_**Wait, you **_**want**_** me to knock you out?"**_

"_Yes!"_

"_**Hmm…no."**_

"_What?"_

"_**I said no."**_

"_But you'd normally jump at this opportunity?!"_

"_**I know, but you'll suffer more if I keep you awake. If you really want to faint, I'm sure Rika will knock you out if you grab at her boobs. Do it Takato. Do it. Do it. Do it."**_

"_Shut up."_

"_**You know you want to."**_

"_Shut the hell up."_

"_**What happened to the nice boy I used to be a part of?"**_

"_He met you."_

"_**Point taken."**_

"Takato…" Rika said softly, before her voice hardened again. "What. did. Terriermon. Tell. You. To. Do?"

"Uh…propose to you?" Takato noted, a nervous look gracing his face as he awaited her reaction. She seemed to contemplate the concept for a few moments, before rolling her eyes and returning to leaning on her shoulder, looking out of the window.

"Idiot," she muttered, a look of surprise on Takato's face at his "escape".

"_**AGAIN, HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET OUT OF THAT ONE?"**_

"You really don't have any tact, do you?" Jeri asked Terriermon, disgusted at the creature.

"Huh?!" Terriermon said, startled.

"Maybe you should think twice before talking from now on," Kenta added, both Henry and Terriermon surprised by the reaction.

"_Uh…what just happened?"_ Henry wondered.

"Takato, what's propose?" Guilmon asked curiously.

"Ugh," Takato groaned.

"Morons," Chiyo cursed, returning to facing forward.

"_What kind of idiot would want to marry Rika?" _Kazu wondered in disbelief, rolling his eyes and returning to his attempt to sleep.

* * *

"So, Kari, did you think I was good out there surfing yesterday?" Davis asked, looking at the brunette in the window seat to his left curiously and enthusiastically.

"No," she answered bluntly, a slim smile on her face at his visible irritation.

"Aw," he moaned.

"What about Takeru?" Patamon asked curiously, the boy in the aisle seat whose head he was sitting on glancing round.

"No, you were both awful," Kari noted with a smile.

"229 times off the board in total between you," Gatomon added with a grin from Kari's head.

"Hey, it can't have been that high!" Davis complained.

"Sure felt that high," DemiVeemon noted, rubbing his sore head where he sat on Davis' armrest.

"I'm sure we'll do better next year Davis," Takeru whispered a reassurance to the boy next to him.

"Yeah, but I wanted to look cool for Kari," Davis replied, his voice low too. "Maybe I cracked under the pressure, you must have had it so much easier without anyone to impress," he noted, a frown on his face.

"Hmm…yeah, I'm sure it must be," Takeru replied sadly, a deep frown on his face.

"_Huh?" _Patamon pondered, eyeing his Tamer curiously. _"Why'd he react like that?"_

"I mean, when you're out there on the board, looking cool and showing off some great skills to Kari, it's great, but when you fall off…"

"Davis, I can still hear you," Kari noted, a frown on her face. "You two are as subtle as one of Terriermon's jokes," she added, rolling her eyes at the pair.

"Hey!" echoed a voice from down the aisle. "Who mentioned my name?! I have big ears you know!"

* * *

"Kristy, perhaps you should tell them to be quieter?" Kudamon mooted from her partner's shoulder, concerned that the antics of their various groups would irritate the cabin crew.

"Yeah, like that'll work," Kristy replied, rolling her eyes before looking to Suzie who sat with Lopmon on her head in the window seat.

"Lopmon, you have big ears, what are they talking about?" Suzie asked.

"Uh…I think Rika mentioned sex," Lopmon replied, her large ears moving slightly.

"That's been mentioned a lot lately, but I'm not sure exactly what it is?" Kudamon pondered.

"Mummy always said it involved lots of stalks and lots of bundles," Suzie said naively, before rolling her eyes. "That's obviously not it though," she noted.

"I don't think it does," Kristy replied. "Rika and Takato did it and now she's pregnant, so Rika did something to Takato…or the other way around…for some reason. I really don't know the exact specifics of all this," she rambled.

"Me neither," Suzie pondered, unsure as to the exact nature of the event that caused all this. "People always seem to avoid discussing it…I'm not sure how we'll find out."

"Let's ask Mimi," Kristy suggested with a sly smile, looking to the brunette woman asleep in the aisle seat next to Kristy with Palmon sleeping under the seat in front, a pale mid rift showing pink top on with a few stronger pink lines crossing it and complimenting her black skirt and tights.

"Is it wise to wake her up?" Lopmon wondered.

"Yes, she could need her rest," Kudamon added.

"Well I want to know," Kristy insisted, poking Mimi gently in the side. "Mimi, wake up," she called, Lopmon and Kudamon concerned by the actions their less mature Tamers were carrying out, but knowing they had little chance of preventing them. Kristy had the determination and stubbornness of her sister to endlessly pursue a task once she had started it, and Suzie had the curiosity and interest to do the same.

Mimi moaned, irritated by her premature awakening. She opened her eyes, rubbing the sleep away from them.

"Mimi, we have a question," Suzie said, the woman surprised to be awoken.

"Ugh, couldn't it wait?" Mimi asked, her tone groggy and irritable.

"No, we're curious now," Kristy added bluntly.

"Ugh, what is it then?" Mimi groaned, knowing that it'd probably be some trivial thing like "how long is it going to take for the flight to get home?"

"What's sex?" Suzie asked. A look of shock crossed Mimi's features, before an embarrassed smile was added to them. "Uh…" she mumbled, pondering how she could escape this uncomfortable situation.

"Huh?" Kristy pondered, as Mimi stood up. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back," she noted, heading down the aisle as Suzie and Kristy looked back at one another with a confused look and a slim grin respectively.

"Yeah, they do that every time I ask too," Kristy noted, sighing.

"Great, now I have to spend the rest of the flight walking around," she mumbled, before spying an empty aisle seat next to Tai and Sora (the former on the window-seat side) and ducking into it.

"Hey," she muttered, surprising the pair in the middle of kissing, forcing them to pull away from one another and look at her, confused.

"Uh, hi Mimi," Sora greeted, a bit unnerved by her sudden appearance. "What's up?"

"I hope you don't mind, Kristy and Suzie asked me what sex is and I really don't want to answer them," she said.

"Where's Palmon?" Tai asked.

"She's still with them," Mimi sighed. "I'm sorry, but I really don't want to be responsible for telling them exactly what it is."

"Well, they'll find out sooner or later won't they?" Tai said.

"Yeah, but they're just kids Tai," Sora reasoned with him. "When we were that age, we had some pretty weird ideas of where babies came from, and it really bugs people not to be told something so huge like that," she noted.

"Yeah, I guess," Tai replied.

"I don't see how Kristy will be able to put off learning for long if her sister is having a kid," Biyomon noted.

"I'm sure her parents will end up having The Talk with her at some point," Tai commented. "I don't think they'll want her to do the same as her sister," he added.

"I don't think she will," Sora noted.

* * *

"Mari, is it just me, or is everyone on this flight talking about sex?" Ryder asked, looking curiously to the girl next to him at the window seat, an empty aisle seat a fortunate luxury on their row (particularly for DarkRenamon when she tired of Calumon-watching).

"I swear you have an incredibly dirty mind," Mari noted, rolling her eyes.

"No, I'm serious. I keep hearing people mention it…"

"You want to snoop in on their conversations, don't you?"

"If I say I'm curious, does that change your perception of me at all?"

"Not particularly."

"Was that meant as an insult or what?"

"Heh, you work it out," Mari replied with a grin.

Ryder chuckled in amusement. "Anyhow, shall we join them?"

Mari looked indignant. "No!" she replied.

"I meant shall we listen in, not whether we should talk about it too."

"Oh, right. Nah, I don't think we should, I'm sure they're private conversations," Mari reasoned.

"Hmm…by the look on Rika's face back there, she's peeved off at Takato," Ryder reasoned, peering over the seat back and completely ignoring his girlfriend. "And I swear Mimi was sitting over there before…"

"You know, you notice the tiniest of things," Mari noted with a slim smile.

"Maybe that's what I'm meant to do? "Pay close attention" and all that."

"I have a feeling this isn't what that meant."

"Because this is so obvious and loudly spoken?"

"No, because the Sovereigns aren't petty enough to care about our bickering."

"What if it wasn't from the Sovereigns though?"

"Huh?" Mari asked, confusion at Ryder's odd suggestion.

"Well, you have to admit, the messages sound a bit out of place coming from them," Ryder reasoned.

"Yeah, but…who else? And why do people keep saying they're from the Sovereigns if they're not?"

"See, that's where I get stuck," Ryder replied, with a frown. "Ugh, this just throws up another curve-ball in my life."

"A baseball reference?"

"Yes, I know, I've never played nor have ever been to a game or seen one, but that's just the way that my vocabulary works."

"Heh, your culture is so different over there on your tiny island," Mari laughed. "I'm surprised you didn't start spouting cockney rhyming slang when you arrived."

"I haven't got the first clue how all that Watford Gap works," Ryder replied with a grin and a poorly performed accent.

"Very droll."

"I thank you," Ryder said, bowing in amusement.

* * *

"Uh, Rika…" Takato mumbled, finally deciding to talk to the girl who had exhibited such an unusual reaction to what he had said. He half expected her to bite his head off for even imagining the most sappiest of sappy concepts. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, turning to face him. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…I sorta thought you'd get really mad at me," Takato answered.

"Nah, I know that's the sort of idea that goes straight to your head, but I know that you wouldn't take it too seriously," Rika replied, turning to face him again and sitting up.

"Oh, yeah, I wouldn't do that," Takato said, feeling a huge sense of irony hanging over the conversation.

"Anyway, this explains a lot. No wonder you keep staring at my ring finger. I guess it's better than you ogling me or whatever," she noted with a grin.

"So you're not mad?"

"Why would I be Takato?"

"Because…uh…"

"We're sixteen Takato; I knew it was a joke, duh! Give me some credit, I know you realise we're too young for all that…and…uh…well, I don't think you'd do it anyway," she noted.

"Why not?" Takato asked curiously. Rika eyed him oddly; this was a very weird turn for the conversation to take.

"What would be the point?" she asked. "I mean, our relationship is okay at the moment."

"_**Note the lack of the word: good…"**_ Chaos said to worry his alter-ego.

"And I'm not the kind of girl who'd explode in sappiness at a concept like that," she added. "Besides, you probably would be too nervous to do it," she muttered with a frown.

"Oh, okay," Takato replied unsurely. _"Okay, now I have no idea what to do."_

"_**Okay Takato, if you really want to know whether it's bothering her, you should do this…"**_

"_This isn't going to be some sick suggestion, is it?" _Takato asked, his tone concerned and irritated at the concept.

"_**Perish the thought. No, you have to put your arm round her."**_

"_Huh?"_

"_**Just do it and trust me, okay?"**_

"_Hmm…"_

"_**I am not trying to trick you!"**_

"_Okay…whatever you say…"_

"_**Unbelievable," **_Chaos muttered in irritation.

Takato looked to Rika, gently moving his arm round to her back. She tensed up on contact, Takato raising an eyebrow curiously. She partially relaxed as he moved his arm further around her back, but then she leaned against the window again, making it impossible for him to do so. He looked on, at a loss, before retracting his hand as Rika frowned.

"_**See, I knew it."**_

"_Knew what?"_

"_**She's lying through her teeth."**_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Right, this'll be the last chapter for several days as I'm off on holiday and won't return until next Thursday (hence the number of chapters I've put up recently). I wanted to cover a few things in this chapter that haven't been covered before (such as the operations of SDCO), and have done rather well. I've only got a chapter or two now before things begin to kick off, and a lot of it is going to be focused on Takato (who will not be able to forget Terriermon's advice, nor Chaos' observations).

If you're trying to find something Dimensions-related to occupy yourself in the meantime, why not check out the wiki (accessed via the link on my profile page) or Stratagems, my spin-off fic set during Book Twelve? Also, have a look at "Survivor", the fifth Extra Dimensions story, and try to figure out what it really means.

Right, so until next time (which'll probably be two weeks away), ta ta!


	42. The Trick To Encounters

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 36**

_The Trick to Encounters_

* * *

**WEDNESDAY, 1****ST**** SEPTEMBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Upper High School, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**08:05 JST**_

"_Some days I wish I was teaching kindergarten kids, at least then they wouldn't be able to talk back…even if they did do stupid things," _Nami Asagi thought with a frown. She leant back on the none-too-comfortable staffroom chair as she stared at the clock with a frown and reflected on the upcoming year of school. _"Ugh, I better pre-empt a headache," _she added, reaching over to her bag and taking out a packet of aspirin, the papers on her lap threatening to fall off and rearrange themselves into an order only known as "a mess".

As she swallowed the pill, she gripped the papers again and looked down to her list of students for the new term. She sighed, she already knew the details: teachers at this school taught a class for their full tenure at the school whether they liked it or not. Teachers only changed if the teacher left the school or if the pupils left, whichever was sooner.

Nami had pondered before, of course, leaving, but she doubted she would get a better class in any of the other schools in Tokyo. There were also some genuinely good pupils in her class, and some of them weren't _too _annoying.

She also doubted that any other teacher would have the fortitude, no, the courage, to put up with a class where every comment could be dissected into a witty remark by at least three different sources, or where two of the children seemed to be schizophrenic, or where pupils simply seemed to turn up out of the blue with no previous school record and were just allowed in. She knew the source, of course, Hypnos had become well known to those who knew the Tamers, if not the Tokyo public at large, even if officially it did not exist. The agency had some very wide reaching powers: perhaps too powerful. At least they didn't seem to act like your typical secret agency on TV: waking up with no memory was certainly something Mrs Asagi didn't want to be victim to.

And once again, the pattern was repeating itself.

"Two new pupils," she mumbled, sighing as she flicked through the papers. The class was full as it was, but evidently the concept of not putting all your eggs in one basket was one that Hypnos didn't subscribe to. She flicked through the record sheets on the two pupils, glancing periodically at the photos and hoping she wouldn't get them mixed up when she introduced them in a short while. Even if she did forget the name, she could simply ask them to tell the class their name and introduce themselves, and solve the problem that way.

The first picture was of a girl, her long dark blue hair running down to her hips and a smiling expression on her face as she looked at the camera through greenish eyes. Nami glanced down, pondering whether this was yet another of Hypnos' plots, but doubting it as she read the seemingly normal details of the pupil. "Sakura Yuuna, grades around As and Bs, no history of misbehaviour and transferred from Hokkaido. Hmm…same age as everyone else, maybe for once they've given me someone _normal_ in my class."

Nami held a slim smile and short lived chuckle at the concept: no one in Class 29 was ever normal. Ever.

"_Still, there's always a first,"_ she contemplated, flicking over to the next page and chewing her lip as she looked at an oddly familiar image. "Hmm…that's odd," she contemplated, racking her mind for where she had seen this girl before, her very dark brunette hair and odd dress sense ringing a bell in her mind. She glanced down to the name, a deep frown of realisation materialising on her lips. "Oh…" she gasped.

**Chiyo Suzume**

"_Hmm…poor girl, her parents died a while back I think. Wonder why she ran away, but I suppose she wanted a new life or something…oh…wait, here we go…"_

Reading the note attached to the paper, one given by Hypnos, Nami groaned and sighed, falling back to her seat from where she had leant over the papers.

"_ANOTHER Tamer…"_

* * *

_**08:24 JST**_

Mrs Asagi stepped back into the classroom of hell, knowing that it'd probably play witness to about a billion misdemeanours within the next year. She mentally noted where the available seats would probably be, but she also knew that inevitably people would move to another seat and then claim that it was where they had always sat. She'd given up on calling them out on it, at least they only tended to do it at the beginning of the year.

She took in the view of the empty classroom, contemplating how this would be her only sight of it that wasn't obscured by children, papers, discarded food and litter somehow eaten without her noticing and by messages etched into desks and the wall. Despite the growing maturity of her pupils, some had point blank refused to grow up, and some had actually become more childish.

The echoing through the school of the bell brought her from her thoughts sharply back to reality, as she placed her papers on her desk, frowning as she glanced over them and pondered whether she had taken enough aspirin to get over the headache of trying to teach her students knowledge they didn't want to know, on the first day back, when none of them would be concentrating anyway. She hoped the next year would be better: all students seemed to straighten up and fly right in their last year when exams loomed and the end was nigh.

The bustling of groaning pupils into the room prompted her to turn, mentally noting the usual order of arrivals, particularly of the Tamers. Nothing had changed, and, as always, the majority of the Tamers were absent. She hoped they were doing something constructive like helping Ryder to class, but she doubted that was the case, particularly since Mari seemed to have been appointed as his carer in that respect.

"Um…excuse me, Mrs…uh…" said a voice uncertainly, trying to get the daydreaming teacher's attention. Snapping forth from her thoughts, the brunette woman looked across to the girl from the first of the two pictures, Sakura. A curious expression was held on the girl's face as she looked over at the class, an air of nervousness about her at the prospect of a new class. Her clothes had changed from her records photo: she wore a pale blue sleeveless top and brown pants, a pair of subtle small silver studs in her ears.

"Mrs Asagi," the woman prompted.

"Her real name's Nami," chirped a voice from behind as the teacher felt something grip onto her hair and giggle. She groaned, knowing that voice from anywhere.

"Terriermon!" complained a voice.

"What? What?" Terriermon asked, leaping down onto a nearby desk and dancing about. "It's not my fault if she doesn't want everyone to know her real name or that she's twenty nine years old!" he added, grinning.

Nami scowled, the bunny was one thing she certainly wasn't looking forward to, and neither was people talking about her age.

Henry sighed, picking up his partner in his arms and frowning as he briefly bowed in apology. "Sorry Mrs Asagi," he said.

"Nami," Terriermon whispered with a grin.

"Sit down Henry," Mrs Asagi scowled, her anger directed firmly at the cream and green creature.

"Was that a Digimon?" Sakura asked, wide eyed as she watched the likewise hair coloured boy walk over to his seat and sat down with a sigh as his partner began to moan about how "people get so touchy about stupid things".

"Yes, and I'm afraid you are going to have to put up with a fair few of them in this class," the teacher sighed.

"Oh, well, I guess it's sort of cool," Sakura noted, looking back to the teacher. "My name is Sakura Yuuna," she continued.

"Well, you will be able to introduce yourself once everyone has sat down, and then I'll find you a seat. We have another new pupil as well."

"Does he or she have a Digimon too?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Yes," Nami sighed. "So this class is about to get even more manic."

"You need to relax and chill out more," Sakura noted, the older woman raising an eyebrow at the girl's casual response.

"Thank you for the advice," Nami replied, before Sakura and her both began to look across the class. Most pupils had arrived, most surprisingly of all, Kazu and Kenta. They were never the earliest to turn up. Then again, they were never the latest either: Takato usually took that award, or Ryder (usually along with Mari) lately if a combination of oversleeping, crutches and a lack of enthusiasm slowed him down.

Speaking of whom, Ryder then limped through the door, a slim smile flashed as he almost tripped over a badly placed chair leg, the rapid grab of his arm by Mari the one thing that saved him from a painful, and worse, embarrassing fall. The girl rolled her eyes at him as she pulled him to his feet before helping him to his seat.

"_Hmm…I thought he'd be cured by now, but I guess he's going to have to get used to it," _Nami contemplated with a frown.

"Great, now my leg hurts even worse," Ryder grumbled, reaching down to the sore calf.

"You really need to watch where you're walking," Mari muttered, rolling her eyes again.

"Mrs, stop staring at the class and listen to me," said a voice, snapping the woman to her senses as her mouth became a thin line, her head swivelling to see a girl with very dark brown hair and an irritated look on her face.

"Excuse me?" Nami asked, surprised at the blunt way this girl was talking to her, particularly given they hadn't met before. Sakura eyed her fellow new pupil curiously, noting the odd clothes in particular.

"_She looks a bit like a…"_

"You must be the other new pupil," Mrs Asagi noted, interrupting Sakura's train of thought.

"You think?" Chiyo stated.

"_Great, another back-talker," _Nami pondered, frowning.

"No, wait, sorry…being a bit mean again, I apologise," Chiyo sighed, noting how her angry streak probably wasn't going to do her any favours in her introduction to the class. "I presume you already know my name though?" she asked, looking up to the teacher and knowing that she obviously did, be it by the news or by her school record.

"Yes, Chiyo, wasn't it?" Nami asked, the girl nodding. The woman pondered the odd behaviour switch of this girl, going from irritation to calmness in a split second. At least it looked like she was making a conscious effort to improve, which was more than could be said for certain people…

"And you're a Tamer too, right?" Sakuya asked, placing herself in the conversation. Chiyo glanced across to the girl, a periodic look of curiosity on her face before she nodded.

"Yeah, I have a DarkBiyomon for a partner," she noted. "Unlike certain others though, I refrain from complicating matters by bringing her into school," she added, Nami silently breathing a sigh of relief.

"Cool," Sakura mumbled, unable to shake off the feeling she'd seen the girl before. Then it clicked. "Wait, you were on the news!" she suddenly realised.

"Yeah," Chiyo replied, frowning sadly at that fact being brought up again.

A frown crossed Sakura's face as she remembered _why_ this girl was on the news. "Oh, sorry…" she mumbled.

"Don't worry, I get a lot of that," Chiyo said cheerfully, doing her best fake smile. _"Why won't people forget about that fact?"_ she mentally asked.

"Right, Chiyo, please wait while the rest of the class sits down and we'll find both of you seats," Mrs Asagi said, the pair of girls nodding as they turned to look over the class.

"_Well…seems normal enough, even if the Digimon are a bit unusual," _Sakura contemplated. _"Well, at least it'll make things interesting…unlike my last class where I bet I could've gone to sleep without anyone noticing."_

"_Ugh, please not near Kazu, please not near Kazu, please not near Kazu, please not near Kazu, please not near Kazu…" _Chiyo mentally chanted.

"_Geez, look at the cow up there, staring at me evilly and contemplating how much she hates me," _Kazu thought, his mouth a thin line. _"She can go to hell, she's not sitting near me."_

"_Hmm, still a few left to arrive,"_ Mrs Asagi noted, glancing to the clock. They were about to be late if they didn't get a move on. She did a quick glance over the class to figure out who was missing, and, surprise surprise, Takato was amongst them. More curiously, so was Jeri, and less curiously, so was Rika. What were they up to?

* * *

_**08:30 JST**_

The bell rung through the school forcing Rika to frown. They were late, not that she wanted to be on time anyway. She wasn't sure how the class would react. Well, that was a lie, there were two ways they could react, and she knew which was the more likely one to start with.

"_As if I could be overweight," _Rika contemplated, rolling her eyes as she looked down at the very noticeable bump on her torso, currently covered by the biggest sized shirt she could find in her normal pattern. Being the daughter of a model meant most of her meals were highly healthy whether she liked it or not, and she didn't really mind that fact. And spending a lot of her time running, jumping and, of course, biomerged as a kick-ass shaman provided a lot of exercise. She doubted that Harmony would let herself get out of shape either: it did seem to explain how even when she did occasionally eat a lot she seemed to maintain a trim figure.

"Rika, wouldn't it be better if we all got to class now?" Jeri asked nervously, noting how it was the first time she had been late for class in ages.

"Ugh, depends on your definition of "better"," Rika replied, standing up off the wall she was leaning against and looking across to a concerned Jeri and Takato.

"I know what you mean, they'll probably crucify us if they find out the truth, or we'll at least be social pariahs," Takato noted. "I can just imagine the jokes already," he sighed.

"What do you mean "if", it's not like I'm not going to get any bigger?" Rika asked. "They'll find out, and if they laugh, they sure as hell better be fast runners."

"Is killing them _really_ the best strategy Rika?" Jeri asked curiously. "Maybe if you just explain things, they'll understand."

"I wouldn't know where to start."

"Me neither," Takato added, sighing. "Still, come on Rika, or Mrs Asagi will kill us," he noted, reaching for Rika's hand.

"Ugh, I guess you're right," she sighed, reluctantly taking it before frowning at the bump on her stomach. "It's times like this that I regret not taking the option of simply blaming this all on you."

"Thanks," Takato replied with a slim grin.

"Great, now I'm late too," Jeri noted with a frown as the trio began to walk.

"Look at it this way, she'll be too busy giving me a detention every day for the next two years to even notice you," Takato said with a grin.

"Yeah, suppose so," Jeri replied with a slim smile.

"Two years?" Rika asked with a smile. "Being optimistic, aren't we Takato?"

Takato chuckled. "Yeah, I'll be in there for the rest of my life."

"**In which case, Harmony, kill us now!" **Chaos groaned.

"**Gladly…"**

"Anyway," Jeri changed the subject before her two friends, or, at least, the entities within them, could kill each other. "Do you think Chiyo is going to fit in with the class?"

"So long as she's not seated next to Kazu, I think she'll probably be fine," Rika replied.

"Those two are seriously at each others' throats all the time now, and Kazu seems really depressed about it," Takato noted with a frown.

"Yeah, it was really mean of her to do that. What do you think Rika?" Jeri asked, looking curiously to her friend.

"It's Kazu; he'll just push himself up soon enough and be as boneheaded as ever."

"Yeah, suppose," the brunette mumbled, as they turned the corner and saw the sign for the class ahead. Rika frowned; this was going to be very annoying either way. Takato gulped, knowing that Mrs Asagi would kill him, whilst Jeri nervously looked on and hoped she wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.

Takato gulped before sliding the door aside.

"Why am I not surprised?" Mrs Asagi asked, already sitting on the desk and facing the door to wait for him. Takato chuckled nervously.

"Sorry," he apologised, scratching the back of his head. "Just…sorta…lost track of time, you know and…err…"

Rika and Jeri both rolled their eyes, smiles on their faces as they watched the boy with amusement. This was always one of the best sights to behold.

"Fine, sit down Takato," Nami said forcefully, having had enough of his ramblings.

Takato did a slight fumbled bow. "Thanks Mrs," he said, rushing to his seat before he was victim to anything else. Nami rolled her eyes, before gesturing with them for Rika and Jeri to sit down too. She raised an eyebrow at Rika's apparent sudden weight gain, something that had evidently also gained the interest of the class.

"Geez, what did she eat?" Ayaka muttered, looking across to Miki with a bewildered expression.

"So much for a daughter of a model," Miki added in a whisper and nodded. The boys were far less tactful.

"Bad luck Takato, you date the hottest girl in the class and then she goes all funhouse mirror on you," one of them yelled, as Takato nervously chuckled. Rika groaned, Takato was making a complete pig's ear of dealing with the situation.

"Shut. Up," she said forcefully, turning around before turning back to face the front of the class.

Mrs Asagi watched the display curiously, before stepping forward to introduce the new pupils. "Students, this is Sakura…" she began, the class whispering and muttering about Rika's dramatic change in figure.

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP OR I'LL BLOW YOU ALL TO HELL!" Rika blasted, hearing the muttering and flying straight into a mood swing. Nami's eyes widened at the sight.

Sakura looked on in surprise, while Chiyo was unfazed by the display.

"Rika, sit down," the teacher scolded. The girl suddenly looked saddened, dropping to her seat with a frown before going down to practically lay her head on her desk.

"_Hmm, that was…strange. I wonder what is wrong with her," _Mrs Asagi pondered. She shook it off for now before continuing with introducing the pupils. "Class, this is Sakura Yuuna and Chiyo Suzume. Go ahead and introduce yourselves," she said.

Sakura glanced to Chiyo, wondering who would introduce themselves first. Chiyo looked uninterested at the concept, a look of boredom on her face, so Sakura took that as her cue.

"My name is Sakura Yuuna, and I moved here from Hiroshima when my dad got a new job in this city. I…uh…hope I'm going to fit in?"

"_You're sane, you won't," _Nami reflected, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, and I like rock music, and shopping, and…um…any questions?" she said, not entirely sure what she was meant to say to introduce herself. She glanced about at the class, before noting Chiyo's hand was up.

"Are you single or taken? Because I'm sure that Kazu is dying for a new obsession right now," she asked tactlessly, a look of shock crossing Mrs Asagi's face, a look of surprise crossing Sakura's and a look of anger on Kazu's.

"_Great, so they've met this girl as well," _Mrs Asagi groaned. _"I knew I should've picked up another box of aspirin."_

"Shut up Chiyo," the aforementioned boy spat. Chiyo simply giggled, stepping forward to take the fray.

"I'm Chiyo Suzume, most of you already know me and the rest of you I don't care about," she introduced, before looking to Asagi. "Can I sit down now?" she added bluntly.

"Yes, please find a spare empty seat both of you," Nami replied. Chiyo glanced across the room, spying two spare seats, one in front of Kazu, and one to the left of Rika nearer the front. She quickly shot a warning glare across to the other new girl, causing Sakura to pause before watching Chiyo head over and take the seat furthest from Kazu as her own. Sakura eyed her fellow new girl curiously, before heading over to her own new seat. Nami watched the display curiously, before returning to her board. "Right, as you all know, my name is Mrs Asagi, and it would be rather pointless for me to go through all this again when you have all been in my class for so long, so, take out your Maths textbook and turn to page 29."

"_**Poo. Sorry Rika, I really didn't think you'd need it on the first day back."**_

Rika inwardly growled at her alter-ego, before raising her hand. "Mrs, I haven't got my textbook, I didn't think we'd need our books on the first day back," she explained.

"Probably ate it," someone muttered, causing Rika to turn round on her chair rapidly.

"What?" she asked harshly.

"Yeah, it could be true, how on earth did she gain so much weight so fast otherwise?" Ayaka noted to Miki loud enough for Rika to overhear, as the inquisition began.

"_God no…class war, class war, stop it now!" _Mrs Asagi's mind yelled, to no avail as it started.

"What did you do, sit down with a whole box of ice cream?" someone asked.

"Or a crate."

"Shut up!" Rika bellowed, her voice faltering as she looked across to Takato for help. He looked back, surprised and unable to think of what to do.

"What does it matter to you guys anyway?" Jeri defended, looks of surprise crossing the room at her forcefulness.

"No-one gains that much weight that fast, certainly not Mrs. Action Hero over there," Ayaka replied.

"Yeah, spill it, what did you do?" Miki asked.

"Why does it matter?!" Mari asked, standing to her feet as it became a war of pupils against Tamers.

"_This can only end badly," _Ryder reflected, trying to block out the noise all around him.

"_Yeah, like we didn't see _this _coming," _Kazu thought, rolling his eyes and oddly deciding not to get involved. He was too bitter to do so, and…

A textbook hit him squarely in the head as he yelled in pain, falling off his seat to the ground as Kenta looked to him in surprise. Chiyo laughed loudly, as Kazu quickly pushed himself to his feet.

"HEY, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA YOU B...?!" he bellowed across the class.

"Kazu!" Mrs Asagi interrupted and scolded, but by now the class was too far out of control.

Takato watched as Rika defended herself from voices from all directions, unsure how to help her. What could he do? If he tried to help, he'd only make a mistake, and Rika would be irritated for him intervening when she was getting revenge.

Rika wasn't enjoying it though. Not in the slightest. The sounds from all around drowned into a blur as everyone began to shout at everyone else, the root cause of the argument quickly forgotten. A volley of books hit the windows near Chiyo as she ducked with a grin: Sakura along with the other more passive children like Kenta had resorted to hiding under the desks until the fighting ended.

"_What on earth is going on?" _Sakura's mind asked, but her eyes had no answer. When Mrs Asagi implied this class was a bit unruly, she never imagined it was this much.

"Class, stop!" Mrs Asagi pleaded, pondering whether to go find someone, the Principal even. Then again, particular characters of this class would probably take more than that to calm down.

"So, what is it?" Ayaka asked. "What's your secret?" she added.

Rika let out a long groan of annoyance, irritation reaching peak levels as she spat out harshly at them. "I am going to kill you all if you don't shut up."

"No you won't, these days you're all talk and no action," Kazu noted bitterly, Rika turning to face the boy with surprise and irritation flaring on her face.

"Who asked you?" Rika spat.

"Seriously, have you even punched anyone in the last three years?" he added.

Rika growled at him in annoyance, whilst Mrs Asagi pondered pressing the fire bell.

"_I knew this day would come. Why oh why oh why did they keep putting this kind of person in my class?"_

"**YAY, CHAOS!" **Chaos cheered, Takato's body standing up and on the desk as Henry and Jeri simply looked on in surprise. **"Finally, some proper, good old unorganised Chaos!" **he added.

"_Chaos, stop it!"_

"_**Oh come on Takato, this is fun!"**_

"_No it isn't, you're just going to hurt someone or do something that'll land me in a lot of trouble."_

"_**Yeah, so?"**_ Chaos replied, Takato's hands taking on a reddish tinge as energy began to swirl around them. Papers began to fly through the room, scattering all over as Mrs Asagi leapt for cover under her desk. _**"That's your problem Takato, and I'll do whatever I want to cause Chaos."**_

"_No you won't now STOP IT!"_ Takato yelled, the energy around his hands shimmering before fading entirely as he pushed back Chaos, something that took a lot of energy thanks to Chaos' hyperactiveness. He collapsed to the desk unconscious, banging his head on the way down on its wooden surface.

"_**Oh, thanks a lot…**__**jerk…next time you're having fun, I'll ruin it too…uh…Takato…now's the time to reply that I should shut up…oh boy…oh, and now he's dreaming, brilliant, just…whoa, that's one weird dream…you dream about Rika being mad at you about things? Seriously, why are you not in psychiatric care?"**_

"Takato?" Jeri asked nervously, nudging her friend. Rika failed to notice, being too busy dodging both physical and emotional bullets, albeit the physical ones mainly being textbooks and pencils. "Takato?" Jeri repeated.

"Looks like he's unconc…" Mari began, before being interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat.

"SILENCE!" commanded the Principal, a tall, old gauntly man with a look of anger on his wrinkled face. He bashed a rubber against the board hard, the sound heard by all those in the room as a pin-drop silence fell across it. Now they were in trouble.

However, this action, of course, awoke Takato, and a dreaming Takato is an unintentional Takato.

"No Rika, you're still attractive when pregnant…" Takato said, standing up rapidly and blurting out what he was about to say in his dream. He paused in surprise as he looked across the room at two dozen surprised faces from his spontaneous outburst. "Aw nuts…" he cursed when he realised what he had just said.

"You stupid moron!" Rika blurted angrily, punching him in the groin and watching him fall before a look of horror crossed her face at her actions. "Shit…" she mumbled as she looked down to his form on the ground.

"Hey, Rika punched someone!" Chiyo cheered, relating back to Kazu's earlier point. "Oh, bad timing," she realised, her enthusiasm quickly fading as realisation set in.

"You're pregnant?" Ayaka asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief at the concept as she forced Rika to turn away from the injured Takato to field a question she really did not want to answer.

"Uh…" Rika mumbled, her mind now in the grip of a saddened mood swing as Takato pushed himself back to his seat, hand on his injured groin. She wasn't sure how to react, but one single coherent thought did go through her mind. _"Stupid Takato."_

She turned to glare at him as he looked to her apologetically, no words needing to be said.

"_Pregnant?" _Sakura contemplated, now sure that this class was somehow the subject of a soap opera.

"_Oh Takato, why on earth did you let yourself do that?"_ Mari contemplated sadly, looking to her friend with a frown.

"_Now he'll be in the doghouse for…ever, probably…unlucky pal…"_ Ryder contemplated, frowning.

"Excuse me, but will someone care to explain what is going on here?" the Principal asked, looking about at the class.

"Takato just managed to screw everything up, that's what," Rika blurted, standing up. "Go to hell," she spat at him, storming out of the class past the principal as Takato looked on hopelessly.

"_What have I done?" _he asked himself sadly.

"Okay, sir, I really need a crate of aspirin, so can you watch the class for a bit?" Mrs Asagi pleaded, before cursing her casual nature of conversation.

"No, I am suspending this class until further notice. Evidently there are several major problems with it, and until then, these pupils will be taught by me," the Principal decided. "As for you Nami, you will go to find that girl at once, understand?" he added forcefully.

"Yes sir," Nami said, nodding before rapidly leaving the room.

"All pupils will now assemble in the hall IN SILENCE and will not talk until I say so, UNDERSTAND?" the man bellowed, his presence strong on the class.

A chorus of nodding went up, the class too shocked and bewildered to say anything. The humans, at least.

"Momentai!" Terriermon cheered, leaping across the class to the front desk where he looked up to the elder man with a grin. "I don't count as a pupil anyway, so I'm off to steal Calumon's cream puffs!" he added, grinning before bounding out of the window as fast as he could. He sure as hell didn't like the idea of being stuck in there for eternity.

* * *

_**Akiyama Residence, Kyushu Prefecture**_

_**08:41 JST**_

"Ryo!" yelled a voice through the household.

"Yes Dad, I know I'm late for school!" Ryo replied, shouting also as he rummaged around his drawers looking for one particular textbook. This was bad timing, as was the oversleeping which preceded it.

"No, Ryo, come quickly!" his dad repeated, a sound of surprise and horror in his voice.

Ryo paused, looking curiously to the doorway before rapidly heading through it to the direction of his dad's voice.

"What is it Da…" he began, pausing in surprise in the brightly lit living room. Very brightly lit.

"It started to glow," his father told him, looking on with a mix of amazement and shock at the digi-egg on the living room table.

"What?!" Ryo blurted, looking to him before going back to the egg with amazement. "But that means that…"

The egg suddenly burst, a thick dust filling the room and causing the pair of humans to cover their eyes and choke. Ryo looked back to the table, now covered in a thin layer of digital dust, where a purple and gold blob looking surprisingly like a fish had placed itself.

"Monodramon?" Ryo asked, quickly raising his D-Arc as a grin appeared on his face. "Hopmon, In-Training Level, Data Type, attack Hop Hip," he read, before a frown appeared on his face. _"He jumped straight to the in-training level?" _his mind asked. _"I don't think Milleniummon's gone…" _it added.

Suddenly, Hopmon leapt forth, biting his mouth around Ryo's arm as the boy looked on in a stunned surprise.

"What the…?!" he stuttered, reaching across to yank his partner off before any damage was caused. He grabbed the horn of the fish-like creature, pulling it away, and watching as its jaws chomped at the air.

"What on earth is wrong with him?" his father asked.

"I don't know," Ryo replied, surprise in his voice still. But he did know. He knew all too well. _"Every time he digivolves, he acts so different…" _he thought with a frown. "Pass me something for him to eat," Ryo ordered, his other hand held out to his father.

"What will he eat?"

"I'd guess at _anything_."

"Hmm…" his father pondered, fumbling around into the kitchen before returning with a biscuit tin. He took out a plain biscuit, and held it to the creature, which had no hesitation in eating it. Nonetheless, the jaws didn't stop moving, even as his father passed him more biscuits.

"Maybe something more solid," Ryo pondered, looking around the room before his eyes stopped on an old metal tap from where they were renovating the kitchen. He pointed to it, before his father looked to him curiously. "It'll work, I'm sure of it," Ryo noted, as his father made his way over to the tap. He walked back, passing the tap to Ryo, who promptly stuffed it in the Digimon's mouth.

Hopmon continued to chew, but was unable to do anything other than scratch the tap. Ryo breathed a sigh of relief before placing the Digimon down on the table, where it oddly resembled a baby sucking a pacifier.

"I hope that keeps him occupied," Ryo wished, heading to his room to continue preparing himself for school.

"And what if it doesn't?" his father asked nervously.

"Then we'll need to find something tougher," Ryo replied with a grin. "Know of any titanium anywhere near here?"

* * *

_**Shinjuku Upper High School, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**08:45 JST**_

The children stood around the hall, a deep silence descended on pain of detention for the next few years, even beyond the end of school probably. Takato knew all eyes were on him and pondering about the details behind Rika's newfound pregnancy. Except for those who were Tamers, of course, who simply glared at him about how he had screwed it all up.

"_**Wow Takato, you managed to do what I have spent the last three years attempting to do. Well done!"**_

"_Shut up."_

"_**But I have to say, well done!" **_Chaos repeated, a clapping sound ringing in Takato's ears. _**"This is the most colossal screw-up you've ever managed."**_

"_I know that!"_

"_**So fix it."**_

"_I can't, I have to stay silent and stand here with everyone glaring at me."_

"_**Why?"**_

"_Because the Principal…"_

"_**Let's see, God, or Principal…who is further up the hierarchy…hmm…you know, I have no idea," **_Chaos said sarcastically. _**"FOR GOD'S SAKE, DO SOMETHING!"**_

"_Wait, are you actually encouraging me to repair things with Rika?"_

"_**Uh…no, I didn't…oh CRAP! Goddamn unintended consequences."**_

"Uh…sir, I need to go to the bathroom," Takato asked, putting his hand up and being on the receiving end of an indignant glare.

"Can it not wait?"

"Uh…no?" Takato asked. "I mean, no, it can't sir."

"Very well then," the Principal sighed. Takato took no pause in rushing out of the room.

"_I hope he doesn't make things worse," _Jeri thought and sighed.

* * *

_**08:46 JST**_

"Oh, there you are," Mrs Asagi said as the redhead came into sight sitting on a set of steps up to a slightly higher level in the school, her face half angered and half saddened. She sat with her arms crossed and placed on her knees which were tucked up close to her, although not as close as they normally could be. Her head rested on her hands as she stared across the hallway at a blank wall.

She failed to reply, leaving Mrs Asagi unsure how to continue. Of all the things she expected to happen, this was certainly near the bottom of the list. Even if Takato could be a bit of a dreamer at times, and even if Rika did have a bit of a temper, the woman had always marked the pair down as generally good children, which was more than could be said for Kazu. However, things had clearly got complicated for a such a huge fight to have been started only moments earlier, and that wasn't even considering the outcome of it all.

"Are you okay?" Mrs Asagi asked, hoping that the child would at least give her some method of conversation. She lacked the personal experience of pregnancy, and this case was clearly a very complicated one. She began to ponder how it had all started, before deciding that those details were best left to the imagination.

As silence prevailed, she pondered whether any of the other teachers would have pills to deal with the throbbing headache she now had. Then again, perhaps that was for the best, she didn't want to have any harsh effects from having too many, a stronger headache probably one of them in an irritating dramatic twist of irony.

She carefully sat next to the girl, dearly hoping that Rika would say something.

"This is the last thing I wanted to happen," Rika noted, a calm yet sorrowful look on her face, with an almost disturbing lack of tears.

"What do you mean?" Mrs Asagi asked, hoping the girl would be more specific.

"I didn't want them to find out at all. I knew they would, but I didn't want them to find out that way. And…he told them. Of all the people, he told them, and he screwed up completely. I thought…I hoped I could trust him, but…" Rika trailed off.

"Hmm…" Nami mumbled. What was she meant to say? Sure, she had had plenty of relationships in the past, none lasting too long thanks in part to the stressful nature of her career, but she knew she was still relatively young and had plenty of chances in the future. But here was a sixteen year old girl, her life turned on its head, and she didn't even seem to be able to trust someone who'd been with her for years. How could a single event chance things that much?

Nami pondered if there was another reason, but she wasn't sure how to ask.

"Stupid Takato. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, Takato," Rika muttered, biting each word.

"Rika!" yelled a voice running through a nearby corridor, the sound echoing. Whilst a look of surprise crossed Nami's features, Rika seemed to be used to this sort of thing, as a frown materialised on her face.

"Typical Gogglehead, always running around looking for me when he doesn't even know what to say if he finds me," she noted, a slim smile on her face.

"Do you want him to find you?" Nami asked, curious as to why Rika was reflecting so much on things like this.

"He will either way," Rika replied, her words validated as Takato skidded past them to a stop, a panicked look on his face. "Hey," Rika mumbled.

"Rika, are you okay?" Takato soon asked after realising he had no idea what to say.

"No, why would I be?" Rika asked, standing up to face him. "You told our whole class that I'm pregnant, the _one_ person I expected not to do so," she scolded.

"Uh, I know and I'm sorry?" Takato asked, not really sure how to reply. "It was an accident."

"I know it was an accident Takato, I'm not stupid, but what difference does it make?" she asked. "The rest of the year now is just going to be endless jokes; it was something I was hoping to hold off until it became too obvious to hide it any more."

"But you've never minded their jokes before Rika."

"Yeah, but those were just simple, petty classroom rips, not huge emotional punches," she replied. "I mean, come on, teenage pregnancy isn't exactly something people view with joy," she added with a deep frown on her face. "And I can't live my life in secret either, the media, Digital Watch, everyone is going to find out Takato," she continued. "I just wanted to keep it secret for a while, you know? I still haven't come to terms with it myself, and I don't want Rey to have to go through that sort of childhood."

"_Rey?" _Nami's mind stuck, hearing the name. It was familiar…she had met Rey before…she sometimes turned up to class to see those Tamers, but she never stayed. _"But they can't be talking about the same person?" _Mrs Asagi wondered, beginning to feel she was intruding on a highly private conversation. She considered slipping away, but she knew that would only draw more attention to her presence and hence more shame and embarrassment for the pair of teenagers.

"I don't want her to go through that either," Takato added, with a frown. "And we'll make sure she doesn't, right?" he added, a flash of determination in her eyes.

"Uh…yeah…sure," Rika replied unsurely.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Huh? Are you sure?"

"I'm fine Takato; I'll help Rey through this."

"Oh…okay," Takato replied with a frown. "So what do you want to do now?" he asked, worried once again by her use of terms.

"I want to go home and lay down, but I know I can't because the Principal will want me here for the next few years in detention."

"I am sure I could send you home on sick leave?" Nami suggested, looking curiously at the girl.

"No."

"What?" Takato asked in surprise, expecting Rika to be receptive to the idea.

"I am going to go and raise hell with the others. Why? Because I am not going to be the subject of crap from now on, I am not going to be every joke's punch line, and I sure as hell am not having my reputation and my life sent down the tube by this," she decided, turning and looking down the corridor before breaking into a strong walk. Takato watched nervously, before quickly making pursuit, soon followed by an equally nervous Nami.

"_I feel I should stop this, before one of the other kids gets involved but…Rika does seem to want to prove something here…oh god, I wish there was some medicine for this,"_ Nami thought, sighing before Rika pushed the doors of the gymnasium wide open to see…

No-one.

"Huh?" Rika and Takato said together, before Nami looked over to the Principal heading towards the door.

"Sir, where did they all go?" she asked.

"I sent them home, and you Mrs Asagi will do likewise. Please use the time to consider your inability to control your class."

"Yes…sir…" Nami replied, surprised by the turn of events. The Principal continued out of the room, heading towards his office, as the woman breathed a sigh of relief. She feared far worse consequences. Perhaps Hypnos had forced the Principal's hand – she at least expected a pay docking of some kind.

"_**Oh the irony, Rika has to go home anyway," **_Chaos reflected.

"_Yeah, it's not lost on me," _Takato replied in thought.

"Uh…hurry home children," Mrs Asagi said, deciding that she herself would need a lie down now. It had been a dramatic half hour.

"Okay," Takato replied, not wanting to disagree with such an order.

"Thanks for trying to help," Rika noted.

Nami was surprised: she hadn't really done anything, certainly not giving a reassuring pep talk. "Uh…thanks," she replied. "I will try to stop the class making fun of you when we eventually reconvene."

"Good," Rika replied, nodding, before she and Takato quickly proceeded towards the gymnasium exit. Nami breathed a sigh of relief. At least she would have a chance to recover. Or catch up on marking.

"_I need another school holiday,"_ she reflected, heading out of the hall towards her car.

* * *

_**08:51 JST**_

"Uh…hello?" Sakura tried to get the attention of some of the others as people began to go their separate ways out of the school. She was hoping to make at least one friend that day, but as events had turned out, she'd managed nothing of the sort.

"Henry, have you seen Rika and Takato yet?" Jeri asked, concerned.

"No, and I get the feeling they're probably talking about it right now," Henry noted.

"The rest of the school must envy us," Kenta added. "Time off school."

"Yeah, and all it took was one night of hot, passionate…" Terriermon began, before Henry quickly gagged him.

"Terriermon, what did I tell you about making sex jokes?" he scolded.

"Uh…do them?"

"Ugh…" Henry groaned. "I wish you had actually gone to see Calumon now."

"Momentai," Terriermon laughed. "And I had to wait and see all the pain the Principal subjected you guys to."

"So, what are you all going to do with your extra time off?" Chiyo asked curiously, looking around at the group.

"Park."

"Park."

"Park."

"Park."

"Park."

"Park, but we are not playing tag. The guy with crutches always gets a hard time."

"So, it's unanimous then, we're going to the park," Jeri concluded with a smile, as the group turned and headed away from the front of the school.

"Uh, hello?" Sakura mumbled, before sighing and gripping her backpack.

She began to stroll aimlessly: a whole day without anyone to befriend or play with was certainly going to be a long day. Perhaps she could try and find those other kids in the park?

"_Not that they'd want to play with a non-Tamer like me. I probably wouldn't understand any of it…I never really liked that show, and then when it became real, it just became another thing for my family to be paranoid of," _she noted, sighing.

Just another day without anything to do.

"_Maybe I could find those kids though…I suppose I could go to the park…not that I know where the park is though…ugh…" _she thought, sighing and coming to a stop. "Wait…" she contemplated, pausing and looking up more enthusiastically. "Maybe if I catch up with them, I could find the place!" he added, quickly breaking into a run and pacing quickly along the street, following where she had seen the others.

Whether she wanted to find them, on the other hand, was another question. Even if they did accept her into their group, their group seemed rather…sinister. Not necessarily in a bad way, but a group with a girl who gets pregnant in it and who plays with monsters regularly that can cause thousands of deaths wasn't exactly going to be all that friendly, nor have a shallow learning curve.

"_They probably have secret hand-shakes and all."_

She looked up to a footbridge, deciding that she would take it as it seemed to go into an area of greenery nearby. That _had_ to be the park. She ran up the stairs and across the bridge before continuing on into what seemed to be the park.

"_If I was on the right track, I'd surely have caught up with them by now," _she thought pessimistically, hoping they had also begun to run so she wasn't simply going the wrong way. She continued to run, her feet pacing on the ground as she looked out for any sign of the others, indeed, any sign of any other children, until…

**THWACK!**

She was thrown to the ground as she smashed into something that seemingly came out of nowhere, colours and sounds blurring in her mind and a ringing beginning in her ears. She felt a scrape on her leg, and as she attempted dizzily to push herself up she saw her deep blue hair over her eyes. She brushed it aside to see a hand, held out encouragingly. She took it before being pulled to her feet, closing her eyes periodically to fight the raging torrent of dizziness now overcoming her.

"You okay?" asked the voice, evidently male.

"Uh…ugh…" she merely mumbled.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" the figure asked, as Sakura opened her eyes to see a human boy holding out several fingers on his left hand.

"One…oh ha ha, very funny," she said, rolling her eyes at his gesture as he grinned. "Watch where you're going," she scolded, hands on her hips (despite the fact she needed them to balance, leading to a slight stumble on her part).

"But you ran into me!" the boy asserted, looking at her curiously from behind his blue eyes as he adjusted his short ruffled black hair and she did the same with her blue equivalent.

"Oh…did I?" she asked, still dizzy.

"Yeah."

She shook off her dizziness, putting out a hand to him. _"Maybe I can make at least one friend…"_ she pondered. "Sakura Yuuna," he introduced.

"Oh, right," he replied, joining her in a handshake, a long black sleeve on it, his black jacket covering a dark blue shirt underneath which ran down into black pants. If it weren't for the shirt, she'd have made a pretty quick conclusion about him. "Kohaku Souta. Uh, are you okay?"

"Just concussion I think."

"Isn't that…you know…a bad thing?"

"Uh, I don't know, is it a bad thing if I currently think you look really cute?"

"Uh…"

"Oh…poo…" she mumbled in realisation.

Kohaku chuckled, he wasn't even sure if this girl currently qualified as conscious.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Yes grandma, I'm fine," she replied.

"O…kay…I'm currently pondering whether to call an ambulance."

"What's an ambulance?"

"Big thing, goes bleh blah, takes you quickly to be healed."

"Uh…what?"

"I have no idea," he replied, deciding that making a prompt exit was probably rather important before she tried for a kiss, a kick to the crotch, or something in between that was far worse. "Well, goodbye," he said, turning and walking away from the girl. He paused to look over his shoulder as she seemed to get back to reality.

"Uh, what's happening?" she asked, looking to him curiously.

"No idea, I ran into you and you went nuts. See you again sometime," he bode farewell with a quick, continuing to walk away. _"Nutter…" _he dismissed her mentally.

"Yeah, okay…bye," Sakura replied, doing a similar wave before sighing as a realisation crossed her. _"Great, he's gone, I haven't even got his number, and I just acted really insane. So much for making friends. Oh, and I'm alone again. Whoop-dee-doo-dah! Whoop-dee-doo!" _she thought sadly and sarcastically as she looked down at her shoes.

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**09:03 JST**_

"Grandma, the class started a riot and Takato accidently told everyone I was pregnant so I'm home!" Rika called as she stepped through the door, Takato laughing nervously behind her as Seiko turned to face them from the kitchen.

"Oh dear," she mumbled, looking to the girl with concern.

"**Meh, pretty much a normal day for us lately," **Harmony conceded with a frown.

"Yeah, you've got that right," Rika noted as she quickly proceeded across the living room to the hallway, Takato pausing with a frown.

"By the sounds of it she isn't completely alright with all this," Seiko noted, looking curiously to the boy.

"Yeah…to be honest I'm not sure what to think about her lately," Takato said nervously, uncertain of how to put his worries into words, particularly given he was talking to the grandmother of Rika and not just himself, Chaos or someone he could ramble onto about things without a slip up causing huge fallout.

"Whatever do you mean Takato?" Seiko asked, a smile of encouragement on her face.

"Well…she's just been acting…distant, you know…"

"I can't say I haven't noticed it."

"Yeah, but…I just don't know what to do. And I really really really screwed up badly today."

"Well, I'm sure you two will reconcile whatever is bothering you somehow."

"I wish I knew what _was_ bothering her, that's the problem."

"Hmm…I think you may know."

"Henry said it was because she feels she can't trust men," Takato noted with a frown of concern. "So what on earth do I do?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and hoping the eldest and traditionally wisest member of the Nonaka household would be able to help in some way.

"Well, I wouldn't put it exactly that way, but…" Seiko replied, pausing in contemplation as she gathered the right words together. "She…she has still evidently got lingering emotional distress from her father leaving," she noted. "And perhaps that is the reason why she is unsure about you."

"But aren't we completely different? I wouldn't ever leave!" Takato insisted. "We're having a kid together, and I want to be there for her."

"You're not all that different from her father, you know?" Seiko noted with a frown. "Both of you were so naïve, no offense intended. And you both treat Rika like she's your whole world, and are really concerned when she's irritated in any way."

Takato frowned, nodding in agreement and worrying that something he thought was a good thing was somehow also going to cause the downfall of their relationship. He sat down on the sofa near the TV in the main living room area. "Yeah, but…I don't plan to leave or anything."

"Neither did he," Seiko replied, sitting opposite on a large armchair and holding a cup of herbal tea in both hands. "But…things got complicated…Rumiko was always pursuing her career, and whilst Kiyoyuki would always continue to look after Rika, and later Kristy, whenever he could, it continued to strain their relationship when each felt the other was meant to be the most responsible for looking after their children. And they were both so headstrong at times too…Rumiko and Rika are both so stubborn, and her father could be the same. When Rika's grandfather died of cancer, Rumiko invited me to move in to get past the emotional grief, and I saw first hand how their relationship was falling apart. I seemed to end up looking after Rika and Kristy the vast majority of the time whilst they would always bicker about who was most responsible for the job. One night, they had a big row, and he walked out. It wasn't really either of their faults, they were simply too young for it, and both wanted to pursue careers before settling down to a family. But it was too late, and Rika hasn't seen her father in so long now. I am sure that we could contact him if she really wanted it, but I fear it would put too much emotional strain on her."

"I see," Takato replied, frowning as he contemplated how similar his situation actually was to theirs. But…he and Rika seemed perfect for each other, and they had been together for so long beforehand. How could it possibly go wrong? He wouldn't let it, he didn't want to lose her.

"The thing is, Rika loved her father. He would always take her down the park, and until she began to realise that her mother and father's little "talks in the kitchen" weren't friendly chats, she was so happy about everything. And she sang, at times, in that childish way kids do sing. Rumiko was too busy to notice, but her father encouraged her. At the same time, Rumiko would always want Rika to try on dresses, and she did in order to please her mother, but…I think she resented it after her mother and father had that fight. She thought that both of them were responsible for causing it to end."

"That's really sad," Takato noted with a frown, before recalling a day all those years ago. "I have heard her sing, and…it…it's beautiful."

"I know, but I don't think she would ever knowingly sing to anyone else, not even you Takato."

"Why not?"

"Rika, even if she now knows she can be more open to a lot of people, especially you, will never fully open up. It is who she is, it is the remainder of her past, and I'm sure you know that. Indeed, you may not want her to go around opening up to everyone: that wouldn't be Rika - that would be like every other girl on the street."

"But I do want her to be more open."

"To you perhaps, but Rika is the kind of girl who plays a lot of cards close to her chest, no pun intended."

"I see," Takato replied. "Mrs Hata…?"

"Please, call me Seiko, it makes me sound younger. I am only 52, after all."

"Oh…okay. Seiko, do you…do you think I can actually make this work?"

"Hmm…are you asking me, or are you asking yourself?"

Takato sighed, nodding. "Myself I guess."

"Then you will have to ask Rika."

"But even if I do, she doesn't want to talk about it. There's nothing I can say that would change things…"

"I'm sure she'll open up in time."

"Yeah, but I'm just concerned that by then she'll have let everything bug her so much she won't be able to cope."

"Hmm…"

"I don't think I'll be able to cope with this for much longer either. But…as for ideas…I've only got one, and it's pretty lousy," Takato mumbled, frowning as he recalled what was actually Terriermon's plan.

"Let's hear it then, I'm sure it's not all that bad," Seiko encouraged.

"Terriermon suggested I propose to her."

A genuine look of surprise crossed the older woman's face as she contemplated his words. "My…that would be a dramatic step to take."

"I know, that's why I don't want to."

"All the same, if you were trying to prove to Rika that you'd stay and she could trust you, I suppose that would be one way."

"Yeah, I suppose," Takato replied. "Hey, Mrs H…Seiko…were Rika's parents ever married?"

"Yes, but they married when Rika was three."

"So maybe I shouldn't propose to her yet…" Takato contemplated with a frown.

"Takato, let me tell you something you have to understand," Seiko said, leaning forward and looking the boy in the eye. "Takato, you are not Kiyoyuki, and you shouldn't be worried about being like him. You are _you_, and you don't have to worry about the same mistakes as her parents made. You will make mistakes, of course, everyone makes mistakes, but if I'm sure in one thing, it's that your relationship will take you two through thick and thin."

"Really?" Takato asked, hoping she wasn't simply humouring him or telling him what he wanted to hear.

"Yes, because you two have one major difference to Kiyoyuki and Rumiko. You rely on each other."

"What do you mean?"

"Rika relies on you for emotional support, and you rely on her for confidence and self-esteem. You each balance each other out, and that is one thing that Kiyoyuki and Rumiko never had. Their relationship before Rumiko got pregnant was very limited."

"So Rika was an accident?"

"Only in so much as she wasn't planned, as opposed to being unwanted. I am sure you see Rey in the same way. Even if you didn't want children right now, I am sure that in time you two would have children anyway, so you have merely sped up the schedule somewhat."

"I suppose so."

"Takato, I am sure you will worry yourself to death about this, and I am also sure that these words will have little impact on you, but stop worrying. There is no reason to worry: worry leads to mistakes like the one you made today. You need to look at what you do have and what you do know, rather than what you don't."

"Yeah, but it's really hard not to."

"Takato, do you believe in your relationship with Rika?"

"Yeah, she means everything to me," Takato replied confidently.

"Then you have nothing to fear, because she knows that too, but she simply isn't sure of it. You have to reassure her that she does mean everything to you."

"But how?"

"How exactly is up to you."

"I see," Takato replied, frowning as he stood up, hoping that Rika hadn't been eavesdropping the whole time. That could make things a lot more complicated. "Thanks," he said to the older woman.

"Please, it's no trouble whatsoever. I'm here for advice whenever you need it. Just…please be careful with Rika."

"Huh?"

"In the absence of a father to tell you the same, and I'm sure Rika would do it regardless and carry out the subsequent punishment, you mustn't hurt Rika, okay?"

"Of course I wouldn't," Takato insisted. "I promise."

"Good," Seiko replied. "Now you better hurry along to see her before she falls asleep from irritation."

"Unlikely, whenever Rika's irritated she just stays awake continuously, it takes a lot of effort to get her to sleep."

"I'll leave the question of why you know that to be answered rhetorically, shall I?"

"Please do," Takato chuckled nervously, deciding to keep his mind in better control of his mouth from now on. It had led to far too many mistakes in the past.

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**09:10 JST**_

"Great, they all ran off anyway," Ryder grumbled, slowly following on crutches as Mari matched his pace. She sighed.

"I know, but it's not fair to hold them all back."

"Yeah, I guess so," Ryder replied. "Can you get DarkRenamon to go get MiniDonmon?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, sure," Mari replied, Ryder not being too surprised as a large black fox landed out of nowhere alongside the girl. She looked up to her partner, a smile passed between them. "Can you go get…"

"RYDER!" yelled a female voice out of nowhere as DarkRenamon's ears twitched. Her head swivelled round as a fierce wind ripped through the park before fading all of a sudden into silence. Ryder turned as fast as he could (a relatively slow turn) to face its source, but failed to see it before it vanished.

"No…way…it…it can't be…" he mumbled in surprise all the same.

"What was that?!" Mari asked, startled by the sudden voice.

"That…that…" Ryder stuttered, a look of concern gracing his features. "That was something which is beginning to worry me," Ryder replied, his knowing frown telling Mari all she needed to know. She shook her head dismissively.

"No, it couldn't be that," she asserted. "I think we're just all going a wee bit crazy after all those messages we heard," she added quickly, trying to smile off the problem. "Now can we please get moving?!" she pleaded.

Ryder eyed her curiously, before nodding and turning to face where they were going again. "Fine," he mumbled, pulling himself forward.

* * *

_**WORLD 929292929292929292**_

_**Unknown Location**_

_**Unknown Time and Time Zone**_

"Stupid thing. Please please please please please just WORK!"

The device was unresponsive, as she pressed away at some buttons on it again, pleading mentally for it to work as her long blonde hair was seemingly ruffled by the stress.

"Ugh…" she mumbled. "Bad day," she added, falling back into a thankfully-placed chair.

This was going to take a while to get right. The question was: why wasn't it working to begin with?

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

A nice, emotional reflective chapter with the addition of two new characters to the mix as well, who we'll look more closely at later. Oh, and I also completely screw with your heads once again. Go figure.

Until next time…


	43. The Trick To Birthdays

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated). Neither do I own "So Ahead Of Me" by Orson (even if it does fit rather well as an image song for Ryder and Ivy), nor the Digimon songs mentioned in this chapter.

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. And I'd like to thank E.S. Simeon for being my 250th reviewer of this story.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 37**

_The Trick to Birthdays_

* * *

**WEDNESDAY, 20****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence**_

_**16:04 JST**_

The light gently lit up a red balloon planted in order to make the room feel a bit more cheerful. Hanging decorations were placed around from curtain rails to shelves and to the kitchen, light glinting off them. More decorations, including "happy birthday" signs (albeit in Japanese even though the apartment's two usual human occupants couldn't tell the difference), decorated some of the walls, while there are a celebratory air settling across the room. Unfortunately, it collided with the depressing nature of the birthday boy's current ailment, creating a weird mix of happiness and sadness that seemed to be characteristic of their lives lately.

Ryder stood up on his crutches; a smile on his face as he was impressed by how Mari had managed to change the air in the room so quickly, given school had only ended a short while prior. Nonetheless, she was still very concerned she wouldn't finish in time. She rushed around, particularly when the smell of burning reached her nose.

"Mari…" Ryder began.

"Busy honey shut up love you."

"Oh, okay," Ryder said quickly, deciding that perhaps now wasn't the time to voice how impressed he was. He turned his head to look across the presents, as his mind drifted back to his previous birthday…back home.

A frown graced his face as he contemplated how much his life had changed in those 21 or so weeks. The last thing he imagined happening, hell, the last thing he imagined was actually physically possible, was being right here, right now. And he wasn't simply watching or reading or talking about it any more: he was living it. Sure, having a Digimon in his world was cool and all but here…was unbelievable. He had fought a Royal Knight, several in fact, he'd found a girlfriend, and he had even died and come back to life again: all impossible things in his mind.

Then again, at home he fought one of the Olympus Twelve, and a Digimon from V-Tamer, so perhaps it wasn't too impossible. Given his natural uncertainty around girls, however, the girlfriend bit was probably the most unlikely thing there, and that was saying a lot since mortality was difficult to get rid of.

He looked at the four presents got for him by Mari, ranging from a small box that he knew was a video game by its shape to a larger box he had a suspicion contained an item of clothing or some piece of computer equipment. In the middle, there was another box, long but containing what exactly Ryder had no idea. It looked like a packet of some kind, and when he had shook it previously to guess at what was inside, he had heard a fair bit of rattling. He shrugged it off, Mari had gone to a lot of effort to get whatever she had got, particularly considering they weren't exactly made of money at that point, and he pondered how he would make it up for her on her birthday...

"_Ugh, and I can't even remember when that is. Is it November? December? I don't want to have to ask, maybe DarkRenamon knows. Or maybe she's written it down on the calendar or something."_

At the same time, he doubted he would be able to pull off the same amazing display of quick decorating and planning as Mari had given he had crutches and wasn't used to doing that sort of thing anyway. Then again, neither was Mari to his knowledge, but then again, when she put her mind to a task, it tended to end up done right, or at least not done too badly, which was something he admitted he couldn't say about himself.

His eyes glanced up to a set of shelves where his cards had been placed, as few as they were at the moment, primarily consisting of Mari's card, MiniDonmon's attempt (although it turned out to be a card for someone who had just turned seventy, rather than seventeen, but he was still thankful for it despite MiniDonmon's mistake), and a few cards from people who were too busy or too far away to get there, perhaps a good thing since Ryder knew the small apartment would be packed anyway.

"Mari, do you mind if I…"

"Ryder, please," she said, ignoring him again. He shrugged, turning round to face the laptop which was currently to be found on a small computer table hooked up to a pair of speakers. He carefully sat down, making sure he didn't slip on his crutches, and wincing in pain slightly as he put just slightly too much pressure on his leg. Mari normally would've noticed, but she seemed to be far too occupied with her own tasks right now.

He looked to the back of the chair as MiniDonmon landed; curiously looking over his shoulder at what he was doing on the PC as he looked over a music play list they had made up.

"Eh? How on earth did you get "Biggest Dreamer" here?" the bat asked, bewilderment on his face. "Won't the Tamers be confused?"

"I had my MP3 player on me when we got sucked into this world, and they won't know it anyway."

"Hmm…"Promise"? Another one from our old world?"

"Oh, yeah, better leave that one out of there…" Ryder muttered, removing it from the playlist. "Heh, Rika would have a fit if she heard her own voice singing, even if it was just her voice actress."

"So what else is there?" MiniDonmon pondered, looking over the list curiously.

"As much as I could find on the inter-webs of songs I remember," Ryder noted, before frowning. "Which is pretty limited, which is why most of these songs are just straight off the MP3 player. They don't actually exist here, that's the weird thing."

"Yeah…hey, you could always steal them and sing them? I mean, who would notice?"

"Everyone, I can't sing to save my life."

"Well, why not sell them if you have the only copies? Or give them out for free? Who's going to sue you?"

"Aren't we meant to be keeping a low profile? I have only existed in this world for a short while: people would find it very odd."

"True, but people really don't care who makes something so long as it's good."

"Wow, you just completely ruled all my old fanfics irrelevant…and also explained why people actually did care that I made it."

"Heh, I'm sorry, but seriously…you had _so many clichés_!"

"Yeah, true," Ryder chuckled, as he began the playlist, smiling as "So Ahead of Me" by Orson flicked onto the screen. He swivelled around on the chair to look across the room again. Everything was nearly ready, which was good since it wouldn't be long until everyone turned up. Mari looked ready to pull her hair out from the stress. "Uh…can I help?" Ryder asked.

Mari paused in irritation. "No, just…uh…greet people, okay?" she said, flustered as she stared periodically at the oven before realising it was beeping loudly. She quickly switched it off, before fanning a tea towel over the smoke detector as it began to ring.

"Yeah, fine," Ryder replied, pausing to watch her wander around. A sound from the doorway caught his attention, and he smiled to see an envelope put through the door. He carefully walked over and leant down to pick it up, looking curiously at its pale pink back before turning it over.

He stopped in his tracks as the song continued to play through the apartment.

"_**Just remember this…"**_

The handwriting.

"_**It's just a kiss."**_

He quickly ripped the envelope open, his eyes widening at the birthday card inside.

"_**Nobody has to know."**_

Opening it up, he stared blankly at the text, before his eyes searched for a name.

"_**But I'll know."**_

**Ivy**

His eyes widened further before a look of bewilderment crossed his eyes. He quickly stood to his feet, as quickly as he could do with crutches, before opening the door and looking down the corridor with a look of alarm filling his face.

"_**And I'll be waiting by that phone."**_

"Ivy?" he called, wondering why, if she delivered the card, she would just vanish like that. What on earth was going on?

"Who's Ivy?" asked a voice from the ground below as Ryder looked down to the ever curious face of Calumon, tugging the corner of his mouth as he looked up to the boy who leaned on his crutches, looking still about the hallway. Why would she run like that?

"Calumon," he said, looking down to the living creampuff and deciding to use a different tactic. "Did you see a blonde girl delivering a card just now?"

"No, silly."

"Did you see _anyone_ deliver a card just now?"

"Um…" Calumon said, looking up in thought as he tugged tightly on the edge of his mouth. Ryder continued to watch him expectantly, hoping there would be some clue as to what on earth was really going on here. "Oh, yeah, I did!" Calumon cheered, a big grin on his face as Ryder's expression faulted.

"What?"

"Yeah, I found this pretty card on the ground and I brought it to you."

"Huh? But how did you know it was for me?"

"I just did silly!"

"But it didn't have an address or anything."

"So?"

"Ugh…" Ryder groaned. "I mean, did you see anyone drop the card, or did someone tell you where to take it or what?"

"No…did you?"

Ryder groaned again, rolling his eyes before watching the creampuff bound into the room. He balanced on one crutch and ran his hand through his hair, pausing when he heard shrieks of "Calumon, get off the cake!" from behind him. He frowned, looking to the card again before wandering back across the room.

It was your typical birthday card, terrible pun on the front, the words happy birthday in the middle and the disappointment of no money slipped in it throughout. That was the least of his concern, however, at that moment, as he sat down on the sofa again, discarding the destroyed envelope on the coffee table and not taking his eyes off the card as he opened it. Mari barely noticed him do so: Calumon was too busy making her life difficult.

"Calumon, no, don't eat that!"

Ryder looked in the card again, reading with curious eyes through the rather wordy message which was all the same very neatly written, in all too familiar handwriting. Her words were like those of speech, and in places she seemed to dither about, unsure how to finish her sentences.

**Ryder,**

**Yeah, I know you're probably surprised to have received this message, and by now you're probably already having your mind explode. And yeah, I bet you're currently cocking an eyebrow at this. You're so predictable, you know that?**

**Still, I knew I couldn't let this day pass without wishing you this, even if I don't know whether you'll actually get this card. I kinda wish you could reply to it somehow, but I couldn't even begin to explain how I sent this. Anyhow,**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY**

**I want to tell you that I think I'm happy for you. I hope I am. Mari seems perfect for you, even if she can be a bit overly jealous at times. And I know you'll do fine without me but…I miss you. And I think…no, I do love you, but I don't want to ruin your li****fe with that. Well…I don't know. I really want to see you again, and…yeah.**

**We won, by the way. **_**He**_** isn't coming back. At least, I hope not.**

**I'm going to try to get there and see you, I promise. Please "pay close attention", and yes, I know that makes it clear I sent you the messages. I can't say how either, you have no idea what that knowledge can do. I'll try to contact you again.**

**Ryder, I am going to have to warn you. Be very careful. Very careful. And I mean that, because if you let slip even a single hint of what you know, the world you are in is doomed. I want to help you, and I'll try, but I can't do anything until I get this working.**

**Please don't screw things up with Mari. And I'm sorry if she leaves you because of me.**

**Love, Ivy X X X**

**PS. Please work out what the feather is for, I haven't a clue.**

He paused, simply staring at the kisses on the bottom of the page as the world around him blurred, even the sounds of the speakers and of Mari trying to stop Calumon eating everything not reaching his ears.

**Love**

He closed his eyes as his hand with the card in it dropped to his side forlornly. His mind began to ponder about how on earth his newfound happiness could be maintained with the knowledge that everything was heading towards a crisis point like this. Ivy loved him. Mari loved him. So what on earth was he meant to do if…when Ivy returned? How would Mari react? The last thing he wanted to do was to lose her…

**And I'm sorry if she leaves you because of me.**

But Ivy knew that was a possibility. So why was she doing what she was doing regardless? What was going on back home? Did she love him too much to care, and, if so, how could he get out of this situation without breaking someone's heart in the process?

"Ryder…"

And how was she sending these messages anyway?

"Ryder?"

Ryder's eyes suddenly widened dramatically. How did she know of Mari? Was she really doing what he had feared? _"But the effects of that could be catastrophic for me…forget the world being doomed because of me, she could kill us all if she makes a mistake!"_

"Geez, the guy's finally gone mental, and I don't blame him."

"Kazu, I'm sure he's just deep in thought," Jeri scolded as Ryder came back to reality with a jolt, looking up to see some of the Tamers had arrived.

"Uh, sorry, was just…thinking about something," he mumbled.

"Just like every Gogglehead, always with their head in the clouds," noted Kari before she looked across to Davis who was currently staring at the birthday cake with his mouth watering. A smile popped onto her face.

"Uh, sorry Kari, were you saying something?" the boy asked, looking across to his girlfriend curiously. She rolled her eyes.

"Never mind," she dismissed. Ryder looked curiously around the room, seeing Jeri, Kazu, Kenta, Kari, Davis, Takeru, Yolei, Mimi and Matt had arrived, with partners. The room was looking pretty full already, and Ryder knew that any future parties would benefit from a change of setting.

Matt walked over to Ryder with an amused smile on his face, as the younger boy subtly hid the card behind him. The last thing he wanted was to complicate things further like that. "Sorry, but Tai managed to get himself volunteered for helping one of his lecturers to mark some papers. The guy really needs to buy an alarm clock…and get a better teacher who doesn't love cruel punishments for latecomers."

"Why don't you guys wake him up?" Kenta asked curiously.

Mimi sighed, rolling her eyes. "Like it'd work; Tai could sleep for the Olympics. Even Sora can't wake him up half the time," she said.

"Yeah, and so she's now gone to help him out of pity," Matt added.

"Well, this place is going to be pretty packed anyway by the looks of it, so it's probably for the best," Takeru noted, looking around the apartment. "Happy birthday all the same," he added, looking back to Ryder and smiling as he handed over an envelope.

A look of horror crossed Davis' face, before he looked across to Kari and laughed nervously, taking her hand and stepping back from the group.

"What is it D…you forgot to get a card, didn't you?" Kari asked, rolling her eyes.

"Uh, yeah," Davis replied, chuckling nervously. "Can I add my name to yours?"

Kari sighed, frowning. "Fine."

"Thanks, I promise next time I'll remember."

"Good to know, but I don't think it'll reseal again properly. Maybe Mari has a glue stick or something we can use?"

Davis looked over to the girl, who was still busy dealing with a burnt cake and some food as Calumon continued to eat whatever wasn't brunt. "Calumon!" she moaned, breathing a sigh of relief when DarkRenamon came to take him away.

"She looks way too busy," Davis noted as he looked back to where Kari was carefully opening the envelope and taking a pen from the table. "She's really going for it on this whole birthday thing, huh?" Davis asked, as he took the pen from her and wrote his own name in addition on the card.

"Yeah, I agree with you there, but I think she just really loves him. Or she doesn't want to lose him."

"Huh, why would she lose him?" Davis asked as Kari licked the seal on the envelope again, hoping it would work twice.

Kari frowned, pausing after she sealed the card just enough to not make it too obvious that it had just been opened a few minutes prior. "I think Ryder has something really complicated in his past that could ruin their relationship or something," she noted.

"Explains why she's going mental to make it work," Veemon noted from below, shrugging off the girl's busy actions.

"They talk about a girl called Ivy a lot," Kari noted, holding the sealed envelope in her hand and pausing as she contemplated the fact.

"Who is she?" Davis asked curiously.

"She's probably someone from his old world," Gatomon mooted.

"Yeah, and I think she may have had a relationship with Ryder of some kind," Kari added.

"So Mari is trying to be better than his ex so he forgets about her, right?" Davis stated.

"Yeah, that's what I understand at least," Kari replied with a frown.

"Heh, sounds like she's acting like every guy in existence," Davis chuckled. Kari smiled, nodding in agreement.

* * *

_**17:45 JST**_

The party was well underway, and people had begun to relax and squeeze into the apartment. Ryder had opened various cards as they arrived, and had added a few extra presents to the pile, but he never expected all that many to start with. He continued to ponder what was in some of the particular packages, but he knew he'd find out soon enough.

Carefully, he wandered through to the kitchen, where Guilmon had currently began to eat the remains of a burnt cake without much fuss, Renamon watching with rolled eyes and a smile of amusement, particularly cemented when he coughed on a particularly carbonated piece of cake.

"Uh, Mari, don't you want to…you know, sit down and talk to people?" Ryder asked, concern in his eyes.

"No, I have to finish the new cake, work out how many candles we have and also figure out if we actually have enough drinks for this many people," she said, before gasping as she scalded her hand on a tray, yanking it away quickly.

"Ouch, that looks like it hurt," Ryder noted, taking the girl's wrist carefully and looking over it. "Joe, can you come over here?" he called, looking across the room. Mari frowned in irritation.

"I really don't need this," she complained, sighing as Joe came over promptly and took up Ryder's position holding her wrist as he inspected the burn.

"Just relax Mari; people aren't expecting everything to be perfect."

"Hmm, doesn't look too bad," Joe noted.

"Are you saying this isn't perfect?" Mari asked inquisitively, her non-burnt hand on her hip.

"It should heal up pretty quickly I think," Joe continued, but was all but ignored by the girl he was talking to.

"No, that's not what I meant," Ryder pleaded, putting his hands up defensively. "I just meant that you don't need to worry about it all that much, okay?"

Mari sighed, frowning. "Okay…but I really have to finish this cake," she noted.

"Can I help?" Ryder asked, looking to her curiously.

"No, you can't see your cake until you have to blow the candles out."

"Heh, you make it sound like I'm a four year old. Anyhow, I'm sure someone will help you," Ryder suggested, before frowning as he realised this was exactly what Ivy was forecasting.

"Yeah, okay…" Mari sighed, before looking across the room, where all of the Tamers but Tai, Sora, Ai and Mako (although Impmon had turned up anyway) and Ryo had turned up. Ryo was an odd absence, he had implied it had something to do with a broken tap of some kind, and no-one had any idea what he meant beyond that. Evidently though, he was having a problem with something. "Can anyone help me with this?" she called, nods of volunteering coming from a few of the group.

"So long as it doesn't involve getting too badly burnt," Mimi agreed, joining Jeri.

"Sure, I'll help in whatever way I can," Jeri offered, strolling over in her direction.

"I can cook," Davis offered, joining them, to the other's surprise.

"Really?" Mari asked unsurely.

"Yeah!" Davis agreed. "Seriously guys, I can," he reiterated after receiving yet another disbelieving stare. "Jun forced me to learn on pain of never getting dinner ever again," he added.

"Your family is weird," Chiyo noted, eyeing the boy with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, but I can cook. Let me have a chance to show you guys at least," he begged.

"Hmm…" Mari said, frowning. "Fine," she reluctantly agreed, noting the boy's amazing level of enthusiasm for the task.

"Takato, are you going to help?" Jeri asked, pausing and walking back towards the boy. She looked curiously at the one person in the room who had probably actually made a cake before.

"Uh…" Takato paused, glancing across to Rika who sat on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling with her eyes closed and a frown on her face as she leant her head across the top of the chair. The boy frowned, she seemed to be in yet another of her pessimistic days, even if everyone around her was so happy.

Jeri frowned and inwardly cursed herself for asking - of course Takato would want to try to cheer up Rika.

"Go on Takato," Rika said, noticing Takato's hesitancy as she sat up and looked to him. "We have to ensure the cake isn't poisonous _somehow_," she added, a grim smile on her face.

"Guilmon, you're official taster again," Terriermon laughed, jumping from Henry's head to land over near the living waste disposal unit.

"Okay," Guilmon agreed, laughing. "Sounds like fun!"

"Can a Digimon have a funeral?" Kristy asked Chiyo curiously.

"I sure hope not, I plan a clean death for the bunny," she replied darkly. Kristy eyed her oddly, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"You're weird."

"And you're stupidly optimistic, so go away before you make me sick," Chiyo replied harshly.

"Weirdo," Kristy muttered as she headed over to talk to Suzie.

"So, I PM the guy and ask him how on earth he found out such a piece of information, and he just tells me he "has his sources". How are we meant to deal with these guys Izzy?" Matt asked his fellow older Digidestined, a look of irritation on his face.

"Watch your dustbins?" Gomamon suggested.

"Hmm, I'm a bit concerned that Digital Watch knows so much too," Izzy noted. "The organisation seems to run on its own without any real hierarchy, but the donations they need to run a site of that size must be pretty major," he added.

"They must have some important financiers, or a lot of them," Henry agreed.

"And either influential or very secret ones too, since I don't know how else they got under the watchful eyes of Rayleigh and Yamaki," Takeru echoed.

"I'm worried, what if they find out any real deep secrets of ours?" Kari asked nervously.

"I wouldn't be too worried, people like that are always too busy looking at the exciting stuff to really notice the other stuff underneath," Ryder reassured.

"Ugh, will you guys just shut up?" Rika complained, looking at the group with irritation before an apologetic look found its way onto her face. "Sorry," she uttered.

"Mood swings?" Suzie asked, concern in her voice. Rika sighed, frowning.

"I think so, yeah," she replied, not sure if she was actually irritated by their incessant chatting or not. It had been an annoying few weeks: the Principal had shifted the class around slightly, but, to her annoyance, all the Tamers, including those who annoyed her, had pretty much ended up in the same class again, with the same teacher, Mrs Asagi. Nonetheless, the number of other non-Tamer pupils had dropped, particularly to deal with a growing resentment by those pupils towards the Tamers. Nonetheless, there was still the endless chatter about it passing through the school, and it had really irritated the girl how Takato had been the cause of them all finding out, although they would probably have found out by that point regardless. That Sunday would mark her 21st week: in other words, she was past halfway, and by now it was pretty obvious she was pregnant, or a very heavy eater. To her irritation, she was no longer able to wear her normal shirts, but she had come to a compromise over her irritation about maternity tops, most of which featured floral patterns, and now wore a plain white maternity top with her normal jeans. "Ugh, I'm going for some air," she decided, standing up and heading towards the door. She paused, a signal that Takato had to decide if he was coming with or not.

And of course, he did, knowing that it could be a chance to sort things out between them. He excused himself from the cake making, gave a quick summary of what needed to be done to the others, before joining Rika and walking out the door.

"She has _really_ got to lighten up," Chiyo said, rolling her eyes once the girl had left.

"I think she's just under a lot of stress lately," Mimi noted with a frown. "But, I am getting concerned that she's creating problems in her relationship with Takato in the process."

"I know what you mean, they seem so distant now," Jeri agreed.

"It's so sad," Suzie added.

"Soppy crap," Chiyo complained. "They'll work things out, Takato's too Goggleheaded and Rika's too gullible to his charms for them not to fix things somehow."

"Hope so," Kristy noted with a frown.

"Yeah," Mari murmured in agreement from where she was working on the cake mix, her mind drifting as she mentally added up the events of the last few hours. "Hey, Ryder, I never asked, who was that card from earlier?" she asked, looking across the room as Ryder took on a look of horror and alarm.

"Uh…what card Mari?" he asked, trying to bluff his way out of the situation as his eyes met hers.

"That pink kinda card. The envelope is discarded on the table," she said observantly. All eyes watched their conversation, as Ryder clutched the card behind his back, gently pushing it down into his back pocket. He changed his expression to a warning one, dearly hoping Mari would get the hint.

"I put it up on the shelves," he said, pointing to her own card and winking as everyone else turned their eyes away. Mari, thankfully, understood what he meant.

"Oh, okay, never mind then," she said, a frown on her face as she contemplated why Ryder would be hiding a card. She had a pretty good idea of why, all the same, as much as she wanted to deny it.

Kristy raised a bewildered eyebrow. _"That was weird."_

* * *

_**17:57 JST**_

"So…uh…" Takato mumbled, trying to make conversation as the pair came to a stop at the exit from the block of flats. Rika breathed deeply as she stepped out into the rapidly cooling air of the autumn day, the sun well on its way down out of the sky.

"Takato, I have told you before that you are the absolute worst person in the world at coping with uncomfortable situations, haven't I?" Rika asked, a slim smile on her face as she sat on one of the short stone walls parallel with the pathway into the apartment block. Despite the location of the building on a side street, this was still Tokyo and it was the rush hour, so there was a passing car very often along with plenty of pedestrians and cyclists. Rika looked unfazed by them; people in Japan would rarely listen into a private conversation. Takato promptly sat on the opposite wall, before replying to her question.

"I think it came up, yeah," Takato replied, an equally thin smile on his own mouth. "So what's wrong?"

"Just having one of those days Takato," Rika replied with a frown.

"**What, you mean, a weekday?" **Chaos joked.

"**Shut up," **Harmony replied.

"Well…uh, can I help?" Takato asked, by now completely out of ideas. Except for one, of course, something he still doubted as an option.

"No, I just want some peace. I brought you for entertainment."

"Oh, okay."

Rika frowned, looking back down at her large belly again before looking down to the concrete tiles making up the pathway. An ant crawled across it, before it hid from the sun again. The sound of traffic hung in the air, the occasional horn breaking the usual law-abiding monotony that Japan tended to settle into. Takato tried to guide his eye line to where hers was, but for the life of him he couldn't tell what she was staring at.

All of a sudden, she cocked an eyebrow as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Huh?" she uttered.

"What's wrong?" Takato asked, his voice alarmed by Rika's sudden surprise. She put her hand on her abdomen, a curious look on her face.

"I…I think I just felt a kick…" she mumbled, still unsure of it herself.

"Really?" Takato asked, an odd sense of realisation running over him as he began to realise the reality of the fact Rika was pregnant. Up until now, it had been little more than a concept, and the existence of Rey had further squashed the significance of the actual child herself within Rika's womb. But…this certainly changed things.

"Um…" Rika mumbled, running her hand over her stomach before pausing in surprise. She looked across to Takato, a look of shock on her face at the unexpected event. "Yeah," she said.

"_Oh…my…god…"_ Takato thought as the concept became something real, something tangible.

"_**What is it now?"**_ Chaos asked, tired of Takato's irritating behaviour he seemed to practice every time he was surprised by something.

"_I…I'm going to be a dad."_

"_**Well duh…oh god, you're going to faint, aren't you?"**_

"_Well…uh…no, I think I'm okay."_

"_**Oh thank god, I hate it when you do that."**_

"Come over here Takato, have a feel."

"_Don't you dare make a joke," _Takato warned, knowing that Chaos would inevitably make a joke from Rika's choice of words.

"_**Damn you and your pre-emptive strikes…"**_

Takato wandered across the tiles, unsurely making his way to something that just seemed unreal. Rika noted his surprised expression, and instantly knew what it was. Takato sat on the wall next to her, turning to face her, still with that shocked expression frozen on his face. She took his hand, guiding it to where she recalled feeling the kick.

They both paused, waiting for something to happen.

"You've just realised what's going to happen, haven't you?" Rika said knowingly. Takato looked to her, nodding unsurely before his eyes widened in surprise as he felt a kick.

"Whoa."

"That is weird, isn't it?" Rika said, suddenly having a similar realisation to him. She'd always had the concept she'd give birth to a child in her mind, but…she had never actually imagined the child being in there, living and growing, up until that point.

"You said it," Takato replied, a tone of alarm and worry in his voice. "I'm going to be a dad," he said in the same worried tone, Rika frowning in response.

"Yeah, you are Takato," she said pessimistically, knowing that this was the point where he would be freaked out by things. This was the point when reality hit home. Hard. And there was nothing she could do to stop it. "Oh god, you're going to faint again…" she said as his face flushed its colour, his eyes rolling upwards as he collapsed unconscious into a waiting arm.

Rika sighed.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, looking down at his face with a frown on hers.

* * *

_**18:03 JST**_

Mari gently closed the bedroom door behind her, being careful so as to make their absence as subtle as possible. Although, she had a hunch that one of them would shout soon enough and ruin it, particularly if the subject of the card were to be as shocking as she expected. She frowned, turning to face the boy where he sat on his bed, looking to her with concern. The evening light shone through the windows, negating the need to turn the lights on somewhat, but she did so regardless. Ryder, knowing what Mari was expecting, removed the card from his pockets, anxiously fiddling with it in his hands before Mari put out her own.

"Let me see," she requested, Ryder nodding reluctantly and passing it to her. She took a breath before opening it, and Ryder watched her eyes jump to the bottom of the page first of all. She glanced to him with a look of concern and confusion, before he nodded and frowned.

"Read it," he said, knowing she would anyway but simply wanting to hurry up the inevitable.

He watched carefully as her eyes scanned the page, her face turning to anger and to sadness within moments of each other.

When she finished, she sighed, tossing the card back to him.

"I really can't deny it any more, can I?" she asked, frowning deeply.

"No," he replied.

"So what do you think about it?" she asked, surprising him as he expected her to make an outburst about the card's contents first. He opened it nervously, gesturing to it as he spoke.

"Uh…I think it's nice but…um…I have no idea how it got here and…"

She decided to pick up the baton and run with it, only Ryder didn't want to drop the metaphorical baton in the first place.

"Ryder, she says she loves you," she said, a mix of worry and concern in her voice as she gestured down to the card.

"I noticed," he replied.

"And worse, she says that you could be dooming the world if you ever tell anyone Ryder," she added, a deep sadness gracing her face as the emotions raged past her: betrayal; fear; love. "What could be so bad that you couldn't tell me?" she added with a tear in her eye as she bent down to meet him eye to eye.

He stayed silent. He wasn't sure how to reply.

"And then…and then she says that she's sorry for wrecking things between you and me…is that what she's trying to do, shoehorn herself back into your life and be dammed for anyone else?" Mari continued, anger replacing sadness.

"I don't know!" Ryder replied rapidly, sick of being on the end of inquisition.

"But she's got a really sick and twisted sense of humour you know," Mari continued, a sadistic chuckle and a smile crossing her lips. "**Please don't screw things up with Mari**. Well, I'm glad she said that, because you know, I was worried our relationship would be ruined otherwise without her telling you not to screw things up," she continued, laughing a fake laugh.

"I know, I know," Ryder mumbled.

"But you just don't Ryder," she said, looking back to him with a grave seriousness in her eyes before she fell to her knees, pleading…begging for some answers. "Ryder, what do we do?" she asked, Ryder staring back without an answer for her.

"I…I don't know," he replied.

"Okay, fine…" she huffed, standing up before turning to face him. "Then tell me at least one thing," she said, looking across to him sharply. "You said she could get here. How Ryder?" she asked.

Ryder frowned, unsure whether he could answer the question.

"Please," Mari pleaded. "I have to know."

"I have to stop her," Ryder replied, frowning as Mari gave a look of alarm, caught off guard by his comment.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The only way she can get here is sure to collapse this entire universe around us," Ryder replied. "It literally involves tearing a hole in the universe, but it's a hell of a lot more deadly, and let me tell you one thing Mari…none of us is safe: we are _all_ dead if she does that."

"But how? How can one girl destroy an entire universe?" Mari asked with a look of horror on her face at the concept.

"If she's trying to break through, every little action, every little attempt will have ramifications…it's an illogical, impossible event, and so it'll shake this universe to its core…the event horizon, time, space, all of it, will become too weakly connected, too lose for anything to form. The universe will die a death not of heat, or of life, but of information, and that is the one thing this universe relies on the most."

"How on earth do you know this?" Mari asked, raising an eyebrow in amazement.

"Uh…" Ryder replied, his face faulting into an embarrassed expression. "Well, actually I don't, I was just guessing with most of that, but it sounds cooler than simply "she could destroy the whole universe if she comes here"," he replied. Mari sweatdropped, before rolling her eyes.

"Ryder, be serious!" she insisted. "What do you think we should do?"

"Wait?" he mooted. "There's nothing else we can really do."

"Ugh…" she complained, sighing. "Then answer me this, Ryder…do you still love her?"

Ryder's expression flicked to one of horror, as he blinked in surprise. "Uh…" he hesitated. "Excuse me?" he asked, not sure if he heard her right.

"I asked, do you still love Ivy?"

Ryder hesitated. "No, of course not."

"Then why did you pause?" she asked, her brown eyes staring down into his continuously.

"Mari, it was a crush, a tiny, simple, childhood crush…but childhood crushes never work out…and our relationship does. Of course I'm going to have those lingering feelings, how could I not after obsessing over her for so long? Of course I want to see her, I miss people from my old world, and sometimes I'd love to show them what I do now, how well I'm doing despite the loss of everything in my life."

"There's nothing I can do to stop that, I know," Mari sighed, frowning deeply. "I…I just want you to know I love you, okay?"

"I know," Ryder replied, the girl pulling in for a short lasted kiss and embrace, a frown passing between them afterwards as they pulled away.

Mari sighed, stepping back and opening the door as the light of the living room melded with that of the bedroom. Ryder pushed himself to his feet, wandering over to the door before pausing in surprise at the newfound commotion.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking around in confusion as Mari joined him at the doorway.

"Takato fainted…again," Kristy explained, rolling her eyes.

"Some people have catchphrases: Takato simply faints," Terriermon muttered as Ryder and Mari wandered into the room. Takato was promptly laid down on the sofa, Matt and Izzy reluctantly standing up to make room.

"So, what was it this time?" Suzie asked curiously.

"Was it something big like a UFO, or something small like you going up behind him and saying "boo"?" Chiyo asked curiously to Rika, who stood away from the group, watching as they moved the boy's form onto the sofa and began fanning him with a magazine.

"In between," she mumbled, before looking up to get them all in better view. "He realised he was going to be a father when Rey started kicking," she explained. _"And made me realise that he's definitely not cut out for this," _she mentally added, her frown deepening.

"Really?" came the gasp of surprise from across the group.

"Can I feel?" Kristy asked curiously.

"No, no!" Rika insisted, putting her hands up defensively. "I am not going to be one of those weirdo pregnant women who want everyone to feel the baby kicking," she insisted.

"Yeah, if it makes you end up like Takato here I think I might think twice about it too," Kenta noted with a slim smile.

Mari looked up to Calumon as the living cream puff landed on her head giggling before biting into a piece of cake. She cocked an eyebrow.

"Calumon, where exactly did you get that?" she asked curiously.

"Silly, from the big cake over there of course!" he laughed, gesturing across the room to the already quarter-eaten cake. Alarm flashed across Mari's expression, as she raced across the room.

"What the hell?!" she exclaimed, looking down to find Guilmon eating a portion. "Guilmon!" she complained.

"Huh?" he asked.

"That cake is meant to be eaten _after_ Ryder blows out the candles," she explained.

"Aw, but Calumon said it was alright," Guilmon said innocently as he moaned. Calumon landed on the table, giggling.

"I really don't mind Mari," Ryder insisted as he swore he saw actual steam coming from Mari's ears as she began to boil over in annoyance.

"Let's start the celebrations now, if we're lucky Takato will wake up by the time we get onto the presents," Jeri suggested, Mari sighing and nodding in agreement.

"Fine," she said, reaching over for a match and promptly setting fire to each of the wicks, perhaps a little too fast for Ryder's liking.

"Uh, try not to set fire to anything Mari," he asked, before watching her growl as all but one of the candles blew out.

"_This is going _so _badly,"_ she thought, before lifting her hands as they glowed with a blue hue. "SYNCHRONICITY!" she called, the flame suddenly splitting four ways and leaping across each of the candle wicks, igniting them quickly.

"Whoa," Calumon said, startled by the display. DarkRenamon landed near the light switch, flicking it promptly off as Guilmon and Calumon looked around at the relative darkness, startled again (despite the evening light that continued to filter through the windows).

"Right, let's get this over with," Mari said with a smile, picking up the cake and walking over to the surprised onlookers.

"You've been practicing," Ryder whispered to her as he made his way over to the sofa that Takato wasn't lying on, which was opposite it across the coffee table. Mari grinned in response.

"Show off," Chiyo muttered, huffing at the sight.

"Now make a wish," Suzie told the boy as he looked over the seventeen candles curiously.

"Uh…hmm…" Ryder pondered, putting his hand on his chin.

"If I were you, I'd wish to get rid of the crutches," Kazu noted.

"That's boring, do something a lot more fun," Kristy said, grinning.

"Yeah, you will be healed in time anyway so you may as well use this for something interesting," Kudamon agreed.

"Okay then," Ryder agreed, glancing across to Mari periodically and smiling to her before turning back to the candles and promptly blowing them out. She replied with a surprised and bewildered expression before DarkRenamon flicked the lights on again.

"Finally!" Terriermon cheered, leaping forward. "Dig in!" he cheered.

"Wait, let's open the presents first," Jeri said, Terriermon giving an irritated expression.

"Oh come on!" he complained. "I'm hungry here!"

"You're always hungry," Cody noted.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I'm not hungry!" Terriermon explained, grinning as he turned to the cake. Unfortunately, the cake had by now been pushed away from him, replaced by a number of presents in a variety of colours of paper.

"Here's my present," Jeri said with a smile, being one of the few people who brought a present rather than money. Ryder didn't mind too much about the money all the same, it was the thought that counted, but he was curious what the brunette would've gotten him (given she had a habit of getting rather personal gifts for people). He looked curiously over the box as he opened it, a bewildered look on his face growing as he looked over the contents. "I knew you'd miss back home otherwise."

"It's…the London Eye?" he pondered, looking over the odd scale model curiously.

"Yeah, I saw it and I thought that it'd probably stop you getting too homesick. Sorry if it's a bit tacky," the girl said, watching as Ryder curiously flicked the individual cars of the huge Ferris wheel usually found on the banks of London's River Thames.

"Are you kidding, I've never seen anything so intricately designed!"

"That's Japan for you, we put stupid amounts of effort into even the most foreign and obscure products," Izzy joked.

"Thanks," Ryder said with a smile of gratitude, Jeri replying with her own smile.

"No problem," she replied.

* * *

_**18:17 JST**_

"Ryder, why did you leave this one till last?" Mari asked, looking to him curiously. "Not that I wanted to see your reaction or anything," she added quickly.

"I always leave the present I'm most curious about until last, and so…" he began, removing the wrapping paper quickly from the small, long box. He raised an eyebrow as his mind paused on the text on the box.

"Well, that was something I didn't expect," Takeru muttered, looking down at where Ryder picked the product up in his hand. Thin black frames held large clear panes, bounded together by an orange strap and band.

"Goggles?!" Ryder stuttered, looking with bewilderment across to Mari, who smiled back.

"For special occasions only," she replied, before cursing her use of words.

Terriermon burst into laughter, as both Mari and Ryder flushed bright red.

"Great, so that makes fourteen jokes like that today," Henry sighed as he picked up his partner and muffled the dog-bunny's mouth with his hand.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Mari complained, but she knew that they had already got their cheap laugh out of it. She turned back to see Ryder, Goggles now on his head as he looked curiously up at where they were perched.

"Cool," he exclaimed, unknowing that one of the elite cult of Goggleheads he had just joined was just becoming conscious at that moment.

Takato's head swum with tiredness and dizziness as his eyes opened weakly, the light blurring through to them before he closed them again.

"Great, another actual Gogglehead," he heard Rika mutter.

"_Rika…" _Takato's mind thought, as he murmured audibly to the others.

"He's waking up," Davis announced, drawing attention away from Ryder and his newfound "fashion" accessory to the long-term Gogglehead. Everyone peered over, trying to get a view of him, except Rika who looked oddly reluctant to do so.

"You okay Takato?" Kari asked with a frown as Takato's eyes opened again, the nausea flowing over him once again. He felt his mouth was dry, and his throat felt slightly sore. How badly had he reacted?

"_And how much do I hate myself now?" _he thought pessimistically. "Yeah," he said, pushing himself up and around to face the room. He looked over the table, where a Ferris wheel, a video game, a shirt, a computer card and a box for a pair of goggles now lay alongside a chocolate birthday cake.

Rika frowned, moving into his view as she sat on the armrest opposite, looking sadly across at him.

"_What have I done? Now she'll be even less sure she can trust me," _Takato thought, feeling like he wanted to cry. _"I can't even cope with the prospect of fatherhood without fainting, how will I cope with the reality?"_

Rika glanced over to him, their eyes meeting but no words said – the room was too busy and neither knew what they wanted to say either. Takato had at least one thing he knew he wanted to say, all the same.

"_Sorry."_

"You missed the cake," Guilmon said, shovelling a slice (although a "grab" was probably a more accurate definition of how he acquired it) into his mouth. Mari groaned, putting her hand on her head and shaking it in disbelief.

"Oh…" Takato mumbled, frowning as he heard the effects of the party around him.

The music, blaring out about being the biggest dreamer or something like that.

The smell of chocolate and flames wafting from the cake and candles.

The taste of a dry mouth as he moved his tongue about.

The feel of his messed up hair and ruffled clothes.

The sight…of Rika, sitting there depressed on the armrest, ever deepening frown on her face as her hand settled on her stomach.

In a remarkable moment of clarity, Takato knew what he needed to do. Almost.

"_I have to do something."_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Another rather long chapter, but a good one all the same. Various little things going on here that I can comment on, but it was particularly interesting to have them talk about Ivy's card. That's going to be by no means the end of Ivy's messages, not in the slightest.

Until next time…


	44. The Trick To The Question

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated). I don't own Family Guy either.

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 38**

_The Trick to The Question_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 23****rd**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:01 JST**_

The light of day began to shimmer as the evening tinges crossed its gaze. The smell of her grandmother's cooking emanated from the kitchen along the hallway as Rika lay on her futon, pondering as she stared at the ceiling with her hand on her bump. On the table, a bunch of cards seemed permanently strewn across, her grandmother never sure whether to tidy up what could be a strategy of hers.

Not that she actually had a proper battle in days. If it wasn't someone else getting there and clearing up the Digimon first (a highly likely outcome given the huge size of their group now), it was a weakling that Renamon could probably beat with a single well placed 'Diamond Storm'. And, being pregnant, everyone seemed to be obsessed with taking the load off her hands and getting there first, much to her annoyance (despite the fact she understood why they did so).

She glanced to the D-Vice on her wrist, praying that it would start bleeping and signify a way out of the tedium, and, most importantly, out of her own depressed thoughts. But, alas, it did not.

It was probably for the best too, since otherwise she'd miss dinner. Not that her grandmother would mind too much about that: plenty of their meals had been interrupted in the past by Rika running out the door, Renamon in tow, and her grandmother would simply leave the plate in the oven or reheat it in the microwave if necessary.

Oddly, she had the most bizarre craving for chocolate on rice. She dismissed it to the back of her mind as she continued to stare at the ceiling, but she knew it was still better than thinking about what she knew she would end up thinking about. The thing that had been dominating her thoughts for months.

"_Takato…"_

The odd thing was, despite her current concern about him being constantly on her mind, she hadn't actually seen him in days. With a kiss, he'd practically vanished without a trace every day after school - very unusual behaviour for someone who would usually come home with her or go to the park with her most evenings. Plus, he had an odd…air of enthusiasm that was at odds with how he had been acting beforehand.

"_I thought I'd pushed him away. I hated myself for that but…now…what's happened? I don't see him, but he seems happier. This is the last thing I expected to happen." _

But it was the one thing she was worried about happening. Seemingly, without her, he was happier. But why? What had happened? Had she been completely blind to something?

Then again, there was the possibility this was just typical Takato behaviour, becoming obsessed with some insane scheme in his usual Goggleheaded way, but what exactly she hadn't the faintest clue. Nothing usually made him forget about her so much, so short of the CIA, MI6, or, more likely given the fact they were currently in Japan, Naichō, having recruited him into some unbelievably top secret project (in which case Takato's absence probably made sense given how he was hopeless at holding a secret of that scale), she hadn't a clue why he had just vanished.

Part of her said to sit back and just watch things reconcile themselves on their own as they eventually would, but she feared that was too late.

"_I guess I could call him or go to find him or something," _she contemplated, frowning. _"But if he just leaps out the nearest window, I don't know what I'd do," _she continued to think.

"Rika, are you okay?" asked the deep, feminine voice of Rika's Kitsune-like partner, Renamon. Rika glanced across the room to the white, grey-toed feet of the fox, before her eyes were guided up to her partner's face, holding a seemingly neutral expression in the eyes of anyone but those who knew her closely.

"Ugh, just the usual," Rika groaned, sighing as she looked up to the ceiling beams again before moving into an awkward sitting position, all courtesy of the bump on her stomach.

"I see," Renamon replied, frowning before glancing across the room to where the digi-egg was perched in a dog basket, surrounded by pillows, although she doubted the egg had any needs other than "don't break it" (something that would probably prove rather difficult anyway) and "leave it until it hatches", a sharp contrast to most material eggs. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, but it'll only make things worse," Rika sighed, looking to her partner. "I haven't seen Takato properly in days, and he seems to be avoiding me," she explained.

"So you're worried then?"

"Of course I am," Rika replied. "I haven't gone a week without seeing Takato in…forever, and now all of a sudden he just all but vanishes."

Renamon had an odd look in her eyes as a curious expression crossed her features. "Hmm…that does seem odd," she noted. "But I'm sure it is nothing," she added, a slim smile on her face as she faced her partner.

"Why?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow. Renamon wasn't usually the type to assume something, or in this case, nothing, without knowing the details. Did she know more than her Tamer?

Renamon looked slightly surprised, although it was subtle as ever and Rika couldn't be sure. "It's Takato," she replied.

"True."

"Besides, Takato is terrible at keeping secrets from you as you know," Renamon added with an amused smile.

"Yeah, I know," Rika replied with a frown, looking down at the floorboards as Renamon eyed her with a smaller frown. "Maybe that's why he's just getting away from me then."

"Rika, apologies if I am crossing a line here, but what exactly is wrong with your relationship with Takato recently?" Renamon asked, Rika about to object before she paused.

"I.." she began, sighing. "I'm scared, that's all," she said.

"Of what exactly?"

"Takato is one of the best things that's ever happened to me, except you of course Renamon," Rika said, smiling to her partner who returned the expression. "And I'm afraid of losing him."

"Because of your child?"

Rika frowned, nodding. "I know it may be stupid, but…I don't know if Takato can cope with it. I mean, he fainted when he heard about the baby, he fainted when the baby was kicking, and when everyone was getting at me in class before, he just stared on helplessly…I don't want to scare him away."

"Which you're afraid you have…I presume?"

"Yeah," Rika sighed, pondering whether Renamon had already figured all of this out. "I don't want to get hurt again either, so what happens if he does get scared and try to escape?"

"Takato isn't the kind to leave his problems and run away."

"He could've fooled me," Rika chuckled, before sighing. "I being mean here: I know he would stand up to any enemy regardless of the odds, but this…this isn't a battle, it's not something he can win. It's something that'll change our lives, and he'll have to be a father. At sixteen."

"Your father was a father at sixteen also."

"Yeah, and look how that turned out," Rika replied, as Renamon cursed herself for the poor example. "I'm also afraid that I'm holding him back."

"What do you mean?"

"When we started this relationship, neither of us ever saw this coming. We wanted to be together, to grow up together, but to be kids today, and that was that. But now…he says he has these dreams of being a TV animator, but how can he really be that if he's always got to think about me and the baby too? He will have to sacrifice one or the other, I know it, and I don't want to wreck his dreams, which, given this is Takato we're talking about here, are a pretty big thing for him."

"Rika…" Renamon began, before frowning. "Perhaps you're worrying too much?" she suggested, not sure what else to say.

"I know, I know," Rika replied, sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time that hour. "I don't want to worry, but there's this nagging voice in my head…"

"**Who, me?"**

"No, I just mean…something that's always at the back of my mind."

"I see," Renamon replied, sighing. As much as she tried, she knew she couldn't cheer Rika up in this situation. She was beginning to doubt that anyone could, which was something which especially concerned her, and…

A loud beeping interrupted her thoughts as the D-Vice burst into life, its screen flashing blue three times before Rika tapped it and opened it to full, a real smile appearing on her face.

"Now that's just what I need to take my mind off things," she said enthusiastically, standing up and looking across to her partner, who nodded in agreement.

"Sounds great," Renamon replied, an odd tone of uncertainty and lack of enthusiasm in her voice which Rika brushed off as simply being a result of their depressing conversation beforehand.

"Let's see…where is it?" she pondered, as a large map of the world came into view on the map, progressively zooming down through Asia, South East Asia, Japan, Honshū, Kantō, Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward and finally, a map of the bioemergence location. A holographic compass flared into life above, spinning before settling on a destination. "Perfect," she said with a tone of satisfaction upon seeing the location.

"**Shinjuku Park, ugh, I swear too much stuff happens there for its own good," **Harmony noted. Rika turned to her partner with a smile after retrieving her card deck from the table and shoving it into her pocket.

"Let's go!" she said, the Kitsune nodding before the pair began to pace through the Nonaka household, only making one stop-off on the way.

"Rika, are you leaving during dinner?" Rumiko asked with a tone of disappointment in her voice as she turned away from the cooker. Seiko continued to chop a cucumber, leaving Rumiko to handle the discussion.

"Yeah, there's a Digimon in Shinjuku Park," Rika reported, gesturing to the D-Vice on her arm.

"Rika, are you sure it wouldn't be better to leave it for someone else to handle?" Rumiko asked, concern at her daughter going to face something that could be very dangerous in her current state.

"Mom, I can handle it on my own if I have to," Rika insisted, determination in her eyes. She wasn't about to have the first battle she had fought in ages taken away from her.

"Rika, you have to think about your health, and that of your child," Rumiko insisted.

"Mum, if anything even remotely dangerous happens, I just use my powers to create a shield, so what's the problem?"

"But…" Rumiko began.

"Rumiko dear, let her go," Seiko said, her eyes insistent as she looked into her daughter's. A questioning look crossed the face of her daughter: why was Seiko letting Rika go?

"Thanks Grandma, I'll be careful," Rika said, turning and continuing out the door. Renamon paused, smiling widely to Seiko who returned the expression, before the fox continued on after her Tamer.

Rumiko looked to Seiko, now completely confused. "Mom, why did you let her go?" she asked.

"Trust me Rumiko, it's for her benefit," Seiko replied, a knowing look in her eyes that Rumiko couldn't quite attribute.

"I can't see how," Rumiko replied, a deep concern in her voice for her daughter's well-being.

"Wait and see," Seiko said, smiling as Rumiko watched with concern. Rumiko looked curiously over what Seiko had prepared, a confused look growing on her face once again.

"How much are you making?"

"Trust me Rumiko, there's a reason."

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:29 JST**_

The evening in the park had brought with it an orange tinge to the sky as feet pounded against the path, both human and Digimon. The compass continued to irradiate from the device, guiding the pair towards their target (although doubtless both, thanks to their natural abilities), could've found it anyway.

"_Wonder if anyone else will get there first," _Rika pondered, hoping it wouldn't be the case. She hadn't had an independent battle in ages, and Renamon seemed to mirror that sentiment even though both now had commitments which meant they were putting more than simply their own lives on the line in the case of a battle.

The locals barely cast them a second look as they ran past and even those from further afield knew who they were. No-one attempted to stop them, not even eager young children who would dribble at the thought of a real Digimon.

Rika turned another corner, every step bringing her closer to her battleground. She pondered what it would be like: the park could bring such a diversity of terrain, from tight battles in tree lined areas where half of her partner's mind would have to be on not slamming head first into the bark, to wide open expanses where their first priority was to make sure their attacks didn't stray too far and hurt someone.

She reached to her back pocket, withdrawing a card that always proved useful to have in your hand before the battle began, regardless of your opponent: a Digivolution card. With the right wish, you could up it to a Blue Card if necessary, or, if you needed a particular attribute in a hurry, like an upping in speed, it could be made to act as that too. Even if the battle needed biomerging, you'd still be thankful for being prepared for any eventuality.

"You sense anything?" Rika asked her partner, who glanced back curiously and distractedly. "Like, a Digimon?"

"No, not yet," Renamon replied, turning back to face where she was going as Rika raised an eyebrow. Just what was up with her today?

She tightly gripped the card in her hand, and turned yet another corner before smiling widely upon seeing their battleground, a large, wide baseball pitch with fences along one side and a grass verge along the back. Trees lined the edges, tipped by the evening light, and the rush of traffic was all-pervading.

The pitch was naturally empty, people as always running in horror at the sight of a Digital Field. She glanced around, pondering if a Digital Watch member was hiding in a bush somewhere nearby to observe events, and made a mental note to get Renamon to knock some sense into them later. This was certainly not the place to play games.

But why was she smiling widely? Because this place was all-too familiar. Three years had passed, but like much of Shinjuku Park, most of it was surprisingly intact despite the constant pounding of the city by Digital Threats.

* * *

She had looked across to him, smug smile on her face as she heard Renamon coming down to land behind her. A look of bewilderment blanketed his face as his dinosaur like partner lay dizzily, embedded in the fence by Renamon's kick.

"What was that all about?" he had asked.

"That was your Digimon eating dirt," she had explained.

"I saw you in my dream," he had said, pushing up his goggles and well and truly confusing her.

"No way it can't be," he had added.

She had simply dismissed the idea at the time. "So, you're a lousy Tamer _and_ you're weird," she had concluded. "Now amscray, unless you think you can handle us, little boy," she had continued in her patronising tone of the time, her hand on her hip and her patience tested by the boy who for some reason had partnered with the being which had surprisingly escaped unscathed from the attack.

"I am not either a lousy Tamer, and what do you mean little boy?!" he had argued. "Guilmon is just young, that's all."

"Like Tamer, like Digimon. Come on, he's at least a rookie, right?"

"Uh…" he had begun, looking to his saurian of a partner in an uncertain manner, receiving no better response from the being. "Well…"

Guilmon had replied with a sound sort of like "I don't know" in a low, throaty voice. Clear speech was definitely not his forte back in those days.

"Yeah, well, at least I think so," Takato had continued. "That's what I was going for; you know I've never done this before."

"Never done what before?" she had replied, before she took on a mocking tone once again. "Oh, how clever," she had concluded, deciding this conversation was getting tiring. "Renamon," she had said, stepping back out of the fray as her partner stepped forward menacingly, the dinosaur mirroring the move with a glottal growl.

"Wait, call her off! Come on, we don't want to fight!" Takato had pleaded.

"I knew you were just a little boy with a pet Digimon. What did you think Digimon were made for you goofy little Gogglehead?"

He had hesitated in surprise. "That's like asking the meaning of life."

* * *

The irony of the words they had said were not lost on her. That day she had invented a new nickname for him, met him for the first time (although the reverse was not true), and probably set in motion a chain of events that were destined to happen, with the reluctant and unintended assistance of Harmony and Chaos as well.

She frowned, those days had been so long ago, and felt like a lifetime away. Things had changed so much, and she knew that if she told herself back then that, not only would she be in a relationship with the "goofy little Gogglehead" three years down the line, but also carrying his child, she'd have probably been on the end of a series of confused comments and a healthy dose of disbelief.

A slim smile came on her face at the concept. She was a different person back then, but she was still doing the same thing today; fighting battles.

She clutched the card in her hand tightly, glanced to Renamon and ran forth into the mist.

* * *

Her first sign that something was amiss was the silence of the field. Normally, in a Digital Field, there would be a constant pulsating noise, followed by a rushing, water like noise as the "geyser" burst forth. But, oddly, it was pin-drop silent, even the noises of traffic outside insulated by the particulates of fake proteins.

"Renamon, see anything?" Rika asked, looking to her partner curiously as the fox began to scan the mist.

"Not yet," Renamon replied, their eyesight still adjusting to the change. As soon as it did, however, Rika noticed a static shadow near the centre of the field.

"I see something," she reported, the pair quickly making a bee line for it.

As they moved, its features became clearer. Sharp claws, bat-shaped ears, a short figure hunched over so it wasn't clear whether it was a biped or a quadruped, and a distinct red tone to its…

"Guilmon?" Rika asked, confusion in her voice as she looked over the far-too-familiar being from a short distance, walking to a stop.

"Hi," Guilmon said, waving from where he stood in anticipation. He looked to Renamon, smiling wider. "Hi Renamon," he greeted, receiving an equal smile in response.

By now, Rika didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Uh, Guilmon, are you just waiting for Takato or what?" she asked, Guilmon looking at her like she had just said her trousers were made of cheese (albeit without the normal sniffing that would accompany any reference to food in the presence Guilmon). "Have you seen the Digimon that bioemerged?" she added. Guilmon looked across the fog, not speaking as another shadow became clear through it.

Rika prepared herself, the figure looked humanoid, but oddly short. She racked her brains for a Digimon that looked _that_ humanoid but also _that_ short compared to most, and the only one she could think of was Lucemon, a concept which worried her greatly.

"Renamon, what is it?" she asked, a tone of agitation as the figure walked towards her. Renamon looked to Guilmon, a tense feeling to the air as she failed to reply. "Renamon?" Rika repeated, turning her head round to see why her partner wasn't replying, but oddly being able to see no reason.

"_**I don't like this," **_Harmony said, fear in her voice.

"_Me neither, better be prepared," _Rika noted, her hands taking on a slight blue tinge as she prepared a shield in advance, a bluish orb beginning to form around her.

It shattered as Rika's mouth hung wide open.

"Takato?!" she asked, by now sure she was either losing it, or was having one of Takato's weird dreams. "Where's the Digimon?" she asked, looking around for fear it would come up behind her and attack from behind.

"There is none," Renamon noted, Rika's brain by now well and truly screwed over. What on earth was going…?

Takato knelt down.

"_What the hell is going…oh no…" _Rika thought, her mind flashing through a billion TV shows all at once.

"Rika," Takato said, a smile on his face mirrored by Renamon and Guilmon as they looked to one another, anticipation in their expressions.

"Oh…god…" Rika stuttered, caught well and truly short by this turn of events. Her eyeballs felt ready to pop out of their well-open sockets as she froze on the spot, staring down at the boy as she noticed a drip of sweat run down his wrist.

He gulped, clearly as nervous about what he was about to do as she was surprised. He coughed to clear his throat, but coughed so uncomfortably he had to repeat the act three times to get it right.

"Right, here goes," he mumbled, turning his head up to meet her gaze as she just looked on, bewildered.

It had been a challenge to get to this point, and he still couldn't believe it had all taken place in only three days.

* * *

**WEDNESDAY, 20****TH**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**20:09 JST**_

Rika yawned, feeling fit to fall asleep as she leaned back on the couch and watched as the others desperately tried to figure out what Ryder was miming, in the age-old game known as Charades. The natural light through the windows was by now fully substituted by the artificial light from lamps and overhead lighting, as all sat around where they could and watched the game play out.

"Digimon!" Veemon called, knowing he definitely had got it right.

"For the four-hundredth time, NO!" Ryder replied, exasperated as he repeated his gestures again. TV show. Two words. First word, two syllables. Second word, one syllables. First word, arms sweep around like the arm portion of breaststroke. Second word, points to self, and to other boys in the room.

"World…men?" a now-arrived Tai asked, he and Sora both looking tired out from the stupid chore they had been made to carry out.

"No."

"Swimming…game?" Armadillomon asked, by now everyone feeling a bit too exasperated by the game.

"I give up. We've been doing this for ten minutes," Yolei groaned from where she sat, back up against the window.

Ryder sighed, repeating the gestures. "Family…and then…Guy. Family Guy," he said, receiving looks of bewilderment from those watching.

"What's that?" Ken asked, confused from where he stood behind the sofa.

"Uh…a TV show?" Ryder asked.

"Ryder, is this another one of those things your world has but ours doesn't?" Mari asked, trying to put sense into the show she hadn't even heard of. Ryder sighed, nodding: if Mari didn't know, someone from America where they definitely would be able to receive the show, it was pretty clear it was yet another thing that didn't exist in this reality.

"Right, I'm tired," Rika yawned, standing up and stretching out.

"Really?" Mimi asked, her voice still well awake.

"Yeah, probably a pregnancy thing," Rika grumbled, sighing before she walked over and quickly kissed Takato where he sat on the opposite couch. The frown seemingly transferred to him as she did so, before she turned to face the group again. "I'll see some of you guys all tomorrow at school, and the rest of you some time soon, okay?" she said, the group nodding in agreement before she headed for the door, the mood of the room changing when she closed the door and all eyes suddenly ended up on Takato, who surprisingly hadn't made an attempt to follow.

"Okay, what on earth is going on between you two?" Davis blurted out, tactlessly voicing the thoughts of all in the room.

"What?" Takato asked, surprised by the attention he was suddenly getting.

"Davis, be more polite," Yolei scolded, Davis rolling his eyes in reply. "What we mean is, you two have been acting really odd for a few days," she reiterated.

"Yeah, and it's really begun to worry us all," Kari continued.

"Oh, right," Takato said, frowning as he felt unsure what to say under the pressure of all those watching. "I don't really know to be honest," she sighed, looking around.

"Really, not even the slightest hint of knowing?" Kenta asked. Takato shook his head.

"Well…I don't really know exactly what it is, but lately…lately I just get the feeling she doesn't want to get too close to me any more."

"OW!" Kazu shrieked, looking angrily to Chiyo. "What the hell was that for?!" he blurted.

"Pre-emptive strike," she answered calmly, taking her hand back from a fist. This evening was getting very tedious by now, and she felt _so_ tired from having to be nice all the time, and also from having to be within five miles of Kazu. DarkBiyomon had fallen asleep in the corner, although that was probably because the pair had spent a while during their day attacking trees to vent Chiyo's stress.

Kazu grumbled, rubbing his sore shoulder and shooting a glare at the girl, who rolled her eyes in response.

"So why do you think that is?" Sora asked, bringing the group back to the subject of conversation.

"I don't know," Takato replied, a deep frown on his face. "I think she doesn't think she can trust me to cope with being a father."

"Well, fainting when you felt the baby kicking can't exactly have given her much confidence," Matt noted.

"Yeah, and now I don't know how to fix things exactly. But I know I have to do something, just…I'm not sure what," Takato mumbled, concern and uncertainty in his eyes.

"Well, maybe you could…" Jeri began, her hand on her chin as she pondered, a similar posture taken up by the rest of the group. "Ugh, I don't know…" she groaned, cursing herself mentally.

"Oh come on guys, even I know this one!" Terriermon exclaimed, irritation in his voice. "You've got to propose to her!" he insisted.

"What?" Joe said, startled by the unexpected idea.

"Terriermon, will you _please_ shut up with that idea?" Chiyo asked with deep irritation in her voice at the dog-bunny.

"No, for once I'm not going to!" Terriermon continued stubbornly.

"Terriermon!" Henry complained.

"Henry, you agreed with me when I first suggested it, what's wrong with it now?" Terriermon complained.

"It's a bit over the top, don't you think?"

"Hello!" Terriermon asked, not sure if he was hearing what he was hearing. "Rika leapt off the side of the pit despite its overblown nature and the dangers. We threw everything we could into fighting the Devas. Takato went absolutely overblown with the Crimson Mode, and don't get me started on you Digidestined guys," Terriermon explained, gesturing to the Digidestined around the room as he counted off examples on his fingers. "Magnamon, Imperialdramon, Fighter Mode, Paladin Mode, Omnimon, and don't even get me started on how suicidal your "hour of the beast, arrows of hope and light" thing was that brought about WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon."

"Whoa, are my ears deceiving me or did Terriermon just put together a coherent argument?" Yolei said, surprised at Terriermon's knowledge of their battles in particular. Terriermon grinned widely, crossing his eyes with pride.

"Yeah, I did!" the bunny cheered, DarkRenamon smiling from where she hid near the wall.

"He has a point though, overblown and near-impossible attempts did work in those cases," she echoed, Terriermon grinning even wider upon hearing her supporting him.

"You guys practically worked by it every time," Suzie noted, looking around the group.

"Hello?" Takato said, bewilderment in his voice. "This isn't a battle we're talking about here!" he blurted.

"Love's a kind of battle though, isn't it?" Mimi mooted.

"Rika would kill you for saying something like that," Kristy noted dryly.

"Yeah, this is just…insane. I can't propose to her, I'm sixteen!" Takato insisted, bewilderment in his eyes. Now _everyone_ was suggesting it, well, everyone short of Rika, and that would be the last person he asked.

"Takato, I'm disappointed," Tai said, startling the boy as he looked round to his fellow Gogglehead, albeit an ex-Gogglehead.

"What?" He stuttered.

"Takato, I know this sounds stupid coming from a guy who loves to lie in and would rather watch cartoons than go to a lecture, but you have _got_ to grow up!" Tai insisted.

"What?" Takato repeated, surprised to suddenly be receiving a pep talk like this.

"Yeah, I mean, first you get her pregnant then you faint then you tell everyone in the school then you feel it kicking and _then_ you faint again, what is she_ meant_ to think?" Yolei continued, a harsh tone to her voice. "What, that she can just "rely" on you to be there when you can't even take the concept of fatherhood?" she continued. "Personally, I don't blame her for not trusting you," she said, an odd air of agreement following as Takato began to feel he was fighting a losing battle.

"Yeah, be a man Takato!" Davis echoed.

"Go on Takato, do it!" Kazu encouraged, patting Takato on the back slightly too hard as he winced in pain. Kazu grinned in amusement, he had moved to stand behind Takato to escape Chiyo but it had proved a perfect position to encourage Takato from…and hurt him slightly too.

"Ow, Kazu!" Takato complained, rubbing his sore back.

"Baby," Yolei muttered.

"Hey, I'm not a baby!" Takato yelled. "And I'm not a kid either!" he continued, his hands bunching involuntarily into fists as the group watched him curiously. "You all treat me like I haven't got the slightest idea what I'm going to do, but I'm going to prove to you that I can do something properly, just as I proved that to everyone in the past!" he insisted.

"By doing what?" Kristy asked, her voice sounding oddly like that of Rika's in the current situation, and her manner of speaking certainly echoing it.

"I am going to propose to Rika!"

"_**Finally!"**_

"Should we tell him he just basically just decided to do what we suggested after completely rubbishing it?" Sora quietly asked Tai.

"No, he's on a roll, we don't want to take that from him," Tai replied, grinning.

"Uh…except I don't have any money for a ring, I don't have any idea how to make it romantic and I certainly don't have the confidence," Takato sighed, listing his various problems in a nutshell.

"Think of it this way, it's like jumping off a pit wall. You never know if you're going to die at the bottom before you do so."

"Thanks Terriermon," Takato said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

* * *

**SATURDAY, 23****RD**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:37 JST**_

So here they were and now was the time for him to act or screw everything up for an eternity. _**"No pressure,"**_ Chaos joked sarcastically.

Takato felt his dry throat seize up, and promptly licked his lips in a attempt to make speaking easier. If there was any sense of romance in the scene to start with, it was definitely long gone now.

"Nervous?" Rika asked with a slim smile on her face as she finally began the conversation. Evidently, she was just as nervous, and oddly this reassured Takato greatly.

"I've probably never been more nervous in my life…but…I want to be there for you always," Takato began, Rika glancing down again as her mind did a reality check.

It was real. It seemed so impossible. Rika was truly gob smacked at what was happening.

"Even without all that Rey business, even forgetting about the baby…I still love you, and I always will, and I know that you're worried that isn't true…" he rambled, reaching around in his pocket uncomfortably for the item he needed.

He swallowed his saliva quickly as it became a block to speaking. He laughed nervously as he searched, breathing a sigh of relief when his hand grabbed it.

"So, Rika Nonaka, will you…uh…marry me?" he asked, pulling his hand forth and unveiling a small blue box, a golden line pattern twisting around the centre of its sides.

Silence.

An amazingly long, deep, tense silence.

Dripping sweat, beating hearts, held breaths.

"Takato, this is the most amazingly stupid thing you've ever done," Rika said, rolling her eyes at his antics. He chuckled nervously, not sure how to proceed.

"_**Takato, just get this over with!" **_Chaos yelled.

Takato nodded, an odd burst of confidence rolling over him as he swallowed his nervousness for a short while. _"Jump off the pit wall, jump off the pit wall, jump off the pit wall…"_

Suddenly, as if by magic, the air changed as Rika laughed at him, chuckling in response to the complete unlikelihood of the situation.

"No, I mean it," she said, smiling widely. "Without a single doubt, this is the most amazingly, unbelievably, totally stupid, idiotic and crazed thing you've ever done in any of your lives,"

"So should I take that as a yes then?" Takato asked, smiling his usual smile and anticipating her response. This had to be the tensest moment of his life, let alone the most stupid moment.

Rika's mind flashed over the events of the past three years. The day she first met Takato, the stupid child who seemed to have an annoyingly big heart and a selective deafness to the words "leave me alone" and "go away". The child who seemed to take on the most impossible enemies, and yet still cried at soppy movies. The boy who seemed to perform amazing (and often near-suicidal) feats which defied belief, including helping her to open up more to others. The boy who became a teenager, comforted her at her lowest end, followed her up the mountain despite risking missing the Ark and getting stuck in the Digital World again, something which surprised her enough the first time he had done it. The teen who went on to do stupid things, to discover his amazing and sometimes downright bizarre powers, and who seemed to steal her heart again and again with every instance of the smile he currently wore.

Forgetting the fact she was carrying his child, forgetting those moments they had spent together in New York, forgetting even the last three years they had spent together - there was still one thing she knew for certain.

He was Takato Matsuki, and she loved him.

"Yes."

Both of their eyes widened, both in shock at what the other had said; both in shock at what they themselves had said. Guilmon and Renamon silently cheered, while Takato and Rika just stared, eye to eye, violet into hazel.

"_**DAMN YOU!"**_

"_**I HATE YOU ALL!"**_

Rika finally, thanks to Harmony's curses, remembered what she had to do next in this intricate social ceremony, and Takato, thanks to Chaos, remembered likewise.

Takato fiddled with the box, it popping open before he carefully took out the ring, moving it forward towards Rika's waiting finger on her left hand. Fumbling slightly, it soon pushed on, Takato silently breathing a sigh of relief that it fitted. He hadn't the first clue what to do if it didn't, and…

It all suddenly happened too fast, catching him in mid thought, as Rika pulled in quickly to pull him to his feet and into a tight embrace, pressing her lips against his and almost forcing her tongue down his throat as her eyes closed softly. He soon returned the kiss as his mind caught up with events and closed his eyes, Renamon and Guilmon continuing to cheer until they stopped, looked oddly at the ongoing display and felt ready to gag.

"_Now I know why Rika hates watching couples kiss," _Renamon thought, glancing around as the Digital Fog began to descend, the evening light beginning to break through.

"_**Karma hates me…" **_Chaos grumbled.

"_**Okay, now choke him with your saliva!" **_Harmony unhelpfully suggested. _**"No? Poo."**_

"_Hehe, now I get why Calumon always says people look like they're trying to eat each other when they kiss,"_ Guilmon thought.

"_Okay, so we've now stepped into Romantic Cliché #29,"_ Takato thought.

"_Did I really just start this?" _Rika thought, amazed at her sudden actions, something she never expected to just randomly do like that.

"_Great, I __know my lips are really sore," _Takato thought.

"_Takato must be really nervous, his lips are really sore," _Rika echoed.

"_How on earth do you interrupt something like this?" _Takato wondered.

"_I don't want to stop this, he has to stop it."_

"_I can't stop __this; it'll make me look reluctant. She has to stop it."_

"_**This is the most unpleasant experience I've ever had," **_Chaos thought.

"_**Okay, new decision, I hate love," **_Harmony thought.

Rika and Takato's eyes both snapped open concurrently. Both quickly took it as a hint to pull away, which they nonetheless did rather softly and reluctantly before staring into each other's eyes periodically.

"Okay, on three," Takato began, still staring into her eyes.

"One," Rika counted.

"Two," Takato continued.

"Three," Rika finished.

"Ugh," both groaned, rubbing their sore lips with their hands and tongue. Probably wasn't the best idea to do that with dry lips.

"We have _got_ to work on that!" Rika insisted, a smile on her face nonetheless.

"Yeah, definitely," Takato agreed, smiling and coughing from his dry throat before looking around at the now clear view of the area, the evening light gently touching the baseball field.

"Okay, now for the questions Takato, _how_ long have you had this planned?" Rika asked, surprise still on her face at his remarkable show of planning and ability. He'd picked a place historical to them, namely, where they first met, artificially created a Digital Field with the aid of Chaos, and even managed to pass the message to her grandmother, all her friends and even Renamon without her noticing.

"Three days," Takato replied, a smile on his face.

Rika knew she could never be as gob smacked again as she had been when she first saw Takato kneel down earlier, but this came pretty close. "Three days?!"

"Yeah," Takato replied, scratching the back of his neck. "It was kind of a "do it now before I lose the confidence to do so" thing," he added. She rolled her eyes.

"Typical you," she chuckled, before looking more closely to the ring on her finger, a sapphire glinting in it. "How did you afford this?" she asked, surprised.

Takato scratched the back of his head again. "Well, I kinda didn't," he replied, chuckling nervously.

"What, did you…steal it or something?" Rika asked, a chill running down her spine as she contemplated an idea that she knew was impossible. Takato would never even consider doing something like that, there had to be another explanation.

"No, it's a family heirloom," Takato noted. "It was my grandmother's," he added, a bit irritated to have been exposed as a cheapskate. Rika was just happy he hadn't stolen it.

"Wow, I know I never say this but…it's really pretty," Rika noted, turning her finger over.

"Yeah, it is," Takato replied, before opening his mouth to speak again.

"If you dare say "just like you"…"

Takato chuckled. "Nuts, you know me too well."

Rika laughed in response, agreeing, before she pondered the exact nature of these events. A bewildered look appeared on her face, as she decided to clarify things. "So, let me get this straight. _Everyone_ knew?"

"Well…almost everyone, but yeah," Takato replied, smiling. "To be fair, I had a bit of help from them in that, but all in all, I think we kept it a pretty big secret."

Rika frowned slightly as she recalled what she had been thinking beforehand. "I was worried you were trying to get away from me."

"I know," Takato replied, equalling her frown. "But I realised you were just scared…" he began.

"**After being prompted by a lot of people, you mean,"** Chaos corrected.

"Okay, I was _told _that you were just scared, and then…I just realised you really did need what Terriermon had said. You just needed some way of knowing I'd always be there for you, and this is it. Even if you yourself told me you didn't like the idea…I realised you were lying."

"Yeah, I know, but…I really wasn't expecting it, and what was I meant to say anyway? It wasn't exactly the kind of thing you tell the girl you plan to propose to!" Rika said, laughing about the concept.

"Yeah, I eventually realised that after Chaos spent days repeatedly telling me that was the case."

Rika chuckled at how long it had taken Takato to decide on this course of action, before looking curiously to the ring again. A thought suddenly occurred to her. She smiled slyly, looking back up to the boy. "By the way, you do realise that we've just ended the world?"

"What do you mean?" Takato stuttered, a sound of confusion in his voice. Had he done something really wrong?

"Heh. You proposing, Terriermon being right for once, me saying yes…"

"Next it'll be Vikaralamon flying, hell freezing over and then comes the apocalypse."

The pair both laughed as the unlikelihood of the events around them was not lost on them in the slightest.

"So…uh…what do we do now?" Takato asked, looking to his fiancé with an uncertain stare. Rika shrugged.

"I don't know, kiss again?" she mooted, licking her lips again and being thankful they didn't seem to be drying up again.

"NO!"

"NO!"

"**NO!"**

"**NO!"**

"What?" Takato asked, surprised by the unanimous objections from those around and within them.

"Rika, no offence intended but, I now understand why watching people kiss makes you gag," Renamon explained politely.

"Oh, right," Rika realised.

"Sorry," Takato chuckled, before looking back to Rika with a smile. "Even though, I think this calls for a celebration of some kind," he suggested.

"Invite everyone over to my house and mock anyone who didn't think you'd manage it?" Rika asked, smiling in amusement.

"Yeah, that was what I was thinking," Takato agreed.

"**Oh god, you're **_**already**_** mirroring each other's thoughts," **Harmony complained. **"You're like a married couple!"**

"Oh, right, forgot about the wedding," Rika realised as she slapped her head, the realisation coming to her that they'd completely missed the point of proposing. "When, where, what, how, all of that?"

"I don't know, some time in the future?" Takato suggested.

"As opposed to the past, when I'm sure it would be so easy to schedule something," Rika teased with a smile on her face.

"Well, I didn't really think about it, so…uh…" Takato stuttered.

"Look, we love each other, we are really young, and there's no real hurry, so we'll get married when we want to, okay?" Rika decided, speaking far more confidently than he did. She put out a hand, which was soon joined by his, a nod passing between them.

"Right," he agreed. "Oh, and, I love you," he added, smiling.

"I love you too," she replied, before pausing as she contemplated something. Her mouth stayed slightly open, a suspicious look on her face as she looked back to him. "Hold on, wait a minute…"

"Uh…what?" he asked nervously.

"When I left the house earlier…Grandma was making far too much food…" she began, adding things up in her mind as Takato chuckled under her burning gaze. "But she couldn't possibly have known in advance, which means that…"

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:59 JST**_

"Oh my god my legs are hurting, aren't they back yet?!" Ryder whispered to Mari, wincing in pain as they tried to hide behind the sofa.

"No Ryder, I'll tell you when they are," she replied.

"I knew this was a bad idea," the boy complained, Mari rolling her eyes.

"Blame it on Jeri," she said, that particular girl laughing nervously from where she hid in the same place.

"Sorry Ryder," she apologised, accidentally letting go of Calumon, who changed quickly into "hyperactive mode".

"Yay, food!" Calumon cheered, running across the table to the plate of goodies which Seiko had left out. She quickly lifted it off of the table.

"Please wait dear, they'll be here soon," she said.

"Aw, but I'm hungry now!" Calumon complained.

"Mom, I still don't understand, why did you all keep this a secret from me?" Rumiko asked from where she leaned against the kitchen cabinet, looking around the room and seeing the various people hiding in various places. God forbid that Rika would say no, there would need to be a helluva lot of cleanup, and quickly.

"Because dear, I know you would obsess over it," Seiko explained. "Not least trying to get Rika's sizes to get a dress made," she added.

"Oh, but that's the best part, and do you know how much of a waiting list they have on those things?"

Kristy groaned from where she sat on the couch, knowing that she wouldn't look remotely out of place. "Mom…" she groaned.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, and I'm sure it's obvious that the next chapter will be all about this party. But it's not going to be an ordinary party, by any means. Then again, a party to celebrate Takato proposing to Rika isn't exactly an ordinary party to start with, but ah well.

Anyhow, until next time…


	45. The Trick To Accidents

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 39**

_The Trick to Accidents_

* * *

**SATURDAY, 23****rd**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Near Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**18:09 JST**_

Hand in hand they walked through the street, the residential area beckoning as the orange tone continued to dominate the sky, only the uprising moon threatening to break it. The city had begun to die down again, parents taking their children home from the park and Saturday workers returning from their places of employment. Yet, to these teenagers, the world around them meant nothing right now.

"_**So she **_**can**_** hold a hand without making it hurt?" **_Chaos asked, a tone of disbelief in his voice, tinged with irritation. _**"Why the hell didn't she do that before?!"**_

Takato simply decided to ignore his alter-ego's remark, instead glancing across to the girl to his left who wore a worrying frown on her face.

"Rika, is something the matter?" he asked, swathes of concern in his voice as the pair came to a stop. Over the last few months, any frown from Rika had become a cause for concern for the boy.

"Not really, just not looking forward to greeting everyone when we get back," she replied, her frown becoming shallower.

"Huh? Why not?" Takato asked, confused as to the exact issue at hand.

""OH WOW I'M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU", "LET'S SEE THE RING!", "YOU TWO MAKE SUCH A GREAT COUPLE!"" Rika said in a mocking tone as she made wide exaggerated gestures. "Give me a break," she muttered, her fake enthusiasm vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

"**Yeah, your friends are unbelievably annoying," **Chaos agreed.

"**They do mean well though," **Harmony interjected, defending the others.

"Yeah, obviously, but that doesn't make it any less cringe-worthy," Rika replied, sighing as the pair continued to walk.

"Hey, look on the bright side," Takato said, smiling his trademark smile as she looked to him curiously. "They're running out of things they'll be able to act like that about," he added.

"Yeah, all that's left is the birth and the wedding and then we're home free," Rika replied, laughing at the concept as a smile stuck to her face, despite her mind once again reminding her of how much pain she was set for a few months down the line. "You know, I'm still a bit irritated by how that just went."

Takato worriedly raised an eyebrow. Had he screwed up something he could never fix? "Uh…are you?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, I was hoping for a battle," Rika replied, smiling at how nervous he had been. It was fun to play with his mind like that. Takato breathed a sigh of relief as the girl chuckled, before glancing once again to the ring that had now taken up pride of place on her left hand. Looking up again as they reached her front gate, she periodically glanced around, knowing that at any point from now on, everyone could jump out and shout "boo". Takato chuckled nervously, he'd attempted to dissuade them from this idea, without much success.

"Well, here goes nothing," Takato said, putting his hand against the gate.

"Wait, I have a better idea…" Rika interrupted, pulling his hand away and grinning slyly.

* * *

_**Nonaka Household, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**18:17 JST**_

The door slammed shut, the panes rattling inside as Seiko, Kristy and Rumiko looked up with a start to see Rika, or, more specifically, an angered Rika. Her fingers were bereft of ornaments, a small price to pay for a big joke. The air of anticipation that had previously inflated the room was dismissed all of a sudden, confusion and shock overwhelming it.

"Stupid Takato," she cursed, storming across the living room the hallway and being watched by dozens of bewildered eyes, frowns rapidly materialising as they added up what this meant.

"Rika, what's wrong dear?" Seiko asked, Rika looking reluctant to stop but inevitably doing so.

"Ugh," she groaned, frowning before admitting what had happened. "Takato tried to propose," she explained.

Seiko hesitated, before a look of surprise was forced onto her face. Unfortunately, her tone didn't sound remotely convincing, but Rika set it aside for now. "Really?" she asked, looking with a worried frown across to Rumiko and Kristy, something Rika would've rolled her eyes at if she wasn't in role herself.

"_Yeah, like it's not obvious you had something planned," _she thought. "Yeah," she replied, irritation still dominating her façade as she took a cursory glance around, wanting to roll her eyes at how useless their hiding places were but knowing that she had to resist that urge. Harmony used the opportunity to quickly scan the scene, looking for one tell-tale hint of one particular person.

"_**Target behind the right hand sofa."**_

"_Perfect."_

"So what did you say?" Rumiko asked from where she leaned against the kitchen cabinet.

"No, of course!" Rika replied. "We're sixteen, what did he expect me to say?" she said, retaining her tone of irritation. "He's lost his bloody mind," she added, going to turn again before Kristy's voice stopped her.

"So where's Takato?" she asked nervously. The tensest air hung in the room: from those hiding, from those visible - even contributed to by Rika herself with her long pause.

"Probably gone off to cry somewhere, I don't care," Rika said harshly.

"Rika!" Rumiko scolded.

"I said I don't care!" Rika repeated, putting on the same voice she'd used in a hundred arguments.

"Oh…" Rumiko uttered. Rika turned to Seiko.

"Did I miss dinner?" she asked, looking over the huge amounts of food and cursing herself for not noticing it earlier.

Seiko hesitated, anxiously glancing to the various plates and trays of food, snacks and drinks left on the main cooking surface. "No, it'll be ready in a few minutes," she replied.

"Good," Rika replied, her tone still sharp as she strode over to the right hand sofa. She saw Cody hiding underneath the coffee table, but didn't look him straight on - that would be too obvious.

"_**Oh, how I'd love to see the look on their fac…hold on, I'm turning into you!" **_Harmony thought. Rika silently chuckled at the concept: spending every day stuck with her was clearly rubbing off on Harmony.

Rika fell back on the sofa in the same manner she had done everything so far: like a girl having a strop. She glanced to the remote, teasing the boy under the table even more by moving her eye line ever closer to him. Reaching over for the remote, she continued to avoid directly looking at any hiding places.

"_This is _too _easy," _she thought slyly as she switched on the television, a news report rolling about something or other she barely cared about.

She looked blankly across the room to the screen, an unsteady air settling as she heard Seiko uncomfortably continue with her work. Kristy sat by the table still, staring across to the redhead. Rumiko, looking like she was about to faint from shock, had taken up a simple wooden seat in the kitchen and mirrored where Kristy was looking. Rika was well aware that all eyes were on her.

"_**So, what do you have planned next?" **_Harmony asked, oddly finding that she was enjoying this game of emotional torture too much. The thought crossed her conscious that she was becoming too much like Chaos, and she shivered involuntarily, albeit there being no physical effect on their body due to her not being in control at that precise moment.

"_Wait and see," _Rika replied, continuing to stare at the television.

"_Poor Takato," _Kristy thought, looking at Rika with a frown. Takato had done all he could to try and fix things, and Rika had just blown him off. The worst thing was, she didn't even seem to care, not in the slightest.

"_What have I done?" _Rey thought, panicking at the concept she had irreversibly changed things. _"I wrecked everything!" _her mind added, her face wanting to cry but resisting it because she knew of the outcome of such an act.

"_This is horrible, can't we say anything?" _Kari thought, watching from where she hid behind a set of shelves. Looking to Takeru and Davis either side of her, all three as cramped up in the space as each other, she could tell they mirrored her disappointment and concern.

Rika let just enough time to pass for the tense air to be at its peak, before making things even worse.

"Rey, I know you're there," she said, turning her head to face the ceiling and indicating to her daughter behind the sofa that her hiding had not gone unnoticed. Rika wore a stone-face throughout, a slight tone of exasperation to her voice showing she wasn't impressed by their act.

Rey's eyes widened, as she nervously got to her feet, looking down with worry to Mari and Ryder hiding alongside her in the same place, Ryder by now looking ready to scream out in pain but resisting it for as long as he could.

"Oh, um…" Rey mumbled. "Hi," she greeted, uncomfortably waving a hand.

Rika was unimpressed. She stood to her feet and turned around to face her daughter. She crossing her arms across her chest and looked round the room, systematically seeing all of those hiding. She kicked her foot backwards, hearing a slight groan of discomfort from Cody as he bashed his head on the table out of shock. Rubbing it, he pushed himself to his feet.

"Uh, hi Rika," Jeri greeted, just as uncomfortable as everyone else in the room was at that moment as they stood up out of their hiding place. Even Chiyo looked uncomfortable, although her expression quickly changed to anger and irritation at being forced to hide for all that time with no fun at the end.

Rika's face took on a look of anger as her eyes burned at them. "What the hell did you all think you were playing at?" she spat, wandering over to be nearer the kitchen and the door again before turning round to face them and hear their explanations.

"We were just going to surprise you," Sora explained, feeling a wash of guilt flow over her. Had they done something wrong?

"Oh thanks a bloody lot, as if today hasn't been bad enough!" Rika yelled. "Were you _all _in on this?" she asked, looking round with a glare to cross Kristy, Rumiko and Seiko's gazes.

"We were going to celebrate you saying yes!" Rumiko argued back.

"Oh thanks, because I thought I had a say in the matter!" Rika replied, her voice harsh. "You can all go to hell!" she cursed loudly, perhaps more loudly than needed. There was, of course, a reason for this.

"I thought you cared about Takato!" Kazu argued back.

"Yeah, he went to a lot of effort for this!" Kenta echoed.

"Really?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment, as if she hadn't yet seen the fruits of Takato's labour.

"Yeah, he went around and told everyone, and arranged all this," Jeri explained, gesturing round the room at the people and the food. A frown came to her face as she pictured Takato crying at home right now, his parents probably trying to comfort him (unless the particularly darker or depressed sides of his personality made him lock the door and hide from the world).

"Oh," Rika noted, putting on a guilty tone as she pretended to contemplate what she had done. She looked across to Rey, frowning as the expression passed between them. "Sorry," she uttered.

"What are you going to do?" Kari asked, concern laden in her voice from where she now sat on the sofa. Rika glanced across to Ryder, looking down at his legs from where he had now been placed on the opposite one to recover. Despite wishing to express amusement at the sight, she sighed at her "current" predicament.

"I don't now," she said, frowning deeply. "It's not like I can just click my fingers and have everything work out," she added, clicking as she did so.

She turned, a grin crossing her face as the door opened, the redhead taking a step forward and meeting Takato in an embrace and a kiss as she did so, a sound of bewilderment going up through the room. She glanced to one side from the kiss, relishing the moment before the pair pulled away from one another again.

Rika and Takato both burst into fits of laughter, Rika's finger quickly pointed at their wide-eyed observers.

"You guys are more gullible than Guilmon!" she laughed, Takato nodding in agreement. They turned to face each other, a smile passing between them as the pair were silently thankful for the plans success, and as Rika was thankful for not having to put up with a lot of over-enthusiasm from the group again. Rika reached down into her pocket, retrieving the ring and, with a slight bit of help from Takato, putting it back onto her finger.

"Wait…so you guys…" Davis stuttered, the air of disbelief still hanging.

"Yeah, we just fooled you, so ha!" Rika explained, smiling widely.

"So you said yes after all?" Mari asked, raising an eyebrow in further bewilderment.

"Well duh," Rika replied, grinning before suddenly being grabbed in an embrace from the opposite side.

"Oh Rika I'm so happy for you!" Rumiko said, pulling her daughter into an uncomfortable side-embrace. Rika frowned, looking uneasily out to Takato who laughed nervously. Rumiko pulled away, the widest grin on her face.

"Thanks mom," Rika uttered, but was hardly heard above Rumiko's enthusiasm.

"First we'll book the venue, and then I'll get my colleagues to arrange you the best dress. You want a summer wedding, don't you? We'll have to…" Rumiko rambled.

"Rumiko, calm down!" Seiko scolded, glaring at her daughter who pouted in response. Why was her mother interrupting her wonderful plans?

"Yeah mom, we'll arrange the wedding eventually," Rika echoed.

"But you will have it soon, won't you? He just proposed, and…" Rumiko began, a concerned tone in her voice. Takato chuckled nervously, glancing about. How was he meant to put this?

"Mrs Nonaka…we're…we're not getting married anytime soon," he confessed, involuntarily scratching the back of his head to fight the nervousness as he put an end to the woman's eager planning.

"Oh brother," Kristy sighed, seeing the look of disappointment and worry materialise on her mother's face.

"But dear, you have to get married soon!" Rumiko pleaded, as a rolling of the eyes crossed the faces of all others in the Nonaka name, and even those in other surnames.

"No they don't Rumiko, and stop pressuring them," Seiko scolded again. "They _are_ just kids, and Takato has said that he wants to have it when they're older and out of school."

"Oh," Rumiko said, frowning as she lost her dream of a wonderful wedding, at least in the short term. "I see," she sighed.

Rika frowned periodically, before an amusing thought occurred to her. She leaned over to whisper in Takato's ear with a teasing smile. "She's going to be your mother-in-law," she said, his eyes widening in surprise as he contemplated the subject with horror. He froze up as his mind played through the concept .

"_**RUN, FOR GOD'S SAKE RUN!" **_Chaos yelled. _**"Oh god, please don't start dreaming again!"**_

Thankfully, Takato's illogical dream, or rather, far-out nightmare, of being forced to try on dresses by his future mother-in-law, something which at any more down-to-earth time he would've dismissed as completely and utterly impossible to the highest degree, was interrupted when he was gripped in a wide hug along with Rika by who else but Rey.

"I'm so glad I didn't screw things up," Rey said happily, smiling widely as she broke the hug.

"I'm not, we had confetti poppers and everything," Chiyo cursed from where she stood alongside the doorway, a box of the coloured things down by the floor alongside.

"Yeah, do you know how much they cost?" Kazu echoed, his tone irritated as he joined Chiyo near the box.

A grin and an eye-widening realisation crossed both of their faces as both went for the box at once, took a handful and began firing them at their opponent with angered faces.

"Take that!" Chiyo yelled, firing one straight into Kazu's face and fortunately for him just missing by half an inch.

"Ow, not that close!" he complained, turning round and firing his own at her. Rika, Takato and the rest all watched the display, looks of bewilderment on their faces.

"O…kay," Rika and Takato both uttered together.

* * *

_**19:07 JST**_

After the chaos and tricks of their arrival, the party had settled into full swing, albeit with a large sprinkling of confetti over by the doorway area, and lodged in Chiyo and Kazu's hair. An air of celebration, and slight annoyance, had replaced the unbearable tension, and laughing was almost permanently audible from the various groups and pairs sitting and chatting about the home.

"Excuse me," Mimi said, interrupting idle conversation between Rumiko and her mother.

"Yes…um…Mimi, is it?" Rumiko asked with a smile on her face.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling widely. "I'm one of your biggest fans."

"Oh, Rika mentioned something about you wanting to talk to me," Rumiko replied. "Of course, it was in her usual manner so she didn't really follow it up, but it's lovely to meet you."

Seiko rolled her eyes, slipping away from the conversation and deciding that it was probably best to leave the pair to talk about the inevitable subject they would talk about.

"Same, I'm just glad to be meeting a proper model."

"Oh, why, are you planning for the same career?"

"Well duh, the glamour, the parties, the clothes!" Mimi replied, half-dreaming about it all as she spoke.

"Well, it is a fantastic life, even if it does get stressful at times," Rumiko replied, smiling. Her smile dampened as she looked towards Rika, currently smiling as she talked to Jeri and Yolei. "I do wish I had more time as a family though. The job does lay on the pressure a lot."

"I'm sure you do your best though."

"Yeah," Rumiko replied, a slim smile on her face. _"I hope," _she mentally added, paying one last look at her daughter before looking back up to the brunette currently talking to her. "So, have you done any modelling before?"

"A bit, but I'm now studying Fashion at university so I can start up my own agency. I hate the idea of having a boss all the time barking at me."

"Well, in this business it's all about the connections, so you need to get out there and meet people. I'm sure I could bring you along to one of my shoots if you wanted," Rumiko suggested.

"That would be fabulous!" Mimi said, putting her hands together eagerly.

"Great, I'll talk to my agent and see what I can arrange," Rumiko replied. Mimi looked fit to faint from excitement.

"Great, Mimi's going hyperactive," Matt noted from where he sat on the armrest of the sofa, rolling his eyes at the display before looking across to his companions in conversation.

"Gee, she really isn't all that different from the TV show," Kenta noted, watching the display.

"Be fair, she's a bit more mature now," Sora defended.

"Yeah, but it's Mimi, so that doesn't mean all that much," Tai added. "I still really can't believe we were in a TV show."

"Haven't you guys tried to watch it?" Kenta asked, confused.

"Well, yeah, but every time we try searching for it the rental store guy eyes us like we're mad," Matt replied, rolling his eyes. "Do any of you guys have a copy?"

"Well, we always used to wait for the show to be on TV, but now it seems to have been completely forgotten about," Kenta replied. "I'm sure someone has a copy."

"I think the question is, do we want to watch it?" Sora asked, frown on her face. "I'm not sure I'd want to…we did some weird things in those days."

"Worried they'll show you half-naked?" Agumon asked.

Sora wore an indignant look in response. "As a matter of fact, yes," she replied. "I mean, there was that place on File Island, and that cruise liner."

"Yeah, but walking through the Digital World always got us filthy," Gabumon noted. "The amount of times I had to wash my coat."

"Heh, even I don't know what he looks like under that thing," Matt joked. "I'd watch the TV series to find out that for sure."

"Sorry, even the TV series kept it secret," Kenta replied, smiling.

"So, does it freak you guys out at all?" Sora asked, looking to the boy curiously.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Kenta said with bewilderment in his eyes. What on earth were they talking about?

"Yeah, you guys were in a TV series in Ryder's world, doesn't that ever concern you?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I kinda hope they portrayed me right," Kenta noted, chuckling nervously. "I'd hate to think I was portrayed as some sort of geek or wimp," he added.

"What, because it was accurate?" Impmon noted, leaping onto the sofa back with a grin.

"Hey!"

"You and Kazu spent more time acting like bozos than anyone else, and that's saying a lot since you all acted like bozos back then. Now too," Impmon said, smirking.

"Yeah, except Kazu now seems all depressed and all," Kenta added, frowning.

"Chiyo really hurt him, huh?" Matt asked, frown worn on his face.

"Yeah, he rarely acts like this usually. Then again, he's never actually had actual romantic interests in someone before. Oh, and plus, she kneed him in the nuts."

"Poor guy," Biyomon chirped.

"Yeah, she really did a number on him…with the emotional thing, not the kneeing thing," Tai said, frowning. "She doesn't look like she's about to apologise either."

"Give her a break, everyone has people they don't like," Matt defended. "Even if she is a lot more vocal in expressing that than most."

"Tch, if you ask me, I don't think she'd ever apologise," Impmon noted. "Anyway, I'm wasting eating time here talking to you bubs," he added, leaping from the sofa quickly across to the table. He landed with a bump, surprising Calumon who leapt back quickly.

"Waah!" he cried. "Impmon, don't surprise me like that!"

"Shut up and pass the grub, cream puff," Impmon said, grinning.

"Oh, okay," Calumon said, picking up a rice ball, quite a task given the relative size of the rice ball to him and the simple nature of his hands. He grinned as he noticed it roll slightly upon being dropped out of the bowl. "Yay!" he cheered, before slowly rolling it across the table to Impmon, a process which took a long while and led to much bewilderment from the purple demon.

"Geez, you sure take enjoyment from the dumbest of things," he noted, rolling his eyes. Calumon simply chuckled, returning to the bowl.

"Again!" he cheered, but was stopped when he slipped down into the bowl. "Aw," he complained, crushing the rice-balls under him.

"Oh, thanks a lot!" Impmon complained, looking as the now-crushed food. Calumon, once again, simply laughed.

"Calumon, what are you doing in the bowl?" asked a new voice, Guilmon's, as he came back for more food.

"Playing!" Calumon cheered, crushing another few rice balls.

"Ooh, that looks like fun," Guilmon noted, reaching out for the bowl and going to crush some of the balls. A white hand with a purple glove quickly picked Calumon out, Renamon rolling her eyes at the one she had rescued.

"Hey Renamon!" Calumon cheered, Guilmon pausing to look up.

"Rika's grandmother and mother made this food. Please don't squash it," Renamon warned, her tone non-threatening but having the obvious connotations that a threat would be on the way otherwise.

"Aw, it's fun!" Calumon cheered.

"Okay," Guilmon agreed, instead resorting to eating the squashed food while Impmon watched, bewildered by how uncaring Guilmon was about the quality of his food.

"Seriously fox-face, how do you put up with him?" he asked, looking up to Renamon who let Calumon down on the table again, leaving him to drop the last inch or two.

"He's amusing," Renamon replied, smiling down to what had once been called "the walking trash disposal".

"Yeah, I've seen that, but that sure as hell doesn't make me want to have sex with him," Impmon replied, a look of warning crossing Renamon's face. "Tch, I'll never understand you guys," he added, turning and leaping away. Renamon rolled her eyes, glancing upwards, before looking down to Guilmon who seemed to be ever-accelerating in his eating speed.

"Guilmon, slow down before you start choking again," she warned. "And the food is for everyone," she added, smiling.

"Aw, really? But no-one else is eating it," Guilmon replied, pausing and looking curiously at his rice ball.

"You want one?" he suggested, holding it out to Renamon.

"Not particularly," she replied.

"Huh? You never seem to eat anything," Guilmon noted, cocking his head in confusion.

"I do, just I don't like to eat in the presence of others," Renamon replied, frowning.

"Huh, why not?"

Renamon frowned, hesitating and contemplating some particular memories from long ago before looking back to Guilmon. "I was simply taught not to in my past," she explained, before deciding to tactically change the subject. "Do you want to go see the egg?"

"Okay," Guilmon agreed cheerfully, the pair heading away from the table towards the hallway.

"Aw, everyone's gone," Calumon complained, his ears sinking. He glanced around. "Yay, Jeri!" he cheered, leaping a surprising height onto the girl's brunette head. She was barely fazed by his actions, having become used to the cream-puff's habit of surprising people like that.

"So, have anyone but Takato and you felt her kicking yet?" she asked, looking curiously across to Rika. Rika shook her head, her smile dampening but never becoming a frown.

"Nope, I really think that'd be weird," Rika replied, glancing down periodically to her bulge and placing her hand on it again. "The kicking is weird enough, let alone people coming round and placing their hands on it all the time as well," she added.

"You know, it's really weird to be talking about this," Yolei noted. "No offense Rika, but I didn't expect my friends to be getting pregnant until way later on in life," she added.

"Yolei, that still seems to imply some offense," Hawkmon noted, listening into their conversation from below.

"Yeah, I guess it does. What I mean is…" Yolei began.

"Don't worry, I get what you mean," Rika said, tired of the tactful act everyone was pulling over the situation. "Still, it'll be weird after she is born…I am slowly working my way through a baby book but it is the most boring thing I've ever read," she noted. "Plus, the bit on childbirth itself is horrifying!"

"Yeah, but still…you've got a kid to look forward to," Jeri noted optimistically. Calumon watched curiously, before leaping away upon deciding the conversation was by no means as interesting as eating.

"And, if Takato's hand isn't already held tightly away to a bloody pulp by then, I'm sure you'll make it one when you are giving birth," Yolei joked. "Uh, no offense intended," she added after noticing a stare from Hawkmon.

"I saw one of those books when my mom was pregnant," Jeri noted, reliving the memories with a slight cringe. "They're full of really disturbing details, and in a really high level of detail, like how…"

"Jeri, I'm sorry but this conversation is getting very disturbing," Elecmon noted.

"Yes, I fear if you continue, I will have to leave before I hear something I regret," Hawkmon added.

"Heh, sorry," Jeri apologised.

"Wow, this is _really_ giving me confidence," Rika said sarcastically, before smiling as she saw Takato heading over to her from another conversation, the pair sharing a short kiss before he joined their conversation. _"As opposed to this, which actually does give me confidence,"_ she mentally added.

"Uh…are you girls having one of those really disturbing conversations that I should really get away from?" Takato asked first of all.

Yolei chuckled. "No, Elecmon and Hawkmon stopped us before we did start one."

"**Thank god…well, me," **Chaos breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, the happy couple!" Jeri proclaimed, looking to the pair as Rika put an arm round Takato's back.

"Even if you did both play an evil trick on us," Yolei added.

"Yeah, but it was to prevent stupid exclamations like the one Jeri just made. No offense intended," Rika noted, smiling.

"None taken," Jeri replied. "But it is weird to think you're engaged. Can I see the ring?" she asked.

"Jeri, didn't you see it before when Takato was showing it to us?" Elecmon asked, confused.

"Yeah, but I wanna see it on her finger," Jeri explained, smiling to her partner and being amused by his lack of understanding. Rika sighed, holding her hand out and preparing herself for the inevitable flood of sap.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Yolei noted, even the artificial light in the room making it glint in an impressive manner.

"Yeah," Jeri echoed, staring at it in amazement. Takato looked set to wander away from the conversation, pausing when Rika coughed.

"What?" he asked.

"This is so annoying, at least put up with it with me," Rika whispered, as Jeri and Yolei continued to gawp over the piece of jewellery. Takato chuckled nervously and silently mouthed an apology, before ducking away as Rika rolled her eyes.

"_**You made the right choice goggle-brain, I would've killed you otherwise."**_

"_Wouldn't that kill you too?"_

"_**It'd be worth it."**_

Takato decided to once again ignore the homicidal ranting of his alter-ego and return to the task at hand, namely, finding a new conversation to talk in.

"Hey," Davis greeted as he wandered up to a group consisting of him, Kari, Takeru, Cody, Kazu and Henry. Takato smiled, nodding in greeting to his fellow Gogglehead.

"Hey," he replied, looking about the group as he entered the conversation.

"So did school start as badly as that for you guys too?" Henry asked, looking at the four who went to different schools from them.

"Unfortunately it wasn't anywhere near as exciting, although Davis did make our food teacher have an allergic attack," Takeru noted, smiling as he looked to his fellow Tamer.

"Hey, that packet said "contains no nuts", how was I meant to know that wasn't still true after mixing it with the rest?"

"Common sense perhaps?" Gatomon said slyly from the floor below.

"That'd be the same reason why Kazu is banned from food classes then," Terriermon quipped, grinning as Kazu glared in response.

"Hey, that was Kenta's fault."

"Does he say the same in response?" Takeru asked curiously.

"Yeah, but why does that matter?" Kazu replied, frowning at how once again he had been shown up as an idiot. "Anyway, for your information I once made a piece of Guilmon bread that Takato's parents complimented highly," he said, looking across to Takato to back up his reference.

"_**Wasn't that the day your mum got food poisoning?"**_

"_Shh, he doesn't know that."_ "Yeah, sure Kazu."

"See," Kazu proclaimed, naturally not being privy to the conversation between Takato and his alter-ego.

"Hey, Cody, I forgot to ask, how did your first day at your new school go?" Kari asked, looking down to the shorter boy.

"Well, it seems about alright, although it is another ten minutes walk compared to the old one. The school's a lot bigger though," Cody explained.

"It's a shame really you aren't the same age as us," Davis said, a frown on his face.

"Yeah, then you could walk with me and Yolei like we used to do," Takeru added, smiling enthusiastically.

"Yeah, that'd be great, but unfortunately things don't work that way," Cody said, being far more entrenched in reality than most were.

"Yeah, if everything worked as per your dreams, god knows where Takato would be right now," Kazu quipped as he looked across to his Goggleheaded friend, before frowning. "Same for me," he muttered, sighing.

"Cheer up," Davis reassured, patting his friend on the back encouragingly. "I'm sure you'll find a girl someday."

"Yeah, hope so," Kazu replied. "How could any girl resist my charms?" He subsequently widely as he went back into Boast Mode.

"Oh brother," Kari muttered, hand on her forehead. This was worse than her brother and Davis combined.

"How about by attempting to remove your ability to father children?" Terriermon suggested.

"Okay, maybe that's one way a girl could resist my charms," Kazu replied.

Takato smiled with amusement at the sight, Kazu once again wearing a big grin on his face that had been conspicuously absent for a while.

"Hey, what about you Takeru?" Kazu asked.

"Yeah, you had any luck with the ladies?" Terriermon said more bluntly.

Takeru hesitated. "Uh…no, not really," he replied, frowning as he looked down at the floor.

"Aw crap, sorry, I didn't mean to," Kazu said, attempting to make up for his words as he realised he'd struck a chord somehow. Kari looked to her old friend curiously, what was up with his reaction?

"_Suppose it can't be too easy being single in a group where some others are at the point where they're having babies and getting married," _she contemplated sadly.

"Don't worry," Takeru replied, smiling. "But no, I haven't had any real luck, no," he added. "We're always too busy with taming and stuff."

"Heh, speaking of which, I think we now constitute a small army, don't you agree?" Henry noted, looking around at the groups around them curiously.

"If we get any larger, we're going to need to start a register," Takato agreed, chuckling at the thought.

"Please don't implement a membership fee," Kazu joked, grinning at the concept.

"Ugh, that'd be terrible," Davis agreed. "I hardly get any pocket money as it is."

"Yeah. Even working in a bakery, I don't seem to get all that much," Takato added, nodding.

"Oh yeah, speaking of which, when does that place reopen?" Takeru asked.

"My dad says it'll probably be the end of the month, but there are still a fair few things to do," Takato answered. "It's been an annoying few months though."

"I don't think we ever found the Digimon that started it all either," Henry added with a frown.

Chiyo subtly smirked from where she sat nearby on an armrest, glancing around at the amassed group and being thankful for the turn out. _"It seems like ages ago I burnt down their bakery…" _she contemplated. Part of her mind began to speak up, suggesting that the time had felt like so long because she had so many friends to live it with, but it was quickly suppressed by what she believed to be her conscious mind. She decided to delay her idea a short while longer while she just checked things out a bit more. Turning round to face the nearest conversation, between Ryder, Mari and Kristy, she smiled innocently, sliding down onto the sofa alongside Mari.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hi," Mari replied, Ryder nodding in greeting. Kristy merely huffed.

"Geez, what's up with her?" Chiyo asked.

"For your information, I'm still irritated about how you called me "stupidly optimistic" during Ryder's party," Kristy explained, irritation deep in her voice.

"Well sorry, even if it is true," Chiyo said, rolling her eyes about how someone could have such a grudge. Kristy took no more of it, instead standing up off the opposite armrest and walking away in a strop. "Anyway," Chiyo continued, deciding that it wasn't worth trying to win favour with the girl. "How are your injuries?" she asked curiously, looking to where Ryder's legs ran off the edge of the sofa.

"They hurt. A lot."

"And the amount he complains, it's almost unbearable," Mari added, rolling her eyes at the memories.

"Well, it does hurt a lot though, and I'm really tiring of them."

"Same, being as that I realised the other day we've spent more time together with you wearing crutches than without," Mari noted, Ryder's eyes briefly widening at the concept.

"Yeah, that sucks, doesn't it?

"Sounds that way," Chiyo interrupted, trying to bring an end to a boring tangent. "Anyway, how have you two been apart from that?"

"Can't complain," Ryder replied.

"Even though you do," Mari noted, smiling. "And I'm fine too, even if it is twice as much work with him and the crutches," she added.

"How do you cope with living alone?"

"I cope fine thank you," Chiyo replied with a huff. "If I need help or conversation, I use DarkBiyomon," she added, glancing to where the bird once again slept against the wall, another day of "training" tiring her out badly.

"Yeah, but you must…you know, miss human contact?" Mari asked curiously.

"Heh, no offence, but the conversations with her are a lot more interesting."

"Yeah, but we do have to visit sometime. Maybe we can help you out or something?"

"Hmm…" Chiyo replied unenthusiastically. "I'm not sure, I like to keep my apartment to myself," _"…particularly given it contains all my plans I wrote up."_

"Oh, okay," Mari replied uncomfortably, slightly irritated to have her offer simply brushed aside like that.

"What do you do to pass the time?" Ryder asked.

"_I plot how I will kill you all…" _"A bit of reading, a bit of watching TV, I just relax really," Chiyo replied, a smile on her face at her internal monologue.

"Oh, sounds like fun," Ryder replied, his enthusiastic tone clearly fake. Chiyo rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to make it sound fun, I don't care what you guys do to pass the time and I don't expect you guys to care what I do," she replied, a slightly harsh edge to her voice.

"Fine," Ryder huffed.

Mari frowned, looking into the girls eyes with concern as she considered something that had bugged her for a while. "Not meaning this in a mean way, but you can really change a lot from day to day," she said, the pair now looking each other in the eyes.

"Yeah, I know," Chiyo said, frowning and speaking uncomfortably as she looked away from Mari's gaze to the grey D-Vice on her arm instead. "Unfortunately it's a never ending fight for me," she sighed, contemplating her Demonhood as she turned her arm slightly to look over the watch-like device. If she didn't know better, she'd have believed it was bound to her wrist somehow.

"Yeah, but we can help," Ryder reassured, smiling hopefully in an attempt to liven the girl's spirits.

"Yeah, and we _will_ help," Mari agreed, smiling as she put a reassuring arm round the girl's back. Chiyo shivered slightly when the hand touched her back: she wasn't used to nor liked human contact. Mari looked concerned at the girl's odd reaction at first before she brushed it aside: it was obvious she wasn't used to being comforted in such a manner.

"Thanks, I guess," Chiyo replied uncomfortably. _"Hmm…they really want to help me…" _she thought, a frown on her face as she contemplated her current conundrum. _"Wait, what am I thinking, I can't sympathise with them!" _she thought, quickly pushing the girl's arm off her shoulder. Mari frowned as she retracted her arm back to her side, before putting on a smile in another attempt to cheer the girl up.

"Well, at least remember that you're never alone, we're always here to help."

"And you don't even need to seduce us to get us to do so," Ryder added, grinning at his joke before it dampened after receiving a pair of irritated looks. "Okay, okay, that was inappropriate, sorry."

"Do you still use your powers?" Mari asked, deciding to refrain from replying to Ryder and instead find out about something which had occurred to her.

"Occasionally, yeah," Chiyo replied, frowning. "Life isn't particularly easy for a girl living alone, particularly not in this huge city," she added, sighing.

"Well, so long as you don't use them for anything bad, then I can't find fault with that," Ryder judged, Chiyo nodding as she stared off into space at the coffee table.

"_Yeah. It isn't easy at all," _she thought sadly, her mind threatening to topple over into a new way of thinking. Her consciousness resisted, her hand clenching into a fist out of their sight. _"I can't think that way though."_

"Still, could prove fun when you get to dating age," Ryder joked, grinning again. And of course, he once again received two irritated glares. "Oh, I just keep making them, don't I?" he complained at himself.

"_Idiot." _Chiyo thought while letting loose a fake chuckle and rolling her eyes at the boy's antics. She promptly pushing herself to her feet, deciding she was completely bored of the current conversation and ready to begin something she had planned for a long time. "Well, I have to…um, go to the bathroom," she excused, smiling to fabricate the lie. "I'll talk to you guys later," she added, her smile never leaving her face.

"See ya," Mari replied, Ryder letting out a small wave as his farewell. He turned back to face Mari, Chiyo not bothering to listen in on another of their tedious chats.

Nonetheless, she continued to smile as she turned, heading across the room before she paused outside the majority of people's current vision. She glanced back over her shoulder, paying attention to the views of the group before her cheerful and happy smile was replaced by a sly and devilish grin. No-one was looking, or at least, no-one right at her.

"_This is perfect…everyone I need to be here is here, everything's busy so no-one will notice, and it's just the right time of day so no-one will notice until the morning," _she thought eagerly, contemplating what she was about to do.

Everything was in place.

So what was this feeling telling her to stop?

"_Why? Why do I keep wanting to just be friends with them? This is insane, I hate them, I have to hate them! They make my life a misery, with all their do-gooder ways and all that crap. I have to kill them! I have to get rid of this constant pain! I have to…" _she thought, a saddened frown creeping onto her face as she contemplated the previous few months.

They had accepted her as one of their group, even after she had assaulted one of them, and even though she was a Demon and hence historically a threat. They'd contacted Hypnos and got her somewhere to stay and be looked after, they took her on holiday, and they never shied away from inviting her to a social event. Most of them were also kind to her, and the ones that weren't she hated anyway, and vice versa, something she liked just fine.

"_They helped me out when no-one else would…but…they wanted me to change! They wouldn't accept me for who I was, they wanted me to stop being a Demon! Well, no more! I will get them back for insulting who I am, because I have the power to do so. It's time…" _she contemplated, turning on her heels to face the group and concentrating hard as she put one hand over the other in front of her, the pair taking on a purple glow.

* * *

Rey wandered through the living room, smiling as she passed so many people having so many conversations. Everyone was happy. For once, everyone was happy, something she in her own time hadn't seen in ages. Everything was perfect, and the day was so significant. She silently thanked Ryder for giving her good coordinates.

Her smile dropped all of a sudden, when her gaze was cast over Chiyo, her hands glowing as strands of her hair began to levitate away from their gravity-held position and her form floated slightly in the air, her clothes ruffled by a silent wind and her eyes softly held shut. Rey's eyes widened, as she glanced around to see if anyone was noticing what was going on. Oddly, everyone paid no notice, as if…

Her mind rapidly flashed back through what she had been told: what the Second Demon had done to them.

"_Crap!" _she mentally cursed, rushing across the room to where Realmon now sat on the coffee table. Henry eyed her with concern, what was going on?

One glance into Rey's fear-stricken eyes was all it took for Realmon to realise they were all in grave danger. She leapt rapidly onto Rey's shoulder, the girl spinning round and looking to her wrist. No time for coordinates, no time for planning. This was an emergency.

"Rey, are you…" Henry began, reaching for the girl's shoulder to get her attention. Her mouth and eyes widened as she realised it was too late, her skin already touching the button and moving downwards.

His hand made contact with her shoulder.

She pressed the button.

And both were torn away from reality, partners and all.

* * *

Jeri's eyes nearly burst out of their sockets when she blinked only to see Henry had vanished from existence, looking on in horror at the spot where both he and Rey had once been. "Henry!" she panicked, quickly bringing attention to the girl from all in the room.

"What happened?!" Takeru asked, the group crowding round to look at the spot on the floor.

"She used the time device!" Izzy noted, having seen the events play out but having been helpless to intervene.

"But why?" Kari asked, confused as to the sudden use of the device for no real reason.

"I don't know," Izzy replied.

"He must have been touching her when she used it," Ryder noted, looking on with shock which quickly transitioned to horror. "Realmon always leaps onto Rey's shoulder before they go, so…it must have something to do with being in contact with Rey!"

"So where are they?" Jeri asked with horror in her voice as she looked to the boy. Ryder frowned deeply, shrugging as best he could with crutches.

Unfortunately, fate was to hold even more chaos for them that evening, when all hell broke out.

"FATAL ATTRACTION!" Chiyo screamed as her ability finally powered up. She swept her hands aside, a silent blaze of purple sweeping out from her and across the ground as time seemed to stop. It continued to expand for a hundred metres around, enveloping the whole house within its grasp, and affecting everyone within, even if only by the slight method of erasing their memories of the attack being unleashed.

DarkBiyomon, awoken by the previous commotion, sat up and watching with a deep frown as her Tamer carried out her plan. _"It's too late," _the bird contemplated, watching as the wave of purple collided with the group and focused on very specific targets. _"I…I hope it works," _she mentally added, knowing that failure could do nothing less than tear her Tamer from her. _"That's the way it always is with the Tamers and their enemies…" _she thought sadly, her eyes guided downwards to the carpet.

"_Ugh, my head feels funny," _Kari thought, putting her hand on her head as she felt a tingling feeling. Unbeknownst to her, she wasn't the only one having such a sensation.

"_Oh no, not another pregnancy thing," _Rika groaned.

"_I feel faint," _Jeri thought.

"_Ugh, I shouldn't have eaten those rice balls," _Yolei groaned.

"_Ooh…I feel dizzy…" _Sora thought, frowning.

"_My…mind…feels…funny…"_ Mari contemplated. _"Oh wait, there, it's gone now," _she added, breathing a sigh of relief as she glanced back to the conversation at hand.

* * *

"Aw, those pillows look so cosy I want to go nappy time," Guilmon noted with a yawn and a smile as he looked over the egg's "bed". Renamon chuckled and smiled at him, before suddenly freezing up. "Huh? What's wrong?" Guilmon asked, eyes snapping open wide in wakefulness again.

Renamon put her hand to her head, not sure exactly how to answer the question as her eyes blurred and her eyelids threatened to close. _"What's…happening…" _she asked, fearful that the pain and dizziness would continue to grow.

Oddly, however, it subsided very quickly. She raised an eyebrow.

"_What was that?" _she pondered, staring off into space as she tried to fit it with anything she'd experienced before. She frowned deeply with concern, before a voice brought her back to her sense.

"Renamon, are you okay?" Guilmon repeated, cocking his head as a look of deep concern registered on his features. Renamon glanced around, still not feeling quite with it before the words finally registered in her mind. She nodded, deciding to dismiss the odd feelings for now and think about them more later.

"I was just thinking about something, I'm fine" she replied, forcing a smile onto her features.

"Okay," Guilmon said enthusiastically, believing her every word before looking back to the egg. "Takato mentioned something about Rika's baby kicking; do you think the egg does that too?" he pondered.

"I doubt it, but it still could be possible," Renamon replied, watching as Guilmon reached for the egg. He frowned upon picking it up, feeling no movement whatsoever from it.

"Aw, nothing," he complained. "Hold on, maybe it makes a noise?" he pondered, pressing the egg to his ear while Renamon watched curiously. He frowned again, shaking his head. "Aw, that would've been cool," he added, his ears drooping sadly.

"It's not designed to be a form of entertainment," Renamon noted cheerfully. Guilmon nodded, laughing.

"Yeah, that'd be funny. How would an egg dance?" he asked curiously, expecting her to have the answer.

"Uh…I am not sure," Renamon replied, surprised by the odd question as Guilmon stared off into space, probably imagining some bizarre fantasy. _"Like Tamer like Digimon," _she noted with a smile.

* * *

_**Hypnos, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**19:49 JST**_

"Okay, ten minutes until the night shift begins Riley, so run one final check on the current make-up of the Digital Plane before you go home to that cretinous boyfriend of yours," Rayleigh ordered, looking through the relative darkness of the Hypnos control room to the on-duty programmer.

"Yes sir," she replied, a tone of annoyance in her voice.

"Did today's unexpected Digital Field yield anything?" he added.

"Negative, it appeared and then completely vanished without any trace of a Wild One."

"I see. Initiate a full scan of the city before you leave, then…"

Rayleigh paused, feeling an odd tingle at the back of his mind that briefly bewildered him. He frowned as he recognised what it was.

"What's wrong sir?" Riley asked, her superior having made himself known in the past few months for neither hesitating nor backing down from the orders he gave.

"Nothing is even remotely wrong. Now initiate a full scan so Tally can continue it when she arrives," he ordered. Riley frowned.

"Starting now," she began.

"Good," Rayleigh replied, frowning once again. _"Hmm…evidently she is at work right now. This should make tomorrow very interesting," _Rayleigh contemplated. He turned and headed through the doors, making no attempt to excuse himself in the process.

The corridor was, as ever, empty as he stepped out into it. A frown stayed put on his face, this organisation was a gigantic waste of funding for little benefit (much like the majority of secret government organisations he had discovered in his research), given how the Tamers dealt with everything regardless, but it still proved useful to him as a stepping stone. And his next move, upwards into a far higher position, was well underway.

Nonetheless, what had got him there so far was not only his powers, but also being one step ahead of everyone else to make timely use of them, and being ahead of everyone else required information. And he knew the perfect way to get information right now. He raised a device to his mouth and pressed the button, the black communicator a walkie-talkie by any other name.

"Falcomon," he spoke, his voice quietly echoing around the empty cavernous halls of the Hypnos floor at this house. There was a pause.

"You called?" he inquired, his tone modern and pitched but his words far more archaic.

"Begin to observe the movements and actions of the Tamers at the Nonaka Household. In particular, I would like you to keep an eye on Chiyo, understand?" he ordered.

"I am nearby, and shall go at once," Falcomon replied, a whooshing sound on the line as Rayleigh smiled widely and returned the device to his jacket as it went silent. He flicked the mute button on to be sure, before he looked out upon the street lamp-lit city.

"Perfect."

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**19:49 JST**_

"Fancy meeting you here."

A smile was worn on the face of the blue haired girl, her footsteps stopping and her pose freezing. She stared across at the boy in his brown jacket, someone she never expected to see again after their surprise encounter not far from there the other day. The evening had given way to night, but she had found the boy by chance during a late night walk back from the shops to get a particular spice for her mother. Her shopping bag still hung in her hand as she watched him gently rock back and forth on a set of swings.

"Oh, it's you," a frowning Kohaku said, leaping down from the set of swings. The girl was now wearing her dark blue jacket to keep warm on the cold night, and, had he been in a better social situation to do so, he'd have said it suited her, but for now, he simply smiled instead. All the same, it was a particularly nervous smile as the events of a month or two ago came back to his mind. "Listen, I'm sorry about the other day, I really should've stayed to check you were alright, but you were…kind of freaking me out."

"Don't worry, I was fine in the end," Sakura replied, smiling as he eyed her strangely for having simply brushed off something that bugged him. "I'm sorry for running into you, by the way."

"Thanks for the apology," Kohaku said.

"I'll watch where I'm going more carefully in future," she noted, smiling cheerfully and slightly unnerving him.

"_Geez, if this girl is bugged by anything, she sure doesn't let it show," _he noted.

"Good," he said with a smile, before a thought occurred to him. He pondered whether the question was entirely appropriate to ask, but he knew that otherwise it would bug him for ever. "Hey, did you really mean it…" he began.

The world was oddly, all of a sudden, drowned out by a strange feeling at the back of his mind. A distant feeling all the same, but a very strange and unprovoked one. He pondered if it was his mind's way of telling him to stay off the subject he was intending to talk about.

Unbeknownst to him, Sakura was experiencing a very similar feeling at the same time. A tingling feeling at the back of her mind, a bit like "pins and needles" but nowhere near as strong. Her mind panicked, fearful that she was going to faint or have a stroke or some other terrible medical catastrophe.

The pair stood, neither moving as both pondered the strange sensation, neither one noticing the other doing the same thing as their hands went to the back of their heads curiously. Neither would notice, either, as when the sensation faded, it seemed like nothing had happened.

"_Must have imagined it," _they both thought together. Sakura, presuming she had missed something he had said in her momentary period of mindlessness, decided to ask.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" she asked curiously.

"Uh…I was asking if you really meant it when you said you thought I was cute?" he asked, eyeing her curiously.

She hesitated and immediately cursed herself for having asked. Unconsciously, she glanced his street lamp-illuminated form up and down before speaking with a distinct tone of red on her cheeks, one which was as strong as the nervous tone in her voice. "Uh…no…well, not that you aren't, but…uh…" she replied. He grinned at her uncomfortable nature, glancing down to her groceries as he decided to let her out of her current predicament.

"Aren't you meant to be getting somewhere?" he asked curiously, gesturing down to the bag.

"Uh…well…oh…oh, right, okay, well, bye then," she stammered, cursing herself for forgetting the task at hand. She went to turn, the boy nodding in farewell.

"Yeah, see ya," he said, waving his arm slightly at the same time as she quickly darted away from both an embarrassing situation and a potential scolding from her mother for "dilly-dallying".

He rolled his eyes as he watched her vanish into the darkness, smiling in amusement. "So it wasn't just the concussion then," he noted, before smiling. "She really is insane," he added with a tone of self amusement. He turned on his heels, beginning to head home himself through the dark park, only illuminated by lamps and the moon.

As she turned a corner, she came to a stop out as her mind through a realisation in her way. "Oh poo," she muttered. "Next time Sakura, get his number," she told herself, rolling her eyes at how her pursuit for friends and popularity in this new city wasn't doing all too well.

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**18:52 JST**_

The light faded, it's purple glow sinking into the ground and taking with it any recollection of the event, apart from that of the girl and her bird-like partner, of course. It had worked seemingly without a hitch: all her targets had been successfully affected and everyone else had been neutralised as a threat.

Chiyo breathed a deep sigh of relief as she suddenly felt overwhelming tiredness grab her. Her arms fell weakly to her sides, her clothes quietly settling back across her fair skin as her hair retreated likewise. She felt fit to fall over into the world of sleep, and probably would've done already if it wouldn't have hurt so badly upon hitting the ground (or have attracted so much attention).

She frowned and stifled a yawn: she could hardly leave the party now to go home and sleep, nor could she explain why she suddenly needed to sleep, so it was definitely going to be a long night. A cup of coffee and some glasses with eyes painted on them would probably come in handy right now.

"_Still, as tired as I am, it was worth it," _she thought, a tired sly smile on her face as she stared at the pillows on the sofa longingly, her mind not yet registering why they were vacant. She heard movement behind, a window frame creaking. She initially dismissed it as nothing. Only her urge to get everything perfect made her act contrary to her initial thoughts.

Her head turned, looking over her shoulder as she saw…

Nothing. Only the dark corners of the room, with no sign of movement. She dismissed it as paranoia before twisting her head back around, unknowing of the figure which had rapidly moved to be a part of the darkness that crept in the house.

Her eyes back on her targets, it finally registered to her that something odd was going on. She cocked an eyebrow as she peered across the room: why were they all gathering like that? Had she been noticed? Had she failed?

"_Hmm…better check this out…" _she thought, wandering across the room to join them, hoping they'd assume she had just returned from the bathroom. "What happened?" she asked, all eyes quickly gathering on her in surprise. She feared the worst: she must have been found out.

"Rey used her time device and Henry accidentally got taken with her," Mari quickly explained, a look of relief periodically crossing Chiyo's face before being quickly replaced by a half-fake worried one.

"What? So where are they then?" she asked, only half faking the panic in her voice. If Henry was missing, then part of her plan wouldn't work. It looked like tomorrow would prove very interesting indeed.

"No idea," Izzy replied, already on his PC as if it would be reported on Digital Watch or the news or something. Then again, stranger things had happened.

A deep frown was exchanged between members of the group, a tinge of hope remaining to them that Rey would make her way back.

"Once…once she said that she couldn't take more than herself and Realmon with her," Tai noted, the memory of that trip back from New York occurring to her and extinguishing his hopes.

"So they're stuck there then?" Ken asked, panic in his voice as he contemplated the prospect of having lost their ally for good.

"Let's hope not," Yolei said sadly, a frown on her face. Only Kristy retained a glimmer of hope, smiling enthusiastically as she attempted to reassure the others.

"Don't worry, they can't have gone far," she said.

* * *

**UNKNOWN DATE**

* * *

_**Unknown Location**_

_**Unknown Time**_

Henry coughed, his throat feeling unbelievably sore as he coughed twice more. His back felt equally painful from where he had landed on it, and by the looks of the dimming afternoon sky overhead, bereft of light pollution and full of clouds, where he had landed was far from home. He felt a hard surface under his back, and hoped that he wasn't slap-bang in the middle of the road (although oddly no-one had yet run up to him to find out whether he was okay), and also that he hadn't dropped very far onto it. What had happened anyway?

"Ugh…" he heard Terriermon groan from somewhere nearby. "That wasn't very fun!" he complained, his tone at the end of its irritation tether.

Henry was about to reply to his partner, if only to try and start figuring out where they were, but was interrupted by a buzzing noise. A very loud screaming noise - not human but artificial, approaching closer and closer and closer like a harbinger of doom. The pitch of the sound deepened, going higher and higher as whatever it was fell lower and lower. It sounded oddly familiar, but Henry couldn't quite place it. It could barely complete with the loud siren noise coming to Henry's ears, only just becoming truly apparent as the ringing in them faded.

"_What on earth is that?!" _he panicked, trying to push himself up, but failing. He lay down, waiting for the inevitable as he closed his eyes, knowing that it was probably better not to see his death.

He heard his tense breath, he heard Terriermon's groans of pain, he heard explosions, the screaming noise stopping all of a sudden as they sounded. Oddly (and probably thankfully), the blasts were nowhere near him, and appeared to be behind his head a fair distance away. What was going on? Wasn't he the target?

"_That makes a change," _he contemplated, although he couldn't quite push the thought that something very weird was going on. And how did he get here anyway? The last thing he remembered was the party, and this didn't seem like the entertainment.

He finally opened his eyes again just in time to see a four-engined monolith of an aeroplane scream overhead a few hundred feet above him, engines buzzing loudly as the bomb doors quickly closed after their successful bombing raid. The afternoon light glinted off the shiny, steel surfaces as the guns on its surface rapidly swivelled around, searching for enemies to its star-logoed air force. His mouth gaped widely, as he felt unable to speak from the surprise. Not that speaking would've been audible, given the din above.

In fact, the only sound made once the din quietened, the plane thankfully having not noticed them, was a snide comment by Terriermon.

"Something tells me we aren't in Kansas anymore."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, a very dramatic end to the chapter, and an amusing way to throw you all completely with a cliff-hanger. Quite a fun little chapter, all in all. Now the real plot begins, something I've had planned for quite a long while.

Until next time…


	46. The Trick To War

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 40**

_The Trick to War_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Near Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**09:29 JST**_

The sun rose over another Tokyo day, a crisp feel to the air and a clear sky dotted by only a few small clouds. The road was practically empty, the majority of the city taking the chance to either practice worship of some kind, go out on a day trip with their family, or, most likely, sleep in.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the pattern, such as one Takato Matsuki, currently making his way along the very familiar route to the home of his girlfriend-turned-fiancée, Rika Nonaka, with his partner, a large red and black dinosaur called Guilmon. In other words, a perfectly normal scene.

The world, despite how it appeared, wasn't entirely at ease, of course. The events of the previous night, while generally good, had proved to be problematic in one particular area, namely that his daughter from the future, Rey Matsuki, and his best friend (at least, excepting Rika), Henry Wong, had accidentally taken a travel through time without co-ordinates which probably meant they were in big trouble. Or had already been in big trouble and were by now moving onto the aftermath.

"_Then again, knowing my luck, we'll turn the corner to see them any second now," _Takato thought, frowning as he realised that that was pretty unlikely even if it would be comedic. No, it seemed they'd been lost completely, and he feared the worse. The vacuum of space, an alien planet, a volcano, all would kill them instantly. Even if they survived, how would they make their way back? By what he had heard of what Rey had said once, the device was not designed for any more than two beings to be transported. God only knows what'd happen if the rule was broken.

"_**Takato, stop worrying, I'm sure Ryder wasn't stupid enough to design a device where you can take a flight without co-ordinates and wind up in danger."**_

"_Yeah, I guess so, but even if they are safe, they could be stuck forever in some time somewhere and we couldn't even help!"_

"_**Well, if they're in the past, there's always the chance that if you Google their names, you'll find them," **_Chaos suggested, Takato's eyes widening with the realisation.

"_Hey, that could actually work!" _he thought enthusiastically, before a frown came to his face. _"Still, that's assuming that they do something notable enough in the past, and even then…what if they end up in the future, or on some alien planet?"_

"_**Then Terriermon will get them killed within five minutes. Happy now Mr Doom and Gloom?!"**_

"_No…"_

"_**Geez, you try to help, and all he does is shoot you down again and again**__**. I don't know; bunch of crap this incarnation is…" **_Chaos rambled to himself, tailing off as Takato decided to ignore him. He cast his eyes to one side, to his partner walking cheerfully alongside.

"Looking forward to see Renamon again?" he asked, smiling as he tried to persuade himself that nothing was the matter.

"Yeah, I wanna see if we can get the egg to dance," Guilmon replied. Takato raised an eyebrow in bewilderment.

"_Should I ask or…?" _he thought.

"_**Well, at the worst, it's innuendo; at the best, it's one of Guilmon's misconceptions. It's your call buddy."**_

"_You're not being that helpful today."_

"_**As a matter of fact, if you'd just plot your useless consciousness back in our memories a few minutes, I was being helpful until you decided to go all depressive on me," **_Chaos replied. _**"You've made your grave, now lie in it."**_

Takato sighed, rolling his eyes as he arrived at the gate. He pushed it open gently before walking carefully across the paving stones a smile creeping onto his face. He only hoped Rika was in a good mood, although he doubted she'd stay in a bad mood for long after seeing him…make a fool of himself probably.

"_**Hopefully she's not having any morning-after regrets either," **_Chaos said, deciding to sow some more of his quick-grow seeds of doubt in Takato's mind.

"_Thanks," _Takato thought sarcastically, knocking on the door of the home three times. He paused, before smiling as it was opened by none other than Rika's grandmother, who by the looks of it was the only one awake in the household. Breakfast seemed to be just starting to be prepared, and a lazy morning in bed was to be had by all but her by the looks of it. If she was bothered by that fact, it certainly didn't show, a smile coming to her face as she looked at the boy.

"Good morning Takato, nice to see you here so early, for a Sunday at least. We should really get you a key," she noted, smiling as she let him past along with his dinosaur-like partner.

"Good morning," he replied cheerfully.

"Hi," Guilmon said, smiling joyfully as he did a small wave with his three clawed paw.

"Rika's still asleep. I think the party last night took a lot out of her," Seiko said, glancing down the hallway as she answered the question she knew was on his mind. She headed into the kitchen while he talked from the middle of the room.

"Yeah, it was a pretty eventful day," Takato replied, his mind flashing back to the party which had gone a fair way into the night before beginning to wrap up. Chiyo had looked fit to fall asleep where she stood after only a few hours, and the concern about Henry and Rey had been constantly on their minds. The loss of Terriermon was treated as an upshot by Chiyo, Rika and some of the others, although they still understood the gravity of the situation.

"Have you had any luck with finding your friends?" she asked, looking up as she continued to prepare breakfast, boxes of cereal taken from the cupboard and bowls laid out neatly along the counter before they were moved down to the breakfast table.

"To be honest I haven't started looking…not that I'd know where to start."

"Where could they have ended up?"

"I don't know. The device just seems to sorta…go anywhere she wants."

"Let's hope it has a limit on how far it can travel, otherwise they could be anywhere."

"I hope that Henry can work something out, out of all of us he's the smartest when it comes to things like this."

"I see. It's a shame really, I was hoping to talk to my great granddaughter about things last night but I never got a chance."

The sound of footsteps along the hallway interrupted their conversation, as they turned to see Kristy groggily stumbling along towards the kitchen, a blank look on her face as she looked to Takato through hair-covered eyes. Kudamon rapidly slithered along behind her, the morning's routine starting up once again.

"Once again, morning Takato," she said, exasperated by how often he seemed to be at their house.

"Heh, morning Kristy," he greeted, smiling his usual smile. Apart from his friends going missing, nothing could get him upset today.

"_**Really? What about Rika breaking up with you, a major battle with a high emotional price, tripping up on a pebble and crying your eyes out…"**_

"Hey Kudamon," Guilmon said, waving despite being only a metre or so away from the ferret-like Digimon.

"Good morning Guilmon," he replied, nodding.

"Here to wake up Rika and make her hate you all day?" Kristy asked bluntly, her hair messy as seated herself near the low table.

"Heh, hopefully not," Takato replied optimistically. "Uh…" he mumbled, looking across to the eldest of the household. "Do you want me to wake her?" he asked.

"I'm certainly not doing it," Kristy stated.

"Go on dear, I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you," Seiko encouraged, recognising Takato's nervousness with the subject. Waking Rika normally was something most didn't dare do, let alone when she was pregnant and could take on any number of magnitudes of irritable moods upon waking. Sundays were ten times as bad; the one day Takato knew Rika liked a lie in. Then again, she also hated wasting most of her day, so there was a sort of conflict of interest there.

"Okay then, come on Guilmon," Takato said, looking to his eager partner before proceeding down the hallway.

"I swear he's suicidal," Kristy noted dryly before turning back to look at the table as Seiko began to put the bowls on it.

"It's called love dear, and I'm sure Rika would never do him any harm," her grandmother explained. "Despite what she says."

"Yeah, my sister is the queen of empty threats."

* * *

A hand was placed gently against the door panel before it was slowly slid open, Takato taking a brief glance in beforehand to check he wasn't about to wake her with a bright burst of autumn sunshine. He smiled upon seeing her, she looked so peaceful and innocent while she slept; her hair down and ruffled across the futon pillow. Guilmon edged in after him as the pair entered the room, Rika beginning to stir at the noise.

"_**You have to be the most suicidal person I know. You do know she's going to kill you for waking her, right?"**_

"_Well, she's never done so before, but there's always a first time I guess."_

"_**How can you smile when you say that?!"**_

"_I know she'd never hurt me, she's not that bad."_

"_**Yeah, but the playful punches tell otherwise."**_

"_Suppose so."_

Takato glanced across to his partner, a questioning glance passing between them before they looked back to the sleeping form of Rika. She seemed to be coming to, which made it a lot safer since at least they wouldn't be waking her from a deep sleep.

Takato kneeled down, looking to her eyelid-covered eyes with a warm smile still on his face. "Rika," he said softly. "Rika, it's morning," he added.

"Ugh…Takato…moron…idiot…" Rika murmured, flexing her arms as she seemed to build up the strength to open her eyes.

"_**Well, that was weird."**_

"_It's nothing compared to what she says I say when I dream."_

"_**She's lucky**__** she doesn't actually have to see those dreams. Seriously, you have a demented mind."**_

Her violet eyes finally opened, slightly at first, before blinking and widening as she came back to reality again. "Ugh," she groaned, before an odd smile came to her face upon recognising the figure. "Hmm, just the person I was thinking about," she said smoothly, smiling.

"Uh…really?" he asked, as she pushed herself up, standing there in her pyjamas. The top half looked slightly too small now given the size of her belly, but she didn't see any point of getting another pair of something that would never be seen by anyone in public anyway.

"Yeah, I dreamt about killing you," she said, smiling as she wandered over to her wardrobes. Out came a large maternity top, panties, socks and jeans, along with all the other usual adornments already attached, except the card box which still lay on the low table in the corner.

"…What?" Takato asked, rather confused by why Rika was having such a dream. Guilmon's expression amusingly matched that of his Tamer.

"Oh, just a wonderful dream about killing you," Rika said sadistically said, smirking as Takato laughed nervously at the rather unfunny joke.

"I don't get it," Guilmon complained.

"**Harmony, I know I talk of killing you, but making Rika dream about it is really low."**

"**Shut it moron."**

"Turn around Takato," Rika said as she laid the various items of clothing on a chair. Takato's cheeks flushed, as he realised what she was about to do.

"Uh, sorry," he apologised nervously, turning around to face the door and gesturing to Guilmon to do the same. "Uh, you know, maybe I should leave the room," he asked unsurely, the uncomfortable nature of the situation beginning to overwhelm him as he heard Rika slip off her pyjamas behind.

"_**Turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around…"**_

"No, stay!" she said, a bit too quickly for his liking.

"…_**turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around…"**_

"_That was weird," _he thought.

"…_**turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around…"**_

"So, what do you want to do today?" Takato asked, a more relaxed look on his features as he decided Rika was just in a funny mood.

"…_**turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around…"**_

"Hmm, let's see," Rika pondered, Takato hearing her pause in the middle of getting changed. "Well, first of all I planned to get dressed, then kill you, then I might go down the park," she replied casually, before the sounds of changing continued.

"…_**turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around…"**_

Takato raised an eyebrow, this was getting weird. "Rika, can you stop saying you're going to kill me? It's really freaking me out."

"…_**turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around…"**_

"_SHUT UP YOU PERVERT!"_

"_**Geez, sorry. I w**__**as just subtly implanting an idea in your mind."**_

"_Subtle?"_

"_**Okay, superliminally then."**_

"Oh, but I thought we told each other the truth in a relationship," she said seductively, turning Takato round to face her and smiling, her form now fully dressed, except for the card box, socks and hair band. "You know," she began, feeding the hand band onto her red hair after stringing it out into a line. "…being a couple?" she added, smiling before pulling him into a kiss. He felt her arms wrap around him, oddly creeping down his spine for some reason, but he dismissed it for now. She continued to smile the same seductive yet disturbing smile afterwards; as he looked at her like she'd just revealed herself to secretly be a penguin.

"Yeah, I know but…uh…what does that have to do with this?" he asked, as bewildered as Guilmon was as she continued to adjust her hair.

"Never mind. Look, can you just get my card box, please?" she asked, gesturing across the room. He nodded, wandering across to the cabinet and placing his hand on the familiar storage device. An eyebrow rose when he realised it was conspicuously empty. Guilmon followed him periodically before stopping, a smile returning to his face as he realised it was just an ordinary day.

The dinosaur turned to face Rika, a curious look on his face. "Hey Rika, where's R…"

"DIAMOND STORM!" shrieked a voice from the shadows, dozens of shards shooting across the room all of a sudden and colliding with his form. He was subsequently thrown back across the room into the wall by a well-placed kick, his head spinning as he felt the wall quake behind.

"What?!" he yelled, horror in his eyes as Renamon appeared in his view, smiling devilishly.

Takato span round, shock permeating his expression as he looked across the room to Rika, who stood by the door, blocking it. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I was being serious Takato," Rika said, her voice serious and sinister.

"What?!"

"I am going, to kill you, understand?" she explained.

"Renamon, stop!" Guilmon cried, the fox crossing her arms again and summoning diamonds in front.

"Die Guilmon," she said harshly, unleashing her torrent. "DIAMOND STORM!"

Guilmon quickly twisted to his left, rolling along the wall and hoping he had escaped the painful blast. He hadn't.

"Guilmon!" Takato yelled, watching the diamonds smash into his partner's muscular tail. The dinosaur screamed in pain, slumping over and falling down near the basket. "Call her off!" Takato ordered, his eyeline spinning back to the redhead by the door as his eyes glinted with fire.

"She's not following _my_ orders," Rika explained. "Not that I'm going to stop her," she added, before smirking she revealed a bunched up set of cards in her hand. His bunched up set of cards. "Neither will you."

"Wait, they're mine!" he called, before being forced to watch as she threw them in the air and let them flutter down around. He reached for one of them, realising that Guilmon would need all the help he could get if Renamon was on the warpath.

He was thankful for missing, however, when the card was hit by a blast of blue energy in front of him, its form quickly incinerated into ash. His eyes bulged out of their sockets, what on earth was she doing?

Renamon crossed her arms again, preparing to attack as she carefully aimed for her opponent.

She hesitated upon seeing where he was currently standing.

Guilmon cowered, expecting the worst, which never came. He looked up to Renamon, who glanced continually between him and the egg next to him, unable to attack.

"Renamon, please, stop attacking me!" he pleaded, taking advantage of the break in attacks.

"I…I can't destroy the egg," Renamon said, fearfully looking on.

She gritted her teeth, rushing forward to grab the dinosaur instead. It was too fast for him to react, as he was swung over her head sharply, smashing to the floor behind her back. She smiled evilly as she heard his groans of pain, before she turned round, kicking him across the room into the wall nearest Takato. Takato's head swung around in horror.

"STOP IT!" he yelled.

"Don't yell, no-one can hear you," Rika replied, a sly smile on her face as she confidently spoke. "I've set up a force field around this area that blocks out all vibrations," she explained, gesturing with her blue, glowing finger. "Which is good, since your death will involve a lot of them."

"Rika, please, stop!" Takato pleaded. "I don't know what's wrong with you right now, but I want to help. Please!"

"…hmm…should I agree…no," Rika teased, pretending to rethink her ways. "I think I'll just kill you and be done with it, if that's okay with you?"

"But it's not okay with him!" Guilmon complained, sitting up dizzily.

"Oh well, I'll take unilateral action then," Rika decided, raising both hands in front of her. They glowed blue as a large circle of energy materialised with her hands on its edge, before she glanced across to Renamon. "Do you mind if I kill him for you?" she asked.

"No, we're partners," Renamon replied, smiling. "We work together."

"Aw," Rika uttered, before turning back to face her targets. "Well, this is goodbye," she said, the circle rippling like waves as it reached its full potential.

"Wait, stop!" Takato and Guilmon both pleaded together.

"HARMONIC DISC!" she screamed, the circle glowing brightly as it bulged outwards, energy ready to be unleashed at her cowering foes.

* * *

**UNKNOWN DATE**

* * *

_**Unknown Place**_

_**Unknown Time**_

Henry quickly pushed himself to his feet, stumbling up and staring along the long road at the aeroplane as it rapidly shrunk out of sight. His mouth was stuck open as he felt lost, the world around him feeling alien and unreal. The buildings were old, traditional, and made of wood, in the Japanese style, but all looked like they could badly use some maintenance. Some had taken some notable damage, and in the distance, smoke floated up into the air. The road surface was old and disturbed, caterpillar track footprints running through it. There was a distinct smell of burning in the air, mixed with the smell of cooking from homes apparently preparing dinner. The air raid sirens had stopped, an eerie silence descending across the city.

"Wh…?" Henry began to say, but he found it hard to speak until he coughed up some dust. His back felt sore still from where he had fallen, and he put a hand round himself to rub it.

"What the hell is this place?" Terriermon asked, suddenly leaping onto his shoulder and looking around, bewildered.

"Uh…can I get back to you on that?"

"Well, wherever it is, I want to get back home fast before Calumon eats all the food."

"I think that's our least concern right now."

"Speak for yourself."

"How did we get here anyway?"

"What, like I know?"

"Wait…I remember…" Henry began, his mind flashing back to a memory that only seemed to be from a few minutes ago. "I reached out for Rey to check she was alright…but…wait; she must have used the time device!"

"What?!" Terriermon asked, his eyes bulging. "Oh, that is definitely not good."

"So…where…when are we?" Henry asked, looking around with a frown at the traditional city. Without the plane which had gone overhead, he'd have assumed he was back in the days of dynasties and warriors, but evidently such was not the case. In fact, his mind had already figured out what it was, and it was only his denial of the possibility that prevented him seeing it. Terriermon quickly did likewise as the reality finally dawned on him.

"Henry, this looks like…"

"World War Two!" Henry panicked, looking around in alarm. His eyes stopped on a blur of red hair and a yellow blob, letting his alarm subside in order to focus clearly. "Rey?" he asked.

Rey frowned deeply, walking towards him with a newspaper in her hand. Realmon looked depressed; the reality of the situation had already clearly made itself known to them.

"Henry, we're dead," she said, holding out the newspaper.

**ASAHI SHIMBUN - 8****th**** AUGUST 1945**

_**WE WILL NOT SURRENDER TO OUR ENEMIES.**_

_In response to the horrendous bombing of Hiroshima by the Allies, it has become rumoured that our government could potentially impose martial law to prevent peace. Emperor Hirohito today said…_

Henry stopped reading all of a sudden, realising that it was real. They were really there. They were really in the past. He was holding a newspaper from a day long dead, a day never expected to return.

"_So this is how Rey feels every day," _he contemplated.

"Wait, this is near the end of the war," Rey said, realising they still had a chance as she recalled the date. "If we survive just these last few days, maybe we can escape it all?"

"Easier said than done though," Realmon said, frowning as she knew that they were basically tempting fate.

"Does it matter?" Henry said, as bewildered as Terriermon was by why everyone was discussing it as if they would be stuck there. "We just use the time device and get back, right?"

Rey shook her head reluctantly, not wanting to burst their one remaining bit of optimism. She frowned, holding out her arm and pulling up her sleeve to reveal the all-too-familiar device. However, its screen was cracked, and as she tapped a button to demonstrate, nothing happened.

"It's completely out of power…it's completely dead," she reported, frowning as a look of shock ran over Henry and Terriermon faces. "And I don't have any way of recharging it."

"We're dead," Terriermon summarised.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Well, Henry and Rey have now found themselves in a very unlucky situation. Even if they survive the war, the chances of them making it back to the present appear to be decidedly slim. And Takato's situation is just as bad, with Rika looking set to carry out Harmony's long-held wish.

Until next time…


	47. The Trick To Clothing

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 41**

_The Trick to Clothing_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence**_

_**09:47 JST**_

"HARMONIC DISC!" she screamed, the circle glowing brightly as it bulged outwards, energy ready to be unleashed at her cowering foes. It burst in a bright flash, the energy surging towards the pair.

"_**Takato, stop with the freaking paralysis and do something!"**_

"_What?" _Takato said, staring into the attack like a rabbit in headlights.

"**THIS!" **Chaos said, his hands blazing red and a shield materialising just inches from his face at the last moment.

Takato watched the attack hit and break up on the shield, his eyes staring through the cackling fire of blue and red to Rika who watched, a frown on her face.

"_What's wrong with her?" _Takato solemnly wondered, before quickly pushing himself to his feet in the silence that followed. His breaths had become short and panicky, and he forced himself to calm down and concentrate on the task at hand.

"Chaos, stay out of this," Rika spat harshly, glaring through to Chaos' eyes with an intensity only seen before in their gravest of brattles. It began to occur to Takato that he wasn't quite in control of his own body all of a sudden.

"_Chaos, what are you doing?"_ he asked as he noticed Chaos reach across to their D-Vice.

"_**I'm taking of control to get us out of a bad situation, okay?"**_

"_Well…if you know how," _Takato replied, noticing that Rika was by now looking at them angrily. _"Don't hurt her!" _he added, having sympathy for the girl despite her current hostile intentions.

"Stop moving now," she ordered, her tone unwavering and uncompromising yet not needing to go above a normal volume of voice.

"**Just a little more," **Chaos muttered to himself, his hand tapping the surface and bringing the D-Vice up to its full capability. Rika raised her hands again, blue energy coursing through them.

"I said stop!" she said, losing the control over her anger as a blue circle materialised. Renamon raised her arms, diamonds summoned within their grasp.

"**And done!" **Chaos grinned, slamming his hand against the screen. It lit up all of a sudden before flashing erratically, Rika's doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. But that wasn't the worst thing about it.

A high pitched, sonic scream was now emitted from the two devices, Renamon and Rika's hands going to their ears as they attempted to block out the all-pervading noise. Guilmon and Takato did likewise, but Chaos' yell brought the latter back to his senses.

"_**RUN!" **_he ordered, Takato blinking and trying to block out the noise. He grabbed Guilmon's paw, the Digimon nodding as he came to. The pair bolted across the room, Rika unable to do anything but watch as they opened the door and strode out. Harmony's hands scuppered over the device, attempting to stop the noise.

"_**SILENCE!" **_she yelled, slamming her hand against it and breathing a sigh of relief as it finally stopped. Silence fell, broken only by Takato's yells from outside.

"Guilmon, grab my hand!" he said, Rika spinning across to the door and growling as she saw Takato fly his wings sharply and shoot over the top of the wall. She turned to Renamon, who nodded in response before bounding out the door after her. Rika watched the fox leap over the fence, a frown coming to her face.

"_I'll have to avoid suspicion, so looks like I'm walking for a bit," _she contemplated, mentally wondering also if she could actually fly right now given her current size. She crossed the room, gathering her shoes and card box, pausing only to reinsert her deck back into it after having removed it the previous day to prove a point to Davis about having effective strategies. She pair were quickly places on her feet and belt respectively, before she stepped out into the hallway, smiling normally as she wandered down to the kitchen. There was a distinct and familiar sense of purpose in her stride, something rather unusual for her that early in the morning.

"Rika, good morning," Seiko greeted with a smile, which dropped when she noticed the absence of Takato, and, for that matter, their two partners.

"Morning Grandma," she replied, smiling. "Listen, I have to go…sort something out quickly, so I'll be back for breakfast later, okay?"

"Oh, okay," Seiko replied, frowning. "How soon is later?" she added.

"No idea," _"…but very soon if I get my way."_

Rika headed across to the door, opening it with a continued sense of purpose and knowledge.

"Bye," she said.

"Bye Rika," Seiko mumbled, a bit surprised by how awake Rika was at this hour. "Wait, where's Takato?" she asked.

"He's already gone ahead, I just had to say goodbye," she replied, not giving any room for a response as she left at that moment.

"Oh, okay," Seiko replied unsurely, before looking across to Kristy, who sat with a bewildered look on her face not paying much attention to the television which blared away.

"She's still nuts," the girl said bluntly.

"Hmm…"

* * *

**WEDNESDAY, 8****th**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Unknown Location**_

_**18:29 JST**_

"Come on you stupid piece of junk, work!" Rey pleaded, her voice packed with a distinct irritation. It brought about flashbacks for Henry as it was remarkably similar to that Rika would get, particularly when her Digivice failed to bring up information on a Digimon. "Some time today," she added, even further imitating her mother. She crossed her fingers where she stood, looking over her D-Vice with eager yet vexed eyes.

"What are you trying to do?" Henry asked, Rey glancing up at him as if he'd just made their lives ten times more annoying.

"I'm _trying_ to email Ryder back home, okay?" she asked, although at any other time she would've regretted her mean and end-of-tether tone.

"How does that work?" Terriermon asked, voicing Henry's thought at that moment.

"Yeah, he's in the future, how can you email him now?" Henry elaborated. She paused, looking up at him with a frown as she continued to plead that the device would send. It's progress bar moved slower than a glacier, and she hoped it wouldn't give up any moment now with a "Failed to Send" error.

"This time device is linked to Ryder's D-Vice…somehow. However it works, it means that it'll send the email to Ryder's D-Vice in the present day."

"But…Ryder hasn't invented the time-thingy yet," Terriermon pointed out.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it just send to the Ryder from your time?" Henry added.

"Because this thing isn't locked onto Ryder's D-Vice then, it's locked onto the whole of Ryder's D-Vice's existence. It simply finds the most recent point when both were in a nearby area in space-time and locks onto that version of the present as its target."

"Sounds confusing," Terriermon complained.

"Yes, she spouts this kind of stuff all the time, and I think I know where she gets it," Realmon added. Rey would've replied, but was too busy cheering at how it finally worked.

"YES!" she yelled, grinning widely. "One email, sent successfully, I am good!" she cheered.

Henry glanced around, noticing a few confused stares at them from the various people who began to populate the back street once the sirens had died down. "Shh!" he quickly exclaimed, putting a finger to his lips and gesturing over to a nearby alleyway. Rey promptly blushed in embarrassment as she covered her mouth, silently cursing herself for not realising the gravity of the situation.

The pair of humans and Digimon quickly darted over to the alleyway, lined by wooden fences and with gardens and homes seemingly behind them. The alleyway went up an incline, evidently the city, whatever city it was, not built on as relatively flat ground as the centre Tokyo was, or at least not subject to the same artificial terrain alteration. From there, they could see down the gradient all the way to a dull blue sea in the distance, a port visible with (presumably) military vessels floating out and into it. The sight would've been impressive were it not for the obvious danger of the situation. They were stuck in wartime Japan, and they knew exactly how the war ended. Nonetheless, it hardly mattered that the Japanese lost right now: the soldiers out there wouldn't know that and would promptly arrest them as soon as they caught sight of their unusual clothes, watches or the monsters that followed them to and fro.

"Everyone, we are going to have to make ourselves as unnoticeable as possible," Henry said, looking to his three companions who nodded promptly in agreement.

"Sure Henry, I'll just go stuffed animal for ya," Terriermon said, jokily stiffening his arms, ears and legs before toppling over with a brief laugh.

Henry didn't laugh. Instead a stern look sat on his face. "Terriermon, now it's the time for jokes."

"Yeah and now isn't the time for stuffed animals either," Realmon added with a frown.

"She's right," Rey agreed, nodding. "These people probably don't even have the food they want, let alone some stuffed toys."

"Yeah, and worse still, with our clothes we'll stick out like a sore thumb," Henry added.

"Ugh, things do not look good for us right now," Terriermon groaned.

"Well, maybe we can fix that," Rey said, her tone decidedly more optimistic as she looked down at herself. "I know my jeans are probably not something anyone in Japan could've got their hands on by now, but they are pretty scruffy thanks to all this time travelling, so hopefully people won't notice them." _"Geez, hard to believe these were new only a few months ago, time travelling takes a lot out of you."_

Her eyes shifted up to her black top, looking over the elegant line which ran around to resemble the word Destiny', the pattern rather modern. Her eyes shifted downwards again to her line of midriff, a frown on her face.

"Well, I think they're probably a bit too modest in this day and age for me to really run around with part of my belly showing and with such short sleeves, but I'm not really sure what to do about it. Maybe I could stretch the top down into my jeans or something," she pondered, Henry shrugging in response. She decided to put the thought aside for now and move onto something that'd probably be easier to fix. "This pattern is far too new and looks completely out of place, but maybe…" she pondered, tucking her hands under the bottom of the top and beginning to lift it. She paused, looking up to Henry with a raised eyebrow. "Do you mind?"

"Oh, right, sorry," he realised, promptly turning around, and subsequently forcing his partner to do likewise. "Terriermon, give her some privacy."

"Aw, but I was just being curious," he replied, grinning.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Realmon said wisely as she kept an eye on her Tamer's progress with changing. Time would probably be a factor right now, and Rey would have to be thankful that no-one else was looking in from the other end of the alleyway to see her in her bra. Then again, given how she usually reacted, the person would be sworn to secrecy on pain of death, or at least, made to run off like a little girl, neither of which were particularly good options at the moment given they would give them too high a profile.

"I'm a dog-bunny and you're a fox, so what does that have to do with us?"

"Never mind," Realmon replied, rolling her eyes at the bunny. All her life she had known Terriermon to be this smart-alec who (sometimes quite thankfully) served as a comic relief for their group. The past, both 2010 and 1945, was no different it seemed.

"Right, there we go," Rey said, Henry turning round to watch as she pulled down the last bit of her top. It took a few moments for it to register what she had done. "Voilla, inside-out," she said, smiling as she gestured down at the top. "Not only is the pattern now not visible, this way in it looks a bit scruffier and all the places where it's been sewn are visible too," she explained. "Oh, and, that reminds me," she added, looping her hands under the bottom of the top and stretching it down, the material clicking and groaning slightly as it finally found its new place tucked into her jeans, albeit probably not the tightest of fits.

"Well, that looks a fair bit better," he noted, looking over her and pondering if there was anything they had missed. "What about the D-Vice and Time Device?" he asked, gesturing to where it sat on her wrist.

"Hmm…" she pondered, before she undid their straps. Glancing over the pair periodically, she shrugged, pushing them down into opposite back pockets. She hoped the noticeable bulge wouldn't be mistaken for a weapon of some kind, although what kind of weapon she hadn't the faintest clue. At least she wouldn't have an odd digital watch on her wrist.

"Right, your turn," she said, looking over to him and glancing over his clothes with a pondering stare. "What does that orange jacket look like on the inside?" she asked curiously. He promptly undid it, revealing a black backing to it, albeit tinged with orange where the fabric ran over the edges. It would be better than nothing at least.

"I'll wear it inside out as well," he decided, flipping it over and pulling the arms through. He put it back on and (with difficulty, thanks to the zipper now being on the wrong side) tightened it back up. "Anything else?" he asked, Rey glancing over him.

"Hmm…your pants don't particularly stand out, although you've just reminded me that both of us need to take our sweat-bands off," she observed, Henry nodding as he removed his grey-white pair and Rey doing likewise with her red ones, both of which promptly got tucked into his pants pockets and her front pockets on her jeans.

"What about the shoes?" Realmon asked, looking over the pair of rather modern shoes with concern.

"Hmm…" Rey pondered, looking down to her black sneakers with dark grey sides, before looking across to Henry's similar ones, but with a far more visible yellow down the centre and on the tongue. "I have an idea," she said, fumbling around in her front pocket, round the wristband currently occupying it, and pulling out a thick-lined marker pen. Henry's eyes widened.

"Are you going to colour them in?" he asked.

"Only yours, mine aren't that obvious," she noted, before smiling. "Hold still…"

"_So, I don't get a say in the matter, okay…" _Henry thought, watching as she systematically erased all traces of yellow from the shoe itself. As for the tongue…

**RIP!**

"What did you do?" he asked with a start, Rey grinning as she held her "prize", the ripped-off tongue from his shoe.

"Makes them look less like sneakers," she commented, before bending down to her own and performing the same act. She held out the yellow amputated tongue to him. "If you really love the pair, take it and get it sewn back on at home," she suggested with a teasing smile. He frowned, taking the item and putting it in her pocket before Rey promptly walked over to and dumped it into a nearby bin. "I don't think they'll be looking for advanced new fabrics in a bin in the middle of wartime, so I think we're safe."

"Yeah, but what about the Digimon?" Henry asked curiously, looking down to the bunny and the fox.

"Realmon can shift around just like Renamon can, but Terriermon could be a problem…unless…" she pondered, before looking down to her partner. "Realmon, I know this is going to be really annoying for you, but could you hold onto Terriermon when you do so?"

Realmon frowned, coming to a compromise. "Only if I can hold him by the ear. Then it'll hopefully hurt," she added, looking across to the bunny.

"Oh, thanks, so I don't get a say in this," he complained.

"Right, I think we're ready to get moving," Rey said, ignoring Terriermon's moaning and smiling enthusiastically. As dangerous as this would be, it was interesting all the same. It was a brave new world out there, or rather, a brave old world, that they would be able to explore. She began to walk, heading out of the alleyway as the other three prepared to follow.

Henry noticed something that would prove particularly irritating as he watched her pass. "Rey, your top has come out again," he informed. She frowned, groaning as she attempted to tuck it in again, fiddling around in vain as she found herself unable to find a configuration where it wouldn't simply bounce back up again. Finally, she paused as a thought occurred to her. She turned round on her heels to face Henry, a hand going out.

"Give me your jacket," she asked, or rather, demanded.

"Huh?"

"You won't need it, your shirt is just a normal shirt, but I'll stick out like a sore thumb with my belly showing. So, I can wear your jacket and you can just go without, okay?" she explained, a confident optimism in her voice as her tone sounded oddly similar to Rika sometimes when she knew that she was inconveniencing someone but did it for her own gain.

"Oh, alright," he replied, struggling as he went to undo the familiar article of clothing. When he finally had finished, he handed it over, Rey stopping tapping her food in irritation and smiling with gratitude.

"Thanks," she said, promptly putting it on and not-so-promptly tightening it up. "How do I look?" she eventually asked Henry, holding her hands out to show her full attire.

"Stupid," Terriermon interjected, before squawking as Realmon grabbed him with her tails and promptly muffled his mouth.

"I think we'll be fine," Henry said, nodding as he ignored his partner. He only hoped the bunny would refrain from any further jokes. The wrong word at the wrong time could get them killed, and, given they were in World War Two and everyone would be on their highest lookout, the wrong time was _all_ the time. _"I hope Realmon can be subtle enough."_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Ichijouji Residence, Minato Ward**_

_**09:50 JST**_

Ken stifled a yawn as he wandered out of his bedroom, Wormmon promptly landing on his shoulder via the use of a well-timed shot of silk. He smiled briefly to his partner, before he embarked on a major and very important mission: to find breakfast.

"Sleep well?" his mother asked as he, wearing his familiar grey suit-like attire, wandered into the kitchen of their apartment.

"Yes thank you," he replied with a nod, before glancing to his father reading the expanded Sunday newspaper. "What's for breakfast?" he asked, looking back to his mother.

"The usual, cereal. Sit down dear," his mother replied. Ken nodded, taking a seat at the table and looking curiously across at the headlines on the back of the newspaper as a bowl, cereal and milk were dropped in front of him, with a glass of water to match.

"_Hmm…looks like a big fuss isn't being made about Henry's disappearance. I don't think Hypnos would want the media involved, but still…when we phoned Rayleigh, he didn't sound at all enthusiastic about the concept of looking for them."_

Then again, how would you look for them? Short of hoping they ended up in the past and did something notable, and it would have to be particularly notable to end up on the internet since it was a relatively new invention, using a search engine seemed hopeless. Perhaps Rey could get them back, but from what the others had said, it was clear there were no guarantees on that.

And if they were in the future? Well, then one day they'd bump into them again probably, unless they ended up in the really distant future.

Another planet would probably make things difficult too, but at least there was the chance that the natives would be able to assist, either by fixing the device or using their own technology to get them home. Failing both of those options, Rey would probably decide to show off her powers and probably end up with the whole planet worshipping them as Gods. Or eating them. Either way, Terriermon would probably be involved in their eventual downfall, although perhaps the lack of translation would be a godsend.

Ken's mind still couldn't get over the unreal nature of how they could pretty much have ended up _anywhere_.

"_Knowing how things tend to happen with us, we'll bump into them randomly on the street in a few days time," _Ken contemplated. It wasn't an entirely bad prediction, or rather, if it came true, it would be a huge relief.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, as he glanced up from where he was staring at the newspaper. His father continued to read, while his mother continued to busy herself in the kitchen, instead delegating the task to him.

"Ken, could you get that please," she asked over her shoulder. He nodded, standing to his feet and wandering across into the hallway, pondering who could be here at such an hour, particularly on a Sunday.

He opened the door without delay, looking out to meet the extremely eager, smiling face of Yolei, his long-term girlfriend.

"Morning Ken," she greeted, an odd glint in her eye which Ken overlooked to his doom, as he did the absence of Hawkmon, and, of course, the small(ish) fire extinguisher held behind her back in a single hand, probably requisitioned from the apartment hallway.

"Uh…morning Yolei, but wasn't I going to visit you today?" he asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at her. Even if he weren't visiting her today, this was still remarkably early for a Sunday, not forgetting the fair distance between their homes.

"Yeah, but I wanted to give you a present," she replied, her tone still normal and unsuspecting. Wormmon looked over her curiously; the fact there was something not quite right about her registering in his mind but lacking anything to press it on.

"Oh, really?" he asked, surprised by the impromptu gift offering, although Yolei did have the habit of occasionally and randomly buying small things she thought would make good presents, usually a stuffed toy of some description which by now had begun to make Ken's room look like a kids room, albeit he wouldn't mention it to her.

"Yeah."

She glanced over his shoulder, nodding.

"Can I come in?" she added. He nodded, smiling as he let her past and failed to see her swing the extinguisher round to her front in her left hand, out of sight. She hung at the left edge of the doorway, looking in and waving with her other hand. "Morning Mrs Ichijouji, Morning Mr Ichijouji," she said optimistically.

"Hello dear," his mother replied. "What brings you here so early this morning?"

"Just saying hi and bringing a present I bought for my fantastic boyfriend."

"Oh, that's lovely."

"Ken…" Wormmon muttered quietly, Ken glancing to him curiously.

"What's wrong Wormmon?" he asked under his breath, not sure exactly what there was to be so quiet about. The sighting

An in flicker of red seen in Yolei's hand made Wormmon lose his suspicions that she hadn't actually brought a present at all. "Never mind."

Something did occur to Ken, all the same, as he followed Yolei along the hallway to his bedroom. "Yolei, where's Hawkmon?" he asked, nudging the door open and the pair walking in. She promptly sat on the bed as near to the door as possible, slipping the fire extinguisher under the bed and pulling out her other hand so she could feign that she was completely unarmed. All Ken thought had happened, once he turned round and sat on his computer chair, was that she had put the present down.

"Oh….um…he just looked so cute sleeping there I didn't want to wake him," Yolei replied, smiling cheerfully to fabricate the lie she promptly had to invent.

"Oh, okay."

"So, I bet you want to know what your big present is, right?"

"Well yes, I am interested in…"

"Close your eyes."

"Oh, alright," he replied, promptly letting his eyelids fall over them.

"You too Wormmon," she added cheerfully, looking to the caterpillar-like Digimon.

"Okay then," Wormmon replied, closing his own eyes and pondering what present she could be bringing.

Yolei smiled widely, reaching down below the bed with both hands and grabbing the handle of the fire extinguisher tightly between them. She pulled it up into the air with some effort, before standing up and stepping forward. She used her own weight as she swung it round, aiming for Ken's cortex. A quick death, but the death part was all she cared about right now.

Unfortunately for her, the unusual swishing noise made Wormmon peek an eye open out of curiosity. His eyes shot open, before he leapt at Ken, pushing him from the chair onto the ground as the fire extinguisher barely missed them.

Yolei struggled to regain her balance as a pile of CDs cluttered to the floor, the noise concerning her. She _had_ to kill him before his parents heard anything, then she'd be able to make a quick and unsuspecting exit. Her possessed mind had not, however, considered the obvious effects beyond that of murdering her boyfriend and fellow Tamer, particularly since she would be a pretty obvious suspect.

"Stay still," she hissed, Ken rolling aside where he lay on the ground. There wasn't even time for him to widen his eyes in shock as the bottle sailed past him.

"What are you doing?!" he shrieked, gripping one arm on the bed frame as his panic-stricken form tried to pull himself up.

"Trying to kill you," she replied bitterly.

"What?! Why?!" Ken spluttered, horrified as she fiddled with the top of the device.

"Because I want to," she replied, before holding out the hose of the device and aiming it towards him.

"Why do you…wait…what are you d…" he began, but was forced to stop as he was quickly covered in foam. Thanks to his startled panic, trying to push himself up and slipping on the wet surfaces, Yolei gained a chance to swing at him again.

"STICKY NET!" Wormmon called, a mesh of silky goo inhibiting Yolei's movements from behind as she was forced to stop. Ken took the brief respite to get to his feet finally, moving to one side out of the soaked floor.

Yolei groaned in annoyance, Ken making no hesitation in grabbing his black and grey D-Arc and his cards from the computer table. He turned on his heels, throwing the glass sliding door to the balcony open and looking to his partner.

"We have to get out of here!" he said, gesturing through the door as he grasped a card in his hand.

Wormmon nodded in response and leapt towards the doorway, unfortunately removing the threads on Yolei in the process as simultaneously a card sailed through the device.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Digivolution Activate!"

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Wormmon, Digivolve to…**

**Stingmon!**

The large, green bipedal insectoid Digimon came to be outside the window as Ken shot a last look back at Yolei, who looked ready to attack again. What could he do? He doubted they could simply restrain her; she'd probably end up injuring herself on one of Stingmon's claws in an attempt to escape. Plus, the commotion caused when his parents would've arrived would've been far too complex to explain his way out of: he wasn't even sure of what was going on either. And if Hawkmon arrived, they could be in big trouble, but there was still time to make one last try at reasoning with her.

"Please stop!" he pleaded, to no avail as she swung at him again. He ran through the doorway, leaping out and onto Stingmon's waiting arms as the bug flew in the air a short distance away from the balcony. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, turning his head sound to face her. "Why are you trying to kill me?"

"Because I want to kill you," she replied with a smile in. Her grip tightened on the fire extinguisher, jamming the handle in, before she launched it through the air in the direction of the flying insect, the device going off like the metaphorical rocket as it sprayed out foam behind.

"Look out!" Ken yelled, Stingmon acting quickly to put his back to the improvised missile to avoid Ken being hurt. As it collided with his back, the compressed gas inside the cylinder burst outwards, a flurry of foam and a sharp ripping through the air throwing Stingmon towards the ground with his passenger in tow.

Yolei grinned widely as she watched the form wall, turning and heading back across the room, past the soaked bed and CDs splattered on the floor. She changed her smile to be slightly more cheerful as she stepped back into the hallway, calmly walking to the door and noticing Ken's parents watching her with concern.

"What's going on?" Ken's father asked.

"Nothing, I'm done here," Yolei replied, hidden meaning to her words as she stepped out into the hallway of the apartment building. _"And I need assistance."_

"Oh, goodbye then," his mother said, surprised by her eagerness to get out. What had happened? What were all the noises about? And what were the slowly decomposing pieces of sticky web on her back about?

* * *

Stingmon turned onto his back as he collided with the ground, once again protecting Ken from the worst of the damage. Ken pushed himself up off his partner's chest, looking down at the bug eyes as the insectoid groaned in pain. His wings in particular looked in a pretty bad stage, and Ken had doubts they would work all that well.

"Ugh…what is wrong with her?" he asked.

"I don't know, but she'll be after us any moment now!" Ken panicked.

"Let's get moving then," Stingmon said, rushing to his feet and grabbing Ken in one of his arms as the boy nodded. "Hold on tight!" he added, feet beginning to pound at the ground as he decided that on-foot would be the best mode of transport right now.

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**09:59 JST**_

A pair of arms stretched out to either side as the boy found his feet, and, more importantly, his crutches on the floor beside the bed, yawning in the process. A pair of brown eyes glanced to the D-Vice on his arm, the time reading **10:00**, rather early get-up time for a Sunday. MiniDonmon, previously sleeping on the bed's headboard, the right way up (contrary to what his bat-like form would make you expect), stretched out his wings in an odd mirroring of his Tamer's pose.

Ryder began to stumble around, searching for his clothes and changing out of his pyjamas, uncaring of the presence of his partner. MiniDonmon was too busy yawning anyway, as Ryder sat on the edge of the bed, struggling to put his grey trousers on. Finally succeeding, he progressed onto the orange BLASE shirt, smiling at the now all-too-familiar design before his eyes froze on the pair of goggles, resting on the dresser.

"Hmm…" he pondered, stumbling over to them. "Heh, I think I might just write this off as one of those special occasions," he noted, resting against the furniture as he pulled them over his head. He looked in the mirror, lit by the sun streaming through the closed curtains of his bedroom. He grinned at the sight, chuckling. "Yeah, now I understand why goggles can look weird."

He pushed himself to his feet again, wandering out into the living room as he heard MiniDonmon flap his way along behind.

Ryder smiled widely at the bright light shimmering through into the lounge as he made his way over to and awkwardly opened the curtains. The city looked beautiful today (an oddity since it was mostly a cacophony of concrete and steel unlike normal beautiful sights which tended to involve at least one plant). In the distance, he could see Mount Fuji, looking down on the city like in so many photos.

He turned, wandering across the room with his crutches and carefully opening the door to Mari's a tad, both to ensure he wasn't waking her up and to ensure that she wasn't going to be in the middle of changing.

"Mari, do you want me to try and make break…fast…" he asked, his question becoming redundant as she walked out of the door, fully dressed, right down to the familiar bulge of a gun attached to her legs. Once upon a time he had been fazed by the fact it was permanently there, but his recent discovery of immortality, the development of his trusting relationship with Mari, and, of course, the illegal nature of its use outside certain circumstances, had dissuaded such fears.

"No, I'll do it," she replied, Ryder noting how she had once again changed her attire. It was odd, everyone else seemed to stay more or less consistent in their same garb, but Mari changed whenever she liked. Now, she wore a black top, yet again lacking the midriff but now adding sleeves, albeit short ones. White lettering on it spelt out **HAVE A TERRIBLE DAY**. The jeans remained, although Ryder couldn't be sure if they were a different darker pair or not.

"Oh, okay," Ryder replied, silently disappointed at not having had the opportunity to badly screw-up breakfast. Still, it was a nice day, and he wasn't about to let something like that dog his spirits.

"So, what do you want, cyanide, anthrax, or just good old cornflakes?" she asked, a smile on her face as she wandered about the kitchen, her hair already neatly washed and styled. Well, as much as "falling straight down her back to just below shoulder height" was a style, that is. Evidently, she had been awake for longer than he had.

"Heh, cornflakes please," he chuckled, not knowing her sinister intentions as he relaxed back into the sofa. A press of the remote brought up the television, a news programme appearing that, despite his newfound instant translation skills, instantly baffled him with the image of a reporter talking to cows. He raised an eyebrow, flicking across to find something saner.

"Ugh," he heard her groan, glancing over to look as her hand went to the side of her head, her eyes straining and proving to be a curious contrast to her previous smile.

"Hangover?"

"Yeah, first one. Now I think I understand why university students have to make such an effort to be in class on time."

"See, that's why I don't drink nor plan to," Ryder replied, his tone just a little elitist.

"No, that's just because you're weird," Mari replied, wandering across the room with two bowls of cereal and promptly plonking them down on the coffee table. "Budge up," she said to him, the boy nodding as he pulled himself along the sofa. "You make it look like so much more effort than it should be."

Ryder chuckled again, smiling as she sat next to him. The pair proceeded to tuck into their cereal, while MiniDonmon began to eat from a bowl that had been left on the kitchen counter. Another bowl had been left out for DarkRenamon (who currently sat against the wall, half-sleeping), but they knew that it'd probably vanish and then return soon after, the fox continuing the typical Renamon behaviour of eating in private only.

"So, anything good on or should I just get it over with?" Mari asked, Ryder raising an eyebrow.

"Get what over with?"

"Never mind; I was making an obscure joke."

"You become more like me every day."

"Yeah, it's disturbing," she replied, tucking into her cereal as she absent-mindedly viewed the television screen with a bored eye. Ryder eyed it more with bewilderment and growing irritation as he flicked through the stations, failing to find anything remotely interesting on. A smile came to his face when he finally came to some serious-looking news, before he joined Mari in eating breakfast.

Mari mentally noted how the loss of Henry and Rey was completely absent from the news. As uncaring towards them as Rayleigh could be at times, at least he still understood the concept of keeping a low profile, although in this case it could be more harm than help. Certainly, the presence of their pictures on the news could make them be found quicker: that was, if they were still in the present or near future.

"Okay, so this I don't understand," Ryder said, hearing the bowl put down on the table as he began to rant about the news, the "serious channel" having likewise reverted to a dead-donkey story. "Why on earth does anyone here care about half of these…?"

**Click.**

Ryder felt the cold metal of the barrel pushed against the side of his skull, forcing him to freeze up in mid sentence as his eyes widened in horror and his mouth dropped open. "Mari, what are you doing?!" he asked, the attention of MiniDonmon drawn to them as he sat, horrified by what Mari was doing.

Ryder's eyes twitched to one side, to Mari's cold expression and calm grip on the weapon.

"Killing you," she said calmly, as if it was obvious and a routine matter. "Now hold still," she added, her arm wrapped around his back as a sadistic smile came to her lips. "This might hurt a little."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Ah, how fun to write several of your characters as homicidal maniacs. Still, things are certainly heating up, and events are beginning to head towards a painful conclusion.

Until next time…


	48. The Trick To Girlfriendly Fire

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 42**

_The Trick to (Girl)friendly Fire_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Near Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:00 JST**_

"Takato, what do we do?!" Guilmon pleaded, the pair running along all too familiar streets with a growing panic festering in their mind.

"I don't know, just keep running!" Takato replied, glancing over his (now wingless) shoulder again. They had become both thankful for the relatively empty streets (with few obstacles to run into) and worried by them, that lack of obstacles also making it rather easy for them to be tracked (although given who they were dealing with here, it probably wouldn't be that difficult for them to be found even if the streets were completely full). He knew Renamon was there, somewhere. Rika wanted him dead, Renamon wanted his partner dead, and they seemed to be working together to kill two birds with one stone. That metaphoric idiom was a bit too close to reality right now for the boy's liking.

He threw himself around another set of people, Guilmon barrelling along with the benefit that people would simply leap out the way in fear upon seeing him approach.

What was he to do? He couldn't fight back; this was Rika and Renamon he was talking about.

In any normal situation, he'd have got the people to run for the hills, but he doubted they had anything to be concerned about. He also knew that at some point his luck would run out: they would find themselves in an empty street with no people to see and prevent their girlfriends doing anything drastic. Then again, given the rather targeted nature of attacks and the usual odd activities of Digimon in this particular city, he also doubted that anyone would try to intervene even if they were in the busiest of areas; instead presuming it was something way over their head. They wouldn't object until it was too late. Sure, Rika would probably come to justice over all of this, but she evidently wasn't to blame here.

"_**You hope."**_

Takato began to appraise his options. He could try and reason with Rika, but right now he doubted she'd listen. She had that determined look in her eyes, a look that told him she would cross oceans, continents and dimensions to kill him. He had seen that look before, and he knew it was practically impossible to stop.

He could look for the others, if only to act as a human shield. But then again, what was to say they weren't going to try killing them too? Maybe via more subtle methods, the "come in, I'll protect you", "here's a cup of tea" and then smother-to-death-with-a-pillow technique.

"_My imagination is a curse."_

"_**Well, use it to think fast, because otherwise, we're screwed."**_

"_Admitting defeat in the face of Harmony?"_

"_**And you complain about **_**my**_** bad timing for jokes!"**_

Takato decided to put an end to his internal conversation with Chaos, pausing as he began to breathe deeply, a technique he had been taught by Henry a while back, and had been told about a million times by Rika to calm down and use. In the end she had pretty much given up, saying that he'd "find some Goggleheaded way out of the situation anyway".

"_Okay, look at the situation, look at the situation…"_

"_**And I'd like to introduce the Brother Matsuki."**_

Takato forced himself to ignore his alter-ego's remark and concentrate on what was really going on here. Concentrate on what was important, what they actually knew, what was the most pressing matter, and ignore everything else.

"_Right, Rika and Renamon are under the control of something," _he began. _"Rika wants to kill me, Renamon wants to kill Guilmon…"_

"_**And they co-operate in order to achieve both goals."**_

"_Wait…you're helping?"_

"_**I. Don't. Want. To. Die. Why. Do. You. Not. Get. This?"**_

"_Oh, right."_

"Takato, what are we going to do?" Guilmon begged again, as his nostrils caught a whiff of the all-too-familiar scent of his lover. His breathing had become erratic, and his eyes darted around, searching for a sign of their silent assassin, a flash of yellow in the scene behind.

"I'm thinking about that," Takato replied quickly, pressing his mind back on the issue. _"Right…what else is there that we know…wait…Rika only went after me at first, not even considering Guilmon who could've been a _much _bigger threat…although…I suppose with my powers that does make me a more important target anyway…"_

"_**Takato, you're missing the point here. T**__**hey only go after one target, which means…maybe…wait…"**_

"_What?"_

"_**She loves you, and Renamon loves Guilmon…so maybe that's the connection? Whatever is doing this is making them pursue the ones they love."**_

"_So maybe we can go to see someone else safely?"_

"_**So long as you're not their target, I think they'd probably act pretty normally and even help you out. You know, normal except for muttering "how to kill him" to themselves regularly as they contemplate which knife is sharp enough to kill their boy or girlfriend."**_

"_You call me the one with the twisted imagination!"_

"_**Nope, we share that."**_

"Renamon's here!" Guilmon said in alarm, the pair screeching to a halt to avoid slamming into the yellow fox, standing in their path with a sadistic, and, perhaps even seductive, smile on her face.

"Hello boys," she greeted, savouring the horror on her targets' faces. Takato gulped, looking across to Guilmon who had a look of intense fear, betrayal and disbelief raging in his golden eyes, intensifying as he looked into Renamon's scorning blue eyes.

"Renamon, please, don't hurt him!" the Goggleheaded boy pleaded, knowing it would probably have no effect but deciding it was worth a shot anyhow.

"Not just him, I'll kill you both," she reiterated, turning her head to face him. "And I know Rika would do the same favour for me if she had this opportunity."

"But why?" Guilmon asked, his voice confused and his mind addled by the recent turn of events.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to kill us?" Takato rephrased. There was a distinctly desperate tone to his voice which sounded all-too-familiar to Renamon's ears. Takato knew that if he could work out why this was all happening, maybe he could stop it all, or at least buy them some time to think up another plan.

Renamon hesitated upon being asked the question, confusion flashing in her eyes. Takato felt a surge of relief, hoping that Renamon might be possible to reason with. Maybe she'd realised that there was a piece of the puzzle missing? Maybe she realised she lacked a motive? And maybe she could help them stop Rika?

Unfortunately, the fear and tension returned full-force when Renamon replied, and made it clear that Takato had got the completely wrong end of the stick about why she was confused.

"Such a stupid question," she declared, having treated their question as if it were about what colour the sky was. "Now, no more talk…" she added, leaping back and into the air. Takato took a cursory glance at their current location. It was a large plaza surrounded by buildings towering away into the sky, with only a few items of street furniture to obstruct their path. People had retreated back, presuming this was just a normal bioemergence and getting the hell out of there as fast as they could, or at least, to a safe distance in order to watch events. "DIAMOND STORM!"

"Duck!" Takato yelled, leaping over and bundling a stunned Guilmon to the ground. The diamonds hit the floor to their side, exploding and sending chunks of concrete and a coating of dust in all directions. Renamon touched back onto the floor again, her periodic ability for flight only available during the attack use or when absorbing data (albeit this weakness being made up for by her impressive acrobatic skills at other times).

"DIAMOND STORM!" she yelled again, this time far more precisely aimed for her stunned target. Unfortunately for the dinosaur, he had no time to move out of the way.

Guilmon screamed in pain as the diamonds shot up his back, ripped themselves apart and threw him back across the ground. Takato stared on in horror, running quickly over to his partner. Renamon grimaced, intensely irritated by the constant assistance her target was getting.

"Just die!" she growled in annoyance, before crossing the distance between her and the pair of males in less than three seconds, paw outstretched and glowing brightly. "POWER PAW!"

Takato's hand involuntarily went into the air, a large orb-like red shield created between him and his attacker. Renamon rebounded off it, the burning effect of the shield sending her to the ground nearby with a scream. She quickly gripped her injured hand to her chest, groaning at the throbbing pain.

Takato hesitated, looking at his hand and turning it over in a terrible mix of awe and horror. "What did I just do?!" he wondered, hearing the fox's scream replay in his mind again and again.

"No more games," she growled, pushing her weakened form to its feet. Takato stared at her, her pain, her tiredness yet her determination to fight. It was something that would normally fill him with an equal determination and steadfastness, but right now it horrified him greatly. He looked back to his hand, it tingling with red before fading again to its usual pink tone.

"_I…I never really realised before."_

"_**Never realised what before?"**_

"_I'm capable of killing her…I'm capable of killing everyone…"_

"_**Well duh!"**_

"_Shut up!" _Takato growled. _"This isn't a joke…I…I don't want to have to hurt anyone with this, especially not my friends."_

"_**But you have to in order to protect yourself and Guilmon!"**_

"_Yeah, but I don't want to hurt Renamon, or worse. She's my girlfriend's partner, she's my friend…she and Guilmon are having a child together, I can't kill her!"_

"_**I never said kill her, just take her down!"**_

"_But they're the same, aren't they?"_

"_**Huh?"**_

"_Chaos, destruction, all we're set up for is killing!"_

"_**That's not true!" **_Chaos growled, his voice packed with hurt and pain.

"_What?"_

"_**I AM SO SICK OF PEOPLE THINKING THAT!" **_he yelled. _**"I am not evil for god's sake, I am chaotic. But Chaos can bring about good, look at evolution! Harmony may have created life, but it sucked, just little blobs that did nothing. I changed things, I caused mutations. And my powers merely cause chaos; they're not designed to kill. If anything, killing is harmonious. It is perfect, it is lasting, and it's just not ME!"**_

"…_sorry…"_

"_**Good, now I'll tell you what we're going to do. We CAN kill Renamon, but that's the point. We have the power to do so, and that'll scare her shitless. She has so much to live for, Realmon's egg, Rika, defending the city, everything, so you have to prove to her that if she doesn't back down, she's dead."**_

"_What if she doesn't? This is Renamon we're talking __about; she would stand out a battle until she was little more than a piece of living static if she had to!"_

"_**Then let's do something really drastic…like, say, this…" **_"**CHAOTIC VORTEX!"**

Takato felt his hands overflow with energy as they were lifted to the sky by Chaos. As if it were a snake being charmed, a huge red swirling vortex rose out of the ground and surrounded Renamon. Her eyes widened in shock as it did so, as she found herself helpless to stop it.

"You can't!" Guilmon called in horror as he looked to Takato. The boy clenched his glowing hands as he closed his eyes to concentrate. "You're gonna kill her!" Guilmon continued, thinking that his Tamer was ignoring him.

"Chaos, you better know what you're doing!" Takato muttered under his breath, knowing that Chaos could easily be pulling a fast one on them.

"**Trust me," **Chaos said, both to Takato and to their Digimon partner. His eyes blazed with a fire of determination and certainty, something which began to reassure the dinosaur.

"Uh…" Guilmon mumbled, not sure exactly how this could work out without damaging her. "Okay, but what is it?" he asked, gesturing up to the vortex with the same mix of awe and horror with which Takato had viewed his shield with.

"**It's like a tornado; it's hollow at the centre, the eye of the storm. But if she moves, she'll step straight into it and be disintegrated instantly. In short, I'm scaring her so much she'll realise what she really has at stake here. And…that should be just enough time…" **he explained, lowering his hands. In tandem with them, the vortex descended, slowly revealing Renamon's form. To their relief, she was still standing upright, and lacking any notable new damage beyond the damage she had already sustained.

Renamon's eyes conveyed her horror with just a moment's worth of gazing into their blue depths. She looked down to her hands, the pair shaking uncontrollably. She didn't want them to do so, she intended to fight this battle through to the end…but…she knew that that end could be a deadly one. She clenched a fist, frowning deeply as she began to regret what she was about to do, something completely against her usual battle principles.

"**You can't win," **Chaos stated, undermining her confidence further as he conveyed her current thoughts in brutal clarity. **"Please, stop trying to kill us."**

She looked up to the human and his Digimon partner again, malicious anger in her eyes as she scorned them for having forced her to back down. "I will be back to take care of you two later," she swore, before vanishing from visibility.

Guilmon and Takato both promptly went into a frenzy of darting eyes, looking for some sign of their opponent who they knew could appear from anywhere. Irritated by his alter-ego's nervousness, Chaos took back control again, standing still and crossing his arms. He looked down to his partner, the dinosaur continuing to look about in all directions.

"**She's gone,"** he insisted, a tone of confidence and concern in his voice. **"I can tell. She's not going to try anything clever after that. So we have to get moving."**

"Yeah, but where to?" Takato asked in a worried tone. "My house is a mile away, and I don't think I want my parents to see Rika like this either…they have to be confident that we can work as a couple, particularly since I just proposed."

"**We'll go to the park; it's still a distance but there's bound to be someone there who can help, and if not, at least we're away from eyes like those now watching us who are scared of what we do."**

"Yeah, looks like you made a fair few people as scared of your powers as Renamon," Takato remarked, looking around at the crowd watching from a distance with uneasy fear in their eyes. He turned, looking towards the park through the gap between the buildings in the distance, it being the only green space for a mile around. "Let's go!" he said, beginning to walk in its direction.

"Wait, Takato…ugh…hurts," Guilmon complained, rubbing his sore back in pain after tumbling to the floor.

"Oh, sorry Guilmon," Takato apologised, hurrying back and bending over his partner. "We have to move though, what do we do?" he wondered. "I don't even have any cards."

"**Fly Takato, fly,"** Chaos replied, Takato looking up to the mostly cloudless sky above, mocking them with its optimism and normalcy. A front of darker clouds was promptly moving in, however, the situation for the sunlight beaming down looking as dire as their own situation was becoming.

"Yeah, but Guilmon's kinda heavy…no offence," Takato replied, looking down to his large partner who looked back to him, patiently waiting for a plan from his Tamer, and confidently knowing that the Gogglehead would pull through. In Guilmon's mind, there was no reason to doubt him, something which put a lot of pressure on his Tamer.

"**I'd wager my wings can take a lot more weight than your puny legs…****offence intended."**

"Yeah, but it's kinda public here…we have to get to somewhere more private before using the wings."

"**No we don't, everyone seems to know about them anyway. Speaking of which, we really need to look at Digital Watch once in a while. Now…" **Chaos replied, wings bursting from his back and flexing out to either side as the deity-turned-human had no loss of balance from them. **"Guilmon, claws please," **he said with a smile, gripping the pair of claws in his hands tightly. **"Now hold tight!" **he commented, the wings sweeping down sharply and kicking a blaze of wind down and through the plaza, as inversely they moved up into the air. Slowly.

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Unknown Location**_

_**18:42 JST**_

The sun began to drop from its place in the sky as a few Japanese fighters skimmed across it on patrol. The city was alive again, to some extent, but people seemed to be heading home. The smells of cooking and dinner hung in the air, and Rey couldn't help but feel hungry. She was, nonetheless, thankful for the food she had eaten before she'd been lost, as limited in amount as it was. She hoped Realmon had Terriermon under control, otherwise she knew that they could be expecting a food comment in any moment.

She paused, watching the fighters with a sense of awe. As dangerous and as murderous as this war was, it was still…alive. Everything around them was living, even in the war.

"_Far flung from where I came from," _she thought sadly. Sure, people lived on in her war, but no-one moved about but those who had either little to live for or a reason to move. Few places were safe, and it had become clear that the resistance couldn't protect everyone. Indeed, even its own systems of protection were highly limited, and had been broken in the past.

Henry frowned as he came to a stop, looking over the girl's features. She seemed to be deep in contemplation as she stared up at the sky, around at the people, and he knew he couldn't interrupt her.

"_From War to War," _he recalled. However long the war she had been in had lasted, it was evident it was long enough to severely affect her. Day by day, she smiled her way through everything, but Henry had seen those smiles before. Like the smile on his father's face every day until they got their Digimon back; the look on Jeri's face when she realised she had nothing to show for her adventure after the others had their Digimon back; the wide grin that would appear on Takato's face lately when he was asked by most people how he and Rika were doing, well, up until he proposed, then they became real smiles.

Those smiles hid sadness, sadness so deep not even tears could convey it.

Rey turned around, biting through the memories and going back to a more objective stream of thoughts. "Henry, what do you think we need to do?"

"Well, I'd like to figure out where we are first, but everything seems to have closed down for the night and taken any clues with them," he replied, looking around at a shop which was like many they had seen that day so far, punctuating the street every so often. Signs had been taken indoors, the owners seemed to have gone, and the doors were locked. "Hmm…we can't exactly ask someone, or at least, I can't."

"Is this the whole men-not-asking-directions thing?" Rey asked, raising an eyebrow in a bewildered amusement.

"Rey, I'm half Chinese on my father's side, and I think I'm beginning to notice the looks people are giving me," Henry replied, anxiously glancing around at the area.

"Oh crap, I forgot," Rey cursed, hand going to her forehead. "Being a foreigner in Japan at this point would probably get you arrested forever, or worse," she added. "Even if the war is going to end soon, you could be stuck in complications when it comes to getting out of prison."

"We really need to keep a low profile then…which is going to make the daytime difficult," Henry replied, frowning. Their lives could be very complex if they couldn't even move around during the day. How on earth were they going to survive this?

"Yeah, which is why we should really get moving now…to…somewhere."

"We don't even know where we are Rey, how do we know where to go? And I don't think the Allies will exactly support us either, even if the War is over in Europe by this point."

"Yeah, and, worse still, I'm exhausted," Rey complained, yawning before running a hand through her hair. "So we need to find somewhere to rest too, and, unless by a huge coincidence we bump into one of our ancestors and are able to explain what's going on without rewriting the whole of history…"

"Isn't that exactly what you've been doing?"

"Yeah, I am being a massive hypocrite here…but…we still need to find out where we are. Maybe I could just ask someone?"

"What would you ask them? You can't exactly ask "where are we", they'll be too suspicious."

"Hmm…wait, that's it! The station!"

"Yeah, I'm sure they have the name in big letters there," Henry replied, smiling widely at their prospects, before a large frown appeared on his face. "Only problem is, we don't know where it is."

"That's why now we're going to have to ask for directions. At least now we won't look like a couple of crazies," Rey replied, glancing around at the nearby area for someone to ask. Some looked far too threatening, others looked too busy, and asking a soldier would be a complete no-no, particularly if they were to see Henry. Her eyes locked on an older woman, deciding that out of the (admittedly limited) selection of people around her, she would be the most charitable. "Okay, Henry, you try not to draw any attention to yourself while I talk to that woman over there, okay?"

"Well, okay. Not sure how much I can do though," Henry replied, nodding and wondering how obvious the Chinese aspects of his features were. He hoped they weren't _too_ obvious, otherwise they would basically have to spend the next few days hiding continuously. _"I feel like a fugitive," _the boy contemplated, glancing about periodically as he began to wonder where Realmon was. She could've been anywhere around them, listening to their conversation, and he wouldn't have noticed. She was doing a remarkable job of keeping Terriermon silent, all the same, although he had a feeling she had managed such an impressive feat either by strangulation or choking him with her tails. Or, at least, threatening to.

Rey paused to check her poise and walk as she wandered across, her mind constantly wondering if she was standing out like a sore thumb. Would people have walked like that? Would a girl of her age have randomly approached someone for directions? She had no idea how to act when she arrived in 2008, let alone 1945. This was eighty years before her time.

The old woman seemed to be proceeding along the road with some groceries, an irritating fact since it meant she had found an open shop despite the fact they couldn't. She glanced up to the redhead with curious eyes that held an element of concern, pondering why a girl would randomly walk up to her.

"Excuse me Mrs," Rey greeted, bowing out of respect.

"Yes dear?" the old woman asked, noting the distinct tone of nervousness in the girl's voice.

"Could you please direct me to the railway station, I am lost," she asked, keeping her words respectable and antiquated. Rey frowned sadly, making herself look more pitiable.

"Oh, poor dear," the woman said, frowning before looking up and around where she currently was. After a while, she settled on where she was and answered the girl's question. "If you follow that road, you will reach the railway lines. You can follow them to the station."

"Thank you," Rey replied, bowing once again out of respect and hoping she hadn't aroused any suspicion. Perhaps the woman had bad eyesight and hadn't noticed the Chinese boy behind her?

"It is no problem dear," the woman replied, continuing on her way. Rey turned back to Henry, a victorious smile on her face as she wandered back over.

"We go that way," she said, gesturing along the same road the woman had. "Until we reach the railway, and then we follow the lines to the station."

"Let's get moving then," Henry replied, the pair embarking on what would either be a long or a short walk. Rey's feet hoped it wouldn't be the former.

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:05 JST**_

"BLACK SHARDS!" screamed a voice, a volley of black diamonds barrelling across the room towards the weapon. Their intention: to destroy it before it could bring about the death of Ryder.

Unfortunately for DarkRenamon's act of heroism, Mari raised the gun out of the way with ease, albeit a look of surprise on her face all the same as she did so. The thin concentration of diamonds collided with each other in thin air and sent a shockwave rocketing through the room from behind the sofa. The furniture rocked and the remote and bowls tumbled from the coffee table. A light cloud of dust was sent into the air of the apartment, quickly settling afterwards.

Once she had got over the shock of the commotion, Mari looked towards her partner with betrayed eyes, still gripping Ryder tightly with her arm so he couldn't escape. This move, one that would otherwise appear to be a loving hug, was actually rather redundant: Ryder couldn't move that fast anyway. But he could be very resourceful at times, so it was better to be safe than sorry. She dug her nails into his shirt, not hurting him particularly but ensuring he didn't forget that he was due for a date with death.

"DarkRenamon, what on earth are you playing at?" Mari asked, sounding hurt. Why was her own partner attacking her?

"Why are you trying to kill Ryder?" the black Kitsune asked bluntly, shock still remaining in her eyes as looked over her Tamer. What had happened to the girl? She was acting completely bereft of her usual reservations, and seemed to be set on a single goal. There had to be some exp…

**BEEP. BEEP.**

Upon hearing the sound, the group glanced to Ryder's D-Vice. He periodically held a look of surprise in his eyes at receiving a message at such an inconvenient time, although obviously the sender wasn't aware of his current situation. His mind contemplated whether he'd ever have the chance to pick up this particular message. He knew, of course, that in his current state, such a move would be impossible, and thinking that way would only set him into a defeatist mood. He wasn't dead yet, and he could still stop Mari from killing him. All he needed was the right moment, and this looked like as good a moment as any.

Mari smirked, glancing back from the D-Vice on Ryder's wrist and ignoring it. It made no difference; a simple email couldn't harm her current intentions. "Because I want to," she finally answered. "Now, back to the task at hand," she added, preparing to put the gun once again to Ryder's head. She raised it and then turned her head to check the sights. Unfortunately for her, Ryder intervened in her second of distraction.

"No!" he yelled, attempting to imitate a thousand thriller novels where the protagonist makes a last ditch effort to prevent the gun from being fired at them.

And, like some of those protagonists, he almost completely failed.

He threw his head into her side and grabbed her with both arms. In doing so, he was undermining the premise by which she had her arm round his back: that he wouldn't move closer to her. An act like that, whilst making it perhaps easier to escape by catching her off-guard, would put him closer to the gun, and hence be even more fatal. His back freed from her grasp, he knew he could start to run for it, but he also knew that would put him right in the line of fire.

"Get off me!" she complained. Had they been in any other situation, the present case of his arms being wrapped around her would've been construed as a loving embrace, or the pose done by couples when they're watching a film from the couch. Then again, it was perhaps the reverse of the normal way such a pose was carried out.

He ignored her complaint, simply grabbing tighter with his left arm around her waist. With the other arm, be began pushing up on her elbow, preventing her from aiming the gun at him. She fought back with her now-freed right hand, trying to pull his arm off hers.

"What's wrong with you?!" he asked. She tried to force him away, and he responded by pulling himself in closer and attempting to push her over with his head. It slipped slightly around to her front, in a position which would probably have earnt him a slap if Mari's hands weren't otherwise occupied.

"Nothing, I want to kill you!" she replied, smiling disturbingly and looking down at him. He felt a sense of worry flow over him, one that was justified when she kicked her foot against his injured leg.

He groaned in pain, losing his tenuous balance and tumbling over. He ironically ended up with his whole body slumped against her shoulder and side, but, of course, lacked the look of contentedness such a sense normally implied. Instead, he had a pained look on his face as he involuntarily moved his left hand down to grip his injured leg.

She took the chance, her back now freed from his grasp, to twist things back to her advantage. She barged her shoulder into his side, pushing him back up. In the process she was trying to make him remove his hand from where it was currently gripping the ball of her elbow. "Let go!" she ordered, her plan mostly failing.

DarkRenamon watched fearfully, glancing to MiniDonmon who sat on the counter, a wide-mouthed look of shock seemingly permanently etched onto his face. Both of them knew that neither of them could intervene right now: they would only be caught in the line of fire, or worse, inadvertently assist Mari in getting a better shot.

"No, I have to stop you!" Ryder groaned in pain, pushing her arm up further with his right hand and taking away her advantage again. He bit away the pain in his legs, looking for some way to restore the advantage. _"I have to stop the gun!"_

As quickly as it could, his left hand was freed from comforting his wounds to grip her arm just above the elbow. Her arm had by now been forced down into a position where it would skim his head if the gun were fired. His right hand now freed from its duty, he moved it to the weapon, the cold surface throwing a chill straight down his spine as he hesitated.

"Get off it!" she ordered, Ryder naturally ignoring as his left hand joined its brother in gripping the device. He attempted to push it upwards, being successful as the weapon began to point up towards the ceiling. Seeing this, Mari moved her other hand onto the device's surface in order to put as much force into moving it downwards, the gun gently beginning to nudge its way down again.

"_This is __hopeless; she's going to fire it!" _Ryder panicked, looking at the weapon in horror. Her hands were on the grip and top half of the barrel respectively whilst his lay on the bottom half of the barrel and around her hand on the grip. To coincide with his thoughts, Mari's trigger finger moved towards its namesake, his eyes widening as he realised she had almost won this struggle.

"Mari, stop!" DarkRenamon cried, seeing how desperate the situation had become. Mari ignored her partner completely. She had to do this. She had to kill Ryder!

Ryder stared at the weapon, Mari's delicate hands intricately wrapped around it. Her mind was running through the motions, simultaneously preparing the gun to be fired and adjusting the aim to ensure it would be a deadly shot. He heard his heart pound in his chest, time seeming to slow as he couldn't get his eyes off the device. Her pale red painted nails inched forwards towards the trigger, closer and closer to his doom. The barrel slowly made its way down, Ryder having no force in his feet to press up with and counter Mari's considerable downwards force.

"Please…stop…" he groaned, pressing up with all his might and feeling himself sink into the pillows.

"No, I have to kill you, now let me do so!" she cried, pushing the gun down further and smiling when finally became aimed at his skull. Her eyes watered all of a sudden, a look of sadness crossing her visage as he saw a tear materialise. "I love you," she uttered, almost voicelessly, as if she were killing to put him out of his misery.

At that moment, he saw the pain of the turmoil she was going through. He felt an intense feeling of pity for her, being forced to do something against her will, and yet…she wanted to do it. Why was she acting this way? Why was she trying to kill him? What had he done?

In a remarkable moment of clarity, perhaps brought on by seeing a different side to this struggle, Ryder saw a way out. Even if it didn't escape him from the situation, it would be a way to buy him some time, although it would hurt. A lot.

He knew he had no choice, and began groaning in pain as he pressed his injured feet against the floor, pushing the gun up inversely. A look of surprise on her face materialised on her face as he did so, a surge of adrenaline rushing through him as he felt the blood rush from his face. His bones clicked, the sound threatening to make him recoil and lose his final chance, but he fought against it and pressed harder on the ground, the gun creeping upwards. His hand caressed hers as it crept along to the trigger, hoping to the heavens this would work.

Time seemed to slow as he began to hear his breathing, Mari's breathing, his own heartbeat...all in perfect clarity. His mind worked quickly to coordinate what he had to hand, survival instincts kicking in. It was fight or flight, and he didn't have any choice in this case.

Glance to the gun again.

Check the aim.

Press finger against hers.

Close eyes and hope to the heavens this works.

**BANG!**

Mari jumped back with a start and Ryder let go of the gun as quickly as he could, Mari ripping it away from him. His plan had worked regardless: the bullet sailed over his head and smashed against the frame of the balcony doors, embedding itself deeply. A tense and awed silence descended, her eyes widening and glancing down to the weapon with shock, not expecting such a move. What was he playing at? What was he trying…?

He paused in her thoughts as she realised what he had done, in what she had to admit was a rather clever plan:

He had forced her to prime the weapon again, a move that would waste precious seconds (and probably brought the neighbours' attention to their struggle). And those seconds were ones he would spend wisely, dragging himself onto the floor and sheltering behind the sofa end. She looked over to him with scorn as he disappeared, turning the gun in her hand and beginning the process of readying the gun for another shot. As she did so, she stood up, moving along between the sofa and the coffee table as his form came back into the view.

His face was flushed with shock and pain, his breathing rushed and his eyes staring at her, not daring to take his eyes off his killer.

Mari growled, but she knew that Ryder had bought himself a few seconds…no more than that. The gun clicked back into position, ready for firing, and she twisted it around, holding it out in front and aiming squarely at her floor-bound target.

"It's over," she declared, Ryder taking his last breath as she went to pull the trigger, time slowing to a halt as the end finally came.

Almost.

Mari felt her finger twisted back away from the trigger, pain ripping through it. She gripped the gun handle more tightly, insistent that she was not about to lose her weapon. Her mind was too busy with working out how to get the gun fully back under her control to even consider who the owner of the hand pulling her finger away was.

Ryder, shocked by the sudden change in affairs, looked widely up into DarkRenamon's fearful eyes. She moved to clasp her hand around the gun, beginning to use her finger to push Mari's trigger finger from the gun and slowly dislodge her hands from it. She lacked success, and realised that there were other priorities right now.

"Ryder, get out of here!" she ordered. She groaned in pain when Mari threw her elbow into her partner's chest, winding the Digimon. Fighting the choking feeling now going through her body (an oddity since she wasn't sure if she had a human-like breathing system, despite still needing air), she ran her other arm around Mari's midriff. She pulled in tightly and hoped for the same result as Mari had caused on her. Unfortunately, she had no proper knowledge of human anatomy, and merely ended up holding the girl tighter, meaning she wasn't entirely unsuccessful in her pursuit to stop the girl.

"Let me go!" Mari groaned, continually trying to pull the gun loose from her partner's grasp but failing miserably in doing so. All the while, the gun flailed around, DarkRenamon silently glad that she was out of its range. Unfortunately, Ryder clearly wasn't in such an advantageous position, and she knew it was only a matter of time before Mari figured that out.

Ryder stared at the scene with shock. He found himself unable to move at first, his eyes caught by the sight of his girlfriend struggling with her partner. He was brought back to the world of movement again by the sight of the barrel, glinting in the sunlight as it flitted about and threatened to aim straight at him. DarkRenamon's words finally registering in his dazed mind, he grabbed his crutches and attempted to make a quick exit, or, at least, an exit. He hobbled across the floor, grabbing his mobile phone off the counter on the way out.

"Come back!" Mari cried, her voice pleading with him. Her laboured breaths demonstrated her current exhaustion, the stress of the struggle and the continual headache overwhelming her. Ryder paused at the door, shooting a look back at her. She looked so helpless, and afraid…but he knew otherwise.

As he stared into those brown eyes, unable to turn away, his mind contemplated what could possibly be going on in the brain behind. She stared at him as a great hatred burned through her veins, turning to anger as a burst of adrenaline fuelled yet another failed escape.

Something had to be wrong. This was not her. This was not Mari Flynn. So who was it?

"Mari, something is controlling you, and I promise I will stop it," Ryder swore, clutching his hands around his crutches with newfound determination – determination going beyond the mere survival instincts he had been acting on so far. He looked to MiniDonmon, the bat nodding in response and paying one last fearful look to the object of his affections. He prayed the fox would be safe from her own Tamer, a situation he had never wanted to contemplate. DarkRenamon frowned and nodded in response to his worried eyes, silently telling him to escape.

Pausing no longer, the brunette and his Digimon turned and escaped through the front door, leaving a seething Mari in their wake. "Let me go!" she complained again.

As he stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him, Ryder felt an eerie calm to the setting. The corridor looked normal, everything looked safe, but he knew that Mari was in the room behind him, wanting him dead. The cool air filtered through the room, before the boy looked across to the lift. He saw it as their quick (and step-free) ticket out of there, unless Mari attempted to take pot-shots from the balcony when they ran outside.

"_All the same, I need to put some distance between us,"_ his mind reasoned, as he turned to MiniDonmon, a confidence in his eyes that usually only occurred in battle. He frowned at the connection. This _was_ a battle. "We'll have to work out what's going on later, now's the time to just escape."

"I agree, but what about DarkRenamon?" the bat asked nervously as the pair wandered over to the lift across the hallway, Ryder's shoulder muscles tensed from the fear that she could appear at the doorway behind at any moment. He pushed it down in his mind for now, knowing he just had to trust DarkRenamon's abilities to restrain the girl, and also that it'd probably happen too fast for him to prevent. He looked back to his partner again, answering the question finally.

"She'll be fine; she's a Digimon and Mari's a human after all…but…I'm still worried."

He pressed the lift call button.

He felt his spine chill at the thought of Mari shooting him in the back now while he waited for it to arrive. In response, he glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to see her at the door. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief at her absence, he began repeating to himself that it was pointless doing so: there was little he could do if she was there anyway. He would be dead in a few seconds flat, and it was pointless to try and stop it.

He began to fiddle with the phone in his pocket as he waited, his mind eventually remembering why he brought it with him. He held it up, gesturing to it.

"We have to tell Hypnos what's going on…maybe there's some Digimon controlling Mari or something."

Promptly, he looked to the mobile phone, flicking through its screens and pressing the green button. The lift dinged as he put the phone to his ear, the boy stepping in with his partner in tow as he listened to the dial tone. MiniDonmon pressed the button for the ground floor as the phone was picked up.

* * *

_**Hypnos, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:12 JST**_

Yamaki frowned, sitting in a chair and watching as Rayleigh continued to make orders, treated his employees (particularly Yamaki himself) with scorn and treated the Tamers even worse. The last few months had been hell, and Yamaki had seriously contemplated quitting. He could probably get a job somewhere else with ease: he was a good programmer with a relatively good history in what he would simply call a "secret government organisation". Those three words would gain him a relatively high ranking job in most companies, particularly if he were to be press on the digital nature of his work during the interview.

But at the same time, it would mean letting Rayleigh win. And that was more than just pride at stake here: Yamaki simply didn't trust the man. He seemed to have risen through the ranks with ease, far more easily than any employee in governmental history (short of those with family connections). Leaving such a man in charge of such an important operation, without anyone to keep him in check (as Yamaki had been forced to do once or twice when his programs threatened to damage the real world, before receiving severe reprimands from Rayleigh in response to "doing something outside his job description"), was completely against Yamaki's principles.

Not that he actually had that much control in his current role, as a technician slash tea-boy, with a lot more emphasis on the latter. Rayleigh rarely gave him any task to carry out, preferring to mock Yamaki by forcing him to observe something that he previously had control over.

Yamaki felt his pocket buzz silently as he reached into it, pulling out a cell phone. He looked at the name curiously before putting it to his ear. "Yamaki here," he greeted whoever it was, causing Rayleigh and Riley's heads to turn to face him, one with irritation and the other with curiosity.

"**Yamaki, thank god I got through to you. Something really bad is going on. Mari is…"**

"Yamaki, hang up the phone, now!" Rayleigh ordered, his voice sharp and not willing to negotiate. Yamaki glared back, rejecting the order and continuing to talk.

"Can you repeat that?" he asked, having missed what Ryder had said thanks to his boss' interruption.

"**I said that Mari is trying to kill me. I think she's possessed or something! Listen; have there been any unusual Digimon bioemergences lately?"**

"Yamaki, stop now or you will be fired," Rayleigh spat, Riley looking down from the chairs above with shock. This situation was getting dire, and, given who it was who were arguing, the fall-out from the result would inevitably mean ill for someone, and she had a worrying hunch who that would be.

"**Yamaki, you there?"**

Yamaki looked up to his new boss, an intense glaring contest played between them as each tried to enforce their will on the other. Yamaki, naturally, ignored Rayleigh's order.

"No, there hasn't been anything of that sort Ryder. Why, what is…"

"**OH…MY…GOD…" **Ryder stuttered, before a crash was heard in the background. **"I've got to go!" **he finished, the phone reverting to a single long dial tone. Yamaki pulled the phone down, grimacing at it as he hung it up. He looked up to Rayleigh, anticipating his punishment for his "crime" with a slim smile.

"Congratulations, you are now fired," Rayleigh declared across the room, pointing the finger across at his employee. "Leave immediately," he added, an intense glare in his eyes as he gestured to the door. His irritation was tempered by Yamaki's smirk.

"Losing control of the situation Rayleigh?" Yamaki asked mockingly. "I was dealing with a serious matter, and…" he began to add, taking the high moral ground in the situation. Rayleigh, of course, would have none of it.

"I am your superior, Yamaki, and you will listen to my orders and my orders only, _understand_?!"

Yamaki merely smirked, turning and wandering out through the doors. "No, so bye then," he spat, looking back, before proceeding out of the control room. Riley stared down with widened eyes as Rayleigh balled his fists in anger.

"Arsehole," he commented, before turning up to look at Riley. "Go back to work," he spat loudly, Riley promptly complying with his order before she fell victim to the same fate.

"_What has Yamaki done to himself now?" _Riley contemplated sadly, returning to typing at the keyboard in front of her.

Rayleigh wandered over to a computer terminal, observing the numerical data being displayed on its screen. He began to fiddle with the terminals, deciding that he'd make things just that little bit more dire for the so-called "heroes" of Japan. He smirked as a sine wave materialised on the screen, before an inverse wave mirrored it. The pair countered each other, the destructive waves cancelling each other out as the signal began to transmit. Riley watched curiously, but hadn't the faintest idea what he was doing, particularly given the size of the screen and her distance from it. He did the same thing several times, before stepping back to admire the list of frequencies he had applied a jamming signal to.

"Perfect," he muttered, before turning to Riley, knowing she was looking, with a determined glare. "Riley, shut down all network scanners for ten hours."

"What, why?" she spluttered, surprised by the order which would severely compromise the safety of the city.

"I want to test something that will be inhibited by them, so shut them down."

"What are you testing?" Riley asked, annoying Rayleigh with her incessant questions. Why could he possibly want to do so? What could he possibly be testing? The scanners would take hours to restart, and the worst could happen in the interim without them even knowing.

"_The Tamers, and how effective they really are in a crisis." _"It is not your place to ask, now, do as I say!"

"Yes sir," Riley complied, frowning as she began to carry out his order via her keyboard.

"Good."

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence**_

_**10:12 JST**_

Mari bit down on her lip as she once again pressed her feet against the ground, trying to get a better grip on the gun she held in both hands, and that her stronger partner held in one. She tried to loosen the grip on her belly by the fox's other hand, and hence give her an opportunity to free herself.

"DarkRenamon…let go," she ordered to her partner, who for some reason had interposed herself between her and her target. Why was DarkRenamon doing this? Weren't they partners?

"Mari, please…listen to me," she pleaded. "Someone is controlling you, and I have to stop you doing anything drastic."

"Why are you protecting him?! You're my partner!" Mari said, pausing in her struggles and turning her head up to look her taller partner in the eye.

"Because I don't want you to kill him."

"But you're my partner, you're meant to work with me, and stand by me through thick and thin! Isn't that what partners are about?"

"Yes, but being a partner is also about stopping the other before they do anything they'd regret."

"But I'm not going to regret this. I want him dead, and you're not going to stand in my way!" Mari said, a surge of strength pulsing through her muscles as she jerked the gun back towards DarkRenamon's face. The casing hit her and caught her off guard, her hand that had been holding Mari going to her nose in pain. Mari leapt forward from her partner's grasp, ripping the gun from the fox's white hand and swivelling round to look at her surprised partner. She promptly ran to the door, gun ready and held tightly in her hand as she run.

"Mari, stop!" DarkRenamon pleaded. "I don't want to have to hurt you, but if I must," she threatened, Mari glaring at her partner.

"I thought we were friends," she spat. "Well, then if you're willing to hurt me, looks like I'm going to have to do the same to you…"

Mari clenched a fist, the hand taking on a blue glow that intensified as she clutched her eyes together, and quickly spread to her other hand.

"What are you…?" DarkRenamon began, but was quickly silenced by Mari's voice.

"SYNCRONICITY!" Mari yelled, one palm raised and held out to the front as the light bulb above her partner's head glowed brightly, before smashing as electricity coiled down into the fox's form. The lights flickered as DarkRenamon screamed in pain.

"Please…stop…" she groaned, feeling the focused power of all the electricity available to the room shooting through her. Her mane and fur began to be statically attracted, each pulling away from each other.

"I must kill him, and you are not standing in my way," she spat, the other hand promptly raised. Her anger and battle-ready mind combined to accentuate her control over her powers, the balcony doors flinging open and sending a sharp draught of air through the room. The air conditioning unit over Mari's head whirred into life, whilst outside a vacuum was formed, the three factors combining to suck the air sharply from the room. Papers, magazines, even DarkRenamon were torn from the room, out through the windows.

Mari frowned.

"Sorry," she mumbled, the wind dying down. She felt an overwhelming surge of tiredness, but her hands clenched against it. Ryder was still out there, he was still breathing, and no-one was going to stand in her way.

* * *

_**Near Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:15 JST**_

"Yamaki, you there?" Ryder asked, stepping out of the lift with a bewildered look on his face. He moved on one crutch along the hallway, an anxious eye as he passed the stairwell and another apartment owner near the bottom, who eyed him curiously but knew it wasn't the time to intervene. He knew that Mari could easily catch up to him by bolting down the stairs. And now, even more disturbingly, Yamaki had been silent for a while. What on earth was going on with the world?

There was another pause, a long, eerie pause as he heard talking in the background. Ryder stepped out, with the assistance of a newly evolved Donmon in opening the doors, into the outside air. A small, short concrete path divided them from the road. Short concrete walls lay on either side (which were, unknowingly to Ryder, the setting for Takato's dawning reality about fatherhood only a few days prior), beyond which there was a long strip of concrete along the rest of the building's length. Potted plants had been placed near the opening to make the building more homely and attractive. The side street was quiet, only a few pedestrians and cars passing by.

Yamaki finally replied to the phone call as Ryder looked up to the building above, anxiously contemplating the fact Mari would have a clear aim from there. Suddenly open doors and blustery curtains furthered his fears. **"No, there hasn't been anything of that sort Ryder. Why, what is…"**

Ryder's eyes widened even further in shock as through the doors flew the form of DarkRenamon. "OH…MY…GOD…" he stuttered, Donmon looking horrified towards something they could do nothing about. It was too far, too fast, and too frantic for them to react.

DarkRenamon crashed into the concrete with force that would be deadly for a human. Her body rebounded slightly when she hit it, her arms going up only to cause pain in her shoulders. She groaned in agony, her arms collapsing to her sides.

Ryder looked back to the phone again. "I've got to go," he said, hanging up promptly before following his partner across to the injured vixen.

"DarkRenamon, are you okay?!" Donmon asked, horror in his voice at what could happen if she were hurt. Was she dying? What had happened to throw her out of the window? What was Mari doing?

"Ugh…" DarkRenamon groaned, looking up to the crutch-holding boy. "Mari is…she has to be stopped…"

"But how…?" Ryder began.

"You can't stop her….you have to get out of here Ryder."

"But…she'll kill you!"

"She won't…she is set on killing you Ryder and I got in the way."

"So where do we go?"

"Anywhere but here," DarkRenamon replied, determination in her eyes despite her injuries. She weakly pushed herself to her feet, thankful for Donmon's assistance as something to lean on. She clenched her fists, a newfound determination in her data.

"Then come with us!" Donmon suggested.

"Yeah, we can't leave you like this, and with Mari on the warpath, she's not going to heal you," Ryder agreed. "Maybe we can find MarineAngemon and Kenta or…"

"I'll be fine, trust me. She only wants _you_ dead," DarkRenamon replied. "I'm going to hold her off for as long as I can, so you have to get as much distance between you two as possible. Find somewhere where she can't work effectively," she ordered, looks of worry materialising on the boy and his dragon's faces as to her ability to hold off her partner. "Now go!" she ordered, hearing the clamouring of feet in the distance.

Donmon paused as he looked at her, admiring her determination despite the odds, but still feeling horrified by the prospect she would be risking her own life to save them.

Ryder frowned, noting his partner's hesitation and realising they had no other choice. "Donmon, let's go."

Donmon frowned, a nod passing between him and DarkRenamon before he turned, he and his Tamer making their way to the street as quickly as they could. Ryder anxiously looked over his shoulder, and his eyes widened in horror as Mari exited the building, gun in hand coaxing a nearby pedestrian into running for his life.

Then he saw nothing, the view obscured by a building he had moved to be in front of. He hoped DarkRenamon would be okay.

His eyes locked onto a subway station, deciding it would be his best course of action right now to escape Mari. If he could get even one single train ahead of her, he could escape a fair distance away without her knowing which stop he got off at.

He frowned, recalling his lack of money at present thanks to his hasty departure. Passing along the street, he began looking around for some idea of what to do. He couldn't go to the police: then he'd risk Mari being taken away from him. Saving her was a priority, but he hadn't the faintest clue why she was acting this way in the first place. He decided that escaping would take priority over investigation, however, as his eyes sighted the park.

"_There's _always_ someone there,"_ he remembered, looking to Donmon. "We'll go to the park."

"Right," Donmon replied, before Ryder reached down to get a digivolution card. He cursed upon recalling he didn't have them on him. Mari really had him on the run here: no cards and no money to buy any.

**BANG!**

He heard a gun shot, the pair pausing and looking behind with widened eyes, much like most of the pedestrians in the street. Ryder frowned; realising there was little they could do.

**BANG!**

The sound repeated itself, bringing Ryder back to his senses as he decided to move on.

"We have to keep moving," he told his partner, who nodded reluctantly before the pair continued in the direction of the park, away from the growing commotion.

* * *

"Mari, you have to stop," DarkRenamon pleaded, facing her Tamer who currently held the gun at her side, pointing at the ground.

"I have to kill Ryder," she replied. "Are you still going to stand in my way?" she asked, testing DarkRenamon's involvement in all of this.

"I have to," DarkRenamon replied, frowning as she looked through to her partner's eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this."

"So be it," Mari spat, flicking a switch on the top of the gun and raising it quickly. DarkRenamon surged forward, hoping to knock the device out of the girl's hand before she could use it.

She was too late.

**BANG!**

DarkRenamon smashed to the ground, her form covered in blue electric bolts, leaping across it as the bullet in her chest pulsed with electromagnetic energy. She groaned in agony, the shocks continuing and threatening to undermine her Digital structure. She knew from what Mari had said before that the weapon couldn't single-handedly take down a rookie in most cases, but right now DarkRenamon knew she was weak.

"_Please…" _she pleaded with her own body, hoping it would stay together. Finding herself lying down on the floor, her arms underneath her in an attempt to break her fall, she looked up, her eyes fizzing. Mari looked down on her with a frown, fingering a card in her hand and pondering its use.

"Please DarkRenamon, stay out of this. I love you, and I don't want to have to hurt you," Mari said, the recharge card tapped around the slot, the girl trying to decide between her partner and the risk her plans would be jeopardised. "I'm sorry," she sighed, the card finally moving through the slot. "Recharge Activate," she said, taking pity on the creature as the bullet splintered to the ground.

DarkRenamon felt the energy surge through her, her wounds healing and her muscles strengthening. She attempted to get to her feet, knowing she could stop Mari here and now if she…

**BANG!**

She fell to the floor again thanks to the shot in her back, the pulsing repeating itself again, albeit less painful this time thanks to her revitalised form.

"You are not following me," Mari stated, glaring down at her groaning partner. "Please, for your own sake, stay out of this," she said, bending down and clipping the gun to her leg, covering it up with her pants. She began to walk away from the fox, a deep frown on her face at what she had been forced to do. She quickened into a run, passing some shocked pedestrians who had just arrived to see the aftermath of the commotion.

"_I have to help," _DarkRenamon's mind screamed, but her body screamed otherwise. Helping was painful. Her hand searched her form desperately for the bullet, her motor control hindered by her blurred eyes and shaking hands.

Mari shot a final look back, over her shoulder, before the buildings obscured her view. She sighed, quickening her pace even more as she decided that she had more important priorities.

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Railway Station, **__**Unknown Location**_

_**19:15**__** JST**_

The air was musky around the station yard, the result of decades of acrid pollution from the worn-out locos sitting around it. Carriages that wouldn't look too out of place behind a Locomon or a Trailmon were shunted out of the terminus platforms on the other side of the yard and into the various sidings. Freight cars, containing products as varied as milk and munitions, sat around, some in the process of unloading by a series of military-uniformed men. Rey made a mental note to stay away from them; the last thing they needed was an army after them, particularly one as brutal as the Japanese was known to be at that time.

Her hand gently bumped along the steel chain link fence, a quiet rattle all she knew it could stand before she drew too much attention to herself. Her involuntary acts were not unjustified though: she knew they were taking a great risk by going to a place where there would always be a high concentration of people.

"_If we're lucky, we might be able to stow away on a train," _she pondered, before dismissing it. Of all times in history, this was the time when every single passenger's face would be analysed, when every ticket would be double checked, when every Yen note would be held to a light and analysed for its officialdom. The last point could prove somewhat of a problem, the only Yen she had being a mix of circa 2010 and circa 2026 issued coinage. She doubted Henry had any money on him, being taken during the middle of a party, and even if he did, it was unlikely to be enough to buy a train ticket, let alone any onwards travel by boat or similar.

If things did get desperate, she knew she could perhaps get a job, but the pay in all probability would be atrocious, and besides, it was unlikely she would be allowed to get a job. This was World War Two Japan, not the newsagents round the corner.

Henry certainly couldn't work; he'd only attract attention to himself. Until the war was over, they would be stuck in one place, foodless and hiding from the law. She doubted things would improve when it was over: it would take a while for things to change.

"_Wars take a lot of cleanup," _she noted, frowning as she had contemplated the world she had come from. Even if _he_ were to vanish from the face of the Earth tomorrow and take all _his_ Artmon with _him_, it was unlikely they could ever return to a pre-War world. Governments were dead, finances were limited (and mainly between the various safe zones), and there would be a lot of pressure on the Resistance to establish something new. Perhaps the world would eventually recover, even be improved on before, but it could never be the same again.

She pulled her hand from the railings as they turned the corner of it, passing near the soldiers straining and groaning as they removed the boxes of munitions.

"_One of those could have our names on it," _she thought, immediately cursing herself for such dark commentary. It did hold some truths though: they would become wanted criminals if they weren't careful, existing being their crime.

The road was busier now, as they left the side streets and joined one of the main roads through the city, wherever it was. A stream of smoke bridged the road, a train ready to depart. Whether it would reach its destination was another question entirely: its passengers could all become the victim of an American bombing raid en route.

"HALT!"

Rey nearly leapt out of her skin upon hearing the authoritarian voice bellow loudly. The pair stopped in their tracks, hands ready to be lifted. Had they been spotted? Was this the end? Was her long, arduous travel through time all for naught?

She heard guns cocked and primed, but oddly, nowhere near them. She turned, looking across the train yard alongside the station and seeing a horrifying scene. A man, evidently of Japanese descent, was herded from the platform, guns pinned to his forehead as he was brought down to track level. Was he a spy? Was he threatening their downfall? Had he talked out of turn?

One black haired soldier, evidently in charge of the rest, marched up to the man, allowing no pause as he punched the other squarely in the face. He reeled back, gripping his pained face as Rey stared on in horror, unconsciously clinging onto the chains. She couldn't take her eyes off the scene, and neither could Henry. They barely breathed, not wishing for any distractions from the events unfolding in front of them.

"You are an enemy of Imperial Japan and the Emperor himself," the superior bellow, not allowing the man any room to speak and plead his case. "Talk of peace is the talk of traitors."

"This War…is terrible," the civilian mumbled, still in pain from the attack. He growled angrily, leaping forward at the soldier in a last ditch effort to escape. The superior lifted his hand to grab the civilian's fist, but only as a precautionary measure in case protocol failed.

Rey recoiled away in horror as gunfire chorused through the station. Henry's widened eyes, still locked on the scene, told her everything she needed to know about the aftermath.

The corpse thumped in the ground, teasing the girl to look back, to see the aftermath. She hated death, and she had witnessed so much she had begun to be desensitised to it, but this…this was different, so different. This man wanted nothing but peace, indeed, his only crime evidently was talking of it, but the attitude of the country had brought about his discovery. He had died for peace, and the most tragic thing was that the war was soon to be over. Had he kept quiet just a short while longer, he might have been alive.

Up until now, it had been a concept, it had been a fear, but it had been no more than that. Now it was real. They could both be killed, particularly if their Digimon were to be sighted.

Her eyes traced across to a speechless Henry, hands shaking, arms hung weakly at his sides. She let out a hand, gripping his gently and looking across to the side of his head. He turned, looking to her as she gently rubbed his hand, trying to reassure him but knowing her tears would do nothing of the sort. Nodding in gratitude, he let go of her hand, a more objective state of thought dawning on him as his eyes traced along the fence. He bit into his lip, trying to ignore the sadness that threatened to overcome him.

"Come on."

Rey nodded in response to his bitter order, wiping her tears from her eyes. The constant fear of being victims to the same fate dominating their minds as they walked, the sound of gunfire expected to be heard at any moment. But there was none. They were safe, for now, as they passed along the station's rear wall and out of sight of the soldiers.

The pavement opened up into a large square once they reached the station itself, the paving slabs evidently not having seen any maintenance in a while. The open expanse of the plaza was lost beneath vans, feet and a tram.

Taking a cautious glance about, to ensure the area wasn't too busy, they began to stride into the square, keeping their poses relaxed so as not to draw too much attention to themselves. For Rey, this felt like too much: they had just seen a man die and were now walking casually across a terrace.

"Okay, keep an eye out for the station's name," Henry reminded, looking about at the area curiously as his eyes traced the Kanji, Kana and Hiragana for a hint of a name. There had to be a reminder amongst the antiquated text on the signs, the covered company logo and the staff going about their duties. "Any luck?" he asked, turning to face his companion who simply froze on the spot. Her eyes were locked on a series of three small Kanji, the only reminder of the station name as they hung over the main entrance. His eyes flicked up to her eyeline, his eyes widening in horror.

**長崎駅****,**

Her mind, educated in both Japanese and English, flickered from one to the other and back again. Both presented a harrowing message.

**Nagasaki station****,**

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, I think some people already worked this one out, but it's amusing all the same. A nice long chapter again too, but as I'm writing to events rather than to a chapter length the chapters for the rest of the "action" part of this story will be a bit changeable in length.

Near the end, there should be some Japanese Kanjii between "his eyes widening in horror" and "her mind". If they don't appear, you need to install Japanese character support on your browser or operating system.

Until next time…

B.C.


	49. The Trick To Falling

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 43**

_The Trick to Falling_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**File Apartment, Bunkyō Ward**_

_**10:15 JST**_

Humans go through a pattern every twenty-four hours, involving sleep for around eight hours - a comatose state where energy levels are recovered, the body is healed, the brain archives the activities of that day - and wakefulness for the other sixteen - a state of consciousness and movement where the main activates of human life take place.

However, for some people, the lines between sleep and wakefulness are blurred along the edges, and in most cases, this can be accentuated by high alcohol consumption before entering sleep.

This is called: a hangover. Or alternatively, "oh dear lord how much did I drink".

"Ugh…" Tai groaned, rolling over in the sheets again as he ran his hands across his eyes, hoping that somehow wiping the crusty yellowish sleep from his eyes would give him the emphasis to get up. The usually soft bed felt uncomfortable, his pillow squashed into a flat nothingness that felt far too hard to return to the world of sleep via. The blankets had been twisted, and irritatingly, despite his wishes to fall asleep again, he was stuck in eternal grogginess, or, at least, until he or someone else made him get up.

There was, of course, an easy way of getting up, or at least, making it slightly easier to do so. This was known as a coffee, a highly caffeinated drink.

Unfortunately for Tai, this drink needed to be produced in something called a kitchen, a bewildering and difficult place where he found it very hard to work the machines that others found easy. Of all the machines, the kettle was easiest to work (except perhaps for the kitchen timer), but it had the annoying characteristic of being located _away_ from the bed, and thus requiring the boy to get up, something which destroyed the point of the coffee in the first place. There was, of course, always the possibility of getting someone else to do so.

Tai rolled over again, his arm going out to where he presumed his girlfriend, Sora, would be sleeping. When his hand tumbled to the bed sheets, however, it became clear that it was later than he thought, or, alternatively, that Sora actually was able to get out of bed before the afternoon on a Sunday. Either way surprised him and his sleep-gripped mind.

"Huh?" he pondered, sitting up and noticing Sora sitting on the foot of the bed, already changed into her underwear and currently adding a white top to her attire. Once she had pulled it down over her head, Tai made a noise that sounded like "mwah" but which was meant to mean "what?"

"Morning Tai," Sora greeted, not bothering to look over her shoulder at where she knew he would be sitting, messed up bed hair and all.

"Morning Sora…uh…why are you up so early? It's Sunday."

"I have a task to perform," she replied, standing up and beginning to pull a skirt over her panties. Tai raised an eyebrow; this wasn't exactly normal morning talk. This sounded more like Kudamon, Lopmon, and, at times, Cody, talking, all with correct pronunciation and lacking any contractions.

"Really? Like what?" he wondered, his befuddled mind contemplating the possibilities as he heard a deep yawn from nearby, deepened further by the large crevasse of a mouth it came from.

"You'll see."

Tai smiled slightly, looking across to the large yellow dinosaur sleeping on the floor as a wider smile materialised on his face. "Morning Agumon," he yawned.

"Morning Tai," Agumon replied, his voice drowsy and still half asleep, although not having gone so far as Biyomon who was actually still asleep. She was asleep rather contently in fact, lying against the wall as her beak gently opened and closed.

Tai looked back from his partner to Sora, who now faced him, fully clothed in a plain white top and green dress. Her face, to a normal mind, would've aroused some suspicion with its staring eyes, stressed forehead and sly smile, but to Tai's currently half-asleep and half-careless mind, it simply registered as a slightly blurred smile.

"So what fashion disaster do you think I should be today?" Tai joked, smirking as he glanced over to his pile of clothes from the previous day, left on a chair to eventually be sorted out. Probably not by him though. It was actually a surprise that his half of the room was accessible, particularly since it was possible to get so far as the window without having to make allowances for the expected mountain of clothes on the floor. Then again, Sora did seem to be able to stress to him when he needed to clear up.

"Heh, I'll help you pick out something at least remotely family-friendly from your range," she laughed in response, wandering over to her hair straighteners, left on the side-table.

"Hey, how do you always get up without me noticing?" Tai wondered, his voice becoming clearer and less throaty, and his mind finally realising it had to begin to wake up.

"You sleep like the dead Tai, it's easy," Sora replied, beginning to pull the implements through her reddish hair. Tai grinned, nodding in amusement and not catching the subtlety of her joke.

Tai looked around the room, delighting in the peace and serenity which always came with a Sunday morning. While he knew he was meant to be worried about two of his friends who had become lost in time, he couldn't help but smile right now. Sunlight through the windows, lighting everything with a bright demeanour, his attractive girlfriend on the end of the bed, her partner calmly sleeping, his partner currently pulling God-knows-what out of his teeth…okay, maybe not the most serene of sights, but all the same, everything seemed so perfect.

And, of course, from perfection, you can only go downwards into chaos.

Sora chuckled darkly in amusement as she finished with her hair, promptly unplugging the connector from the straighteners and tucking it beneath the bed sheet. She pulled the pair of ceramic pads apart from each other using the handles, before turning, eyeing the boy who was currently distracted by that around him.

She leapt across the bed, Tai jumping back merely out of surprise and pushing himself up against the headboard in a seated position, shock in his eyes. "Sora, don't do that! You really made my heart jump there," he spluttered, his smile returning as he chuckled at Sora's joke. Sora smiled mischievously, turning the scalding tongs over in her hand and pausing for long enough to allow her target to get slightly suspicious. "Uh, Sora, why are you looking at me like that?"

Tai quickly dodged to the side as the ceramic part of the device circled towards him. He fell down out of bed with a thump, making Biyomon begin to stir but not yet waking her. She paused in her snoring, before resuming it as Sora stood, crouched, on the bed, looking down at the underpants-wearing boy on the floor below with a smile.

"Sora, what the hell are you playing at?!" he asked, wondering if they had by now woken the whole apartment up. This would be weird to explain. _"Hell, I'm not sure how to explain it yet myself."_

"I want to kill you," she said darkly, looking down at him from above.

"Uh, what did you say?" he asked, bewilderment in his voice. This had to be some weird game of some kind. He hoped it wasn't the kind of game where one party ended up in scalding pain.

"Hold still," she continued, ignoring his question as she prepared the tongs again. By now Tai had gotten the message, and he quickly got to his feet to move away from her aim. She smiled widely as he darted across the room, looking back over his shoulder at just the inopportune moment…

"Waah!" he cried, crashing over and smashing his head into the wardrobe. As his foot was caught by it, the hair straightener wire that had been his downfall was pulled out of it's temporary holding in the bed.

"Sora, what are you doing?" Agumon asked, Sora shooting him a threatening glare. She wasn't going to have her kill interrupted.

Tai rubbed his sore head, the world spinning as he turned back to face an approaching Sora, tongs in her hand. Panicking, his hand ran up the door, finding the wardrobe door knob and using it to dizzily pull himself to his feet.

"Stand still," she complained, irritated by his constant attempts to escape death.

"Tai, Sora's acting really weird," said Agumon, pointing out what Tai had already worked out.

"Yeah. Sora, what on earth is wrong?" Tai asked, looking back to the girl who stared to him with a menacing look.

"Nothing at all Tai. I just have to kill you and then I'll be done," Sora said, smiling at the concept and greatly disturbing the boy. As Sora slowly and ominously moved towards him, Tai slowly inched backwards towards the door of the room, grabbing his D-Arc and a bunch of cards from the side-table in the process. He went to stuff them in his pockets before he remembered his lack of pants. He let one eye glance behind, spying his previous day's clothes on the chair. If he could just get them and get out without Sora getting him, perhaps he could preserve his decency in the outside world. "Now die!" Sora spat, holding the tongs like a blunt instrument and going to swipe out.

To Tai's relief, she wobbled in her balance, cursing as she looked back to see Agumon with his orange arms around her ankles. "Get off me!" she complained.

Tai took no hesitation in turning and racing across to the chair. He grabbed the pile of clothes, before putting his sockless feet into his discarded shoes. He looked back to Agumon, who promptly screamed in pain as Sora pressed the tongs against his hands. He let go to tend to his injuries, and Sora leapt forward. But she was too late; Tai had leapt through the door just in time to make an escape and was now running in his underpants across the apartment.

Matt glanced up from his magazine from where he sat on the sofa, his eyes widening in bewilderment at the pair, seemingly engaging in some random game that was used as a method to get Tai out of bed. Then again, games like that _usually_ didn't involve tongs and Tai running for his life, so perhaps there was another explanation for this.

"What's going on?" he spluttered, seeing Agumon race across the room as well. Tai frantically fiddled with the doorknob, Agumon paced quicker and quicker to catch up and Sora menacingly paced towards her boyfriend, no-one bothering to give Matt an answer.

"Move out the way Tai!" Agumon ordered, preparing himself for a way to get a prompt exit.

"What, wh…waaa!" Tai shrieked, leaping aside as Agumon's head barrelled past him, crashing into the door and thankfully opening it without pulling it off its hinges, although probably in the process breaking the lock.

"Ugh, I don't feel so good," Agumon complained, clutching his reddened head with his claws and dancing about dizzily.

"Agumon, what the hell?!" Tai asked, looking down to his partner and then across to the door again with a shocked expression. "You broke the door!"

"Guys, what on earth is going on?!" Matt asked, by now on his feet and staring on at the trio and the door in shock. Tai and Agumon, hearing his voice, turned their attentions to him and quickly took on an embarrassed look. Even Sora turned, her angered expression faulting and returning to a normal stare, one that looked disturbing in the current context.

"I'm just killing Tai," Sora said, her voice conveying her lack of doubt about her current actions, and also leaving Matt completely stumped.

"What?" Matt spluttered, raising an eyebrow at the girl. Sora decided to look back to her prey, but suddenly realised they had made a quick escape, taking advantage of her distractedness.

"Oh, thanks Matt," she complained sarcastically, spinning on her toes and rushing out into the corridor, hair straighteners wielded and waved about threateningly in her hand.

"Wait…"

Matt was about to make an attempt to follow, but began to realise that it was a lost cause, as was his mind after this odd experience. His eyes were drawn to the doorframe and door, the pair slightly damaged. Tai and Agumon would have some explaining to do when they returned, particularly given the rapid, and mostly-naked, nature of Tai's escape.

Biyomon exited the bedroom, confused and half-asleep, her sleep-struck mind trying to figure out what exactly the random noises had been all about. She yawned, the temptation to go back to sleep so inviting. "Matt, what's going on?"

Matt looked back from the bird to the door, and back again. "Good question."

* * *

"Run Tai, she's gaining on us!" Agumon panicked, rubbing his sore head with his sore hand and ending up in three times as much pain.

"Don't you think I've noticed that?!" Tai replied, his breathing frantic as he ran down the hallway almost completely naked. _"I expected to do this at least once at university, but not as part of a game of life or death!"_

"Tai, get back here!" Sora yelled from behind. Tai heard her footsteps pound against the floorboards, quickly gaining on them. He cursed her athletic ability, and hoped for a miracle. Thankfully, he got one, grinning as he sighted the open lift doors in front of him and thanking whatever deity was watching.

"Agumon, hurry!" he exclaimed, gesturing to the doors frantically. They could close at any moment, and, confirming his thoughts, they began to do so.

"Jump!" Agumon called, the pair leaping into the air and flying between the sliding doors, before coming to a crashing halt against the wall inside.

There was a collective sigh of relief as the two bits of metal clinked against each other, and as it was noticed that they were the only ones in the lift. Otherwise, there would've been a lot of explaining to do.

"That was a close one," Agumon exclaimed, wiping a dew of digital sweat from his brow. Tai did likewise, beginning to make his way to his feet.

"Yeah," he said, before looking down to the pile of clothes he had brought with him. This would need to be one quick changing session.

* * *

Sora groaned, reaching the lift doors just as they closed, her feet screeching to a halt. "Oh come on," she moaned, irritated by her foiled attempts. It was a long way down to the lobby, seven floors in fact, and she knew she wouldn't be able to beat the elevator over such a long distance. She slammed her hand into the call button, hoping the other lift wouldn't be too far away.

"Sora, are you okay?" asked a voice from behind, the woman turning to see her pink bird-like partner, a curious yet tired stare on her face.

Sora paused, irritation overflowing her. This was the last thing she needed. Or was it?

"Biyomon, thank god you're here," she said, smiling cheerfully. Biyomon looked at her, tilting her head in bewilderment.

"Why's that Sora?"

Sora quickly invented a lie in her head that would at least sound remotely convincing. "There's a Digimon on the loose in the city, and stupid Tai ran out there without remembering to get changed. I was going to come back for you, but I was sort of late."

Biyomon glanced to the tongs, which ironically fabricated the story of her impromptu exit. Tai did have a habit of being impulsive at times and forgetting to check the little things. "We better hurry then," the bird said, the pair glancing to the adjacent lift as it conveniently opened. Sora smiled out of glee and Biyomon out of amusement as the pair glanced at each other, nodding.

"_There's still a chance," _Sora thought, stepping into the lift and pressing the button.

"_I hope this battle won't be too painful," _Biyomon thought, as the lift doors slid closed. She had no idea how painful it would be.

* * *

Tai dragged his clothes into the lobby as he continued to change, the lift doors closing just after he managed to get the pile out. He threw on his blue shirt, moving up his attire gradually. Agumon glanced around, noticing one or two surprised apartment owners. However, upon seeing the boy's identity, they shrugged.

"Right, that's my shirt, now for my Goggles," he muttered, looking down before his mind caught up with him. "Oh, right, I gave them to…"

* * *

_**Motomiya Residence, Minato Ward**_

_**10:15 JST**_

"DAVIS! BE QUIET OUT THERE!"

"But Jun, Kari's trying to kill me!"

"WHAT?!"

"I said…"

Davis has to pause as he promptly ducked once again, the metal pole swinging over his head. He staggered backwards, landing on his bottom. This day was getting off to a terrible start, his girlfriend was trying to kill him, and Jun didn't seem keen to help. In fact, she was busy relaxing in the bath and having no idea what was going on in their modern apartment outside. His parents also seemed to have picked the worst of times to go shopping, leaving him alone to deal with his bloodthirsty girlfriend, who had turned up without her partner and with a pole she had seemingly acquired from a building site or an alley.

"Kari, please stop!" he pleaded, the pole swishing through the air.

"Why?" Kari asked, pausing in her acts and innocently holding the pole in her hand, a curious look on her face.

"DAVIS, WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON OUT THERE?" Jun called again, Davis staring Kari in the eye as he wondered whether he had the time to answer.

"Never mind, it's fixed now," Kari answered for him, threatening him with the pole again when he went to speak.

"Oh, okay," Jun replied, the sound of water and bubbles quietly passing through the door as she relaxed back into the waters.

"Be quiet," Kari whispered to Davis, a stern look on her features.

"Kari, why are you trying to kill me?" Davis asked, his voice quieter yet his mind telling him to scream for help.

"I want to kill you."

"Why?"

"Uh…" Kari replied, pausing as her mind contemplated the question. Davis was relieved; perhaps he could stop her and finally figure out what on earth she had planned. "I don't know, I just want to."

"But why?" Veemon asked from across the room, unsure what to do in the current situation. Should he attempt to stop Kari, risking injuring her? Should he try to help Davis escape, and risk injuring himself? What on earth was going on anyway?

"Veemon, wait a sec, I have to kill Davis, I'll work that out in a sec," Kari dismissed the blue lizard-like Digimon, pondering where exactly on Davis' body she would get the quickest of kills from. Deciding his head would be best, she pulled the pole back, once again wielding it like a bat. "Hold still, I keep missing!"

"I'd rather not!" Davis exclaimed, rolling to one side as the pole slammed into the sofa nearby. Kari growled in annoyance, Davis taking the chance to get to his feet again. He began to run across the apartment, desperately trying to escape. However, he quickly found his way blocked, Kari darting across to stop him getting to the door.

"Davis, can't you just stop moving?"

"No, I don't want you to kill me!" Davis blurted, turning on his heels and heading back across the apartment, coming to a stop alongside the balcony doors. "Uh…oh…"

"Finally," Kari said, breathing a sigh of relief as she came up behind him. He turned to face her, fear plastered across his face. "I didn't think you'd ever stop," she laughed, before preparing to swing the pole again.

"Please stop!" he pleaded again.

"Hold still."

"VEE HEADBUTT!"

Kari gasped, looking across to where Veemon shot towards her hands. She dropped the pole out of surprise, before watching as Veemon skimmed past her and crashed into the wall.

"Veemon, what did you do that for?" Kari asked, amazed that her boyfriend's partner would try to attack her like that.

Veemon, his head spinning where he had slid down the wall, made no attempt to answer. Perhaps he should have, since it would've distracted Kari from Davis' frantic attempts to open the balcony doors.

"Davis, stop moving!"

Davis burst through the doors into the cold, slightly windy outside world. A tiny part of his mind was thankful that he had changed, or else the whole world would see his pyjamas. He quickly closed the door, but Kari at the last moment blocked it with the pole. He struggled to move it, but she pressed against the pole, levering it open.

"Please, stop!" he said, biting into his lip as he struggled to hold the door closed. A surge of adrenaline flowing through her, she managed to throw him off guard and force the door open. His hand hurt as he stumbled away from it, only stopped by the metal railings which came up to his waist.

"Finally."

Davis' breathing became erratic as he took once glance behind him, seeing the five-storey drop below. He spaced out, realising the severity of the situation.

Kari grabbed his arms, forcing him further against the guard rails. He turned back, alarmed as he was pressed back against it.

"What are you doing?!" he panicked.

"Davis!" Veemon blurted, the sliding door opening again and his partner bursting through.

"Veemon!" Davis called, but it was too late.

With a sharp shove into the chest, his feet were pushed up off the ground. Time slowed, his eyes widening in horror when they were caught in Kari's. The determination, the murderous intent, the viciousness…something was definitely wrong with her. This was definitely not Kari.

"Waah!" he exclaimed, his balance quickly lost and only air left below him.

He began to fall, screaming as he lost all contact with the balcony. Veemon rushed towards it, hands gripping it as his bulging eyes froze on his Tamer.

Kari's determined and hateful eyes faltered, widening as she stared down on Davis' form, spiralling away below. The wind whirred as he passed through it, clothes fluttering and eyes shocked all the way down.

With a sharp and cringing crack, he slammed into the concrete.

"Oh…my…god…" Kari gasped, reality hitting her as she stared down at his frozen body.

"Davis!" Veemon spluttered, turning and racing back into the apartment, determined to help his Tamer. If he was still alive, that was.

Kari was in another world, not even hearing Veemon's frantic footsteps. All she heard was her breath and her heart beat, all she felt was the blood flushing from her face and the cold railings she gripped onto, all she saw was his broken body, down below, bystanders rushing to see it.

"I killed him," she gasped, a shaking hand reaching down to her pocket. "I killed him, I killed him, I killed him," she muttered, frantically dialling a number in her cell phone and putting it to her ear. "I killed him, I killed him, I…Takeru!"

"**Kari?"**

"Takeru, I think I just killed Davis!"

"**Wait, what?!"**

"I…I just pushed him off the balcony, and now he's not moving."

"**What? Why?"**

"I wanted him dead…I don't know why…oh god, oh god…"

"**Kari, what on earth is going on?"**

"I…I…I…" Kari stammered, before pausing as a different emotion swept over her. "He's…moving?"

"**What?"**

"I pushed him off the balcony but now…he's on his feet? What?"

"**Kari, calm down and tell me what is going…"**

"Maybe I can push him into traffic…"

"**Kari?!"**

"Bye Takeru."

"**Wait!"**

It was too late, the phone quickly returned to Kari's pocket as she turned on her heels. She calmly slid the door closed behind her, before racing across the apartment.

"Kari, what's going on?" Jun asked, stepping out of the bathroom and forcing her to stop. She wore towel around her, and her face was one of shock and bewilderment.

"Nothing, I'm just going to catch up with Davis. He rushed out to a bioemergence," she said quickly, before opening the front door in an effort to escape a difficult conversation.

"Oh, okay. Good luck," Jun said, smiling as her concerns were removed. Davis had a habit of getting caught up in things and rushing out a bit fast.

"Thanks," Kari said with an innocent smile. She turned on her heels and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door frantically behind her. Jun began to dry herself, thankful there was nothing to be worried about.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Kari raced through the lift doors, thankful it was already on her floor. She jabbed at the ground floor button, and then closed the lift doors before breathing a sigh of relief.

She still had a chance to kill Davis, and she wasn't about to pass it up - miraculous survival or no miraculous survival.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Shorter chapters from now on mean I get less writer's block and am able to update more easily, so everyone's happy. Except those who want longer chapters.

Until next time…

B.C.


	50. The Trick To Emails

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 44**

_The Trick to Emails_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:25 JST**_

"Waah! Grab my feet Donmon, I'm slipping!"

"Sorry!"

Donmon groaned, pushing up on his Tamer's feet as the boy in turn strained to pull himself up, gripping tightly onto the hard-wearing plastic of the playground item, namely, the "dinosaur". The plaything had seen better days, and had also seen plenty of Digimon attacks, leading to it being shorter and more crushed than it had once been, along with several scorch marks and aggressive ivy plants rapidly encroaching on it.

Ryder, of course, was thankful for its shorter nature: it made it about a hundred times simpler to pull himself up into the "hidden" compartment above. He dearly hoped that Mari wouldn't know of this spot, having not seen the TV show and having not been around in younger days when this was a regularly meeting point for the Tamers, particularly Kazu, Kenta and Takato.

His breath condensed on the cold plastic when he breathed a sigh of relief, his feet now up in the compartment. He pulled himself round, before taking up the pair of crutches that his partner handed to him. The wind whipped through the dinosaur as a pair of red wings propelled the dragon up into the hidey-hole, a tight fit with the boy, his partner and two crutches all squashed into it.

"Can't…breathe…"

"Sorry!"

Ryder savoured the air rushing back into his lungs once his partner's elbow was removed from his chest, before he began to think about their present situation. They would (hopefully) be safe for now, which meant he could deal with a few things he had been putting off.

With a flash, his D-Vice enlarged itself into its full form, the screen blinking with an icon. "Right, let's see who this is…"

His eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the name, before he rapidly digested the words of the message, each sentence adding another level of shock in his mind.

**Ryder, it's Rey with Henry, and we're in big trouble. We're stuck in World War Two by the looks of it, a few days from the end. It looks like a Japanese city, and I'm worried that Henry is going to be arrested because he's part-Chinese. The Time Device is burnt out, and I'm really lost for what to do. Please help! There must be some way you can help, you built this thing! I wish I'd given it to you to let you figure out how it works now, but it's too late for that. All I know is that it's connected to your D-Vice, so you're my main point of contact and hope.**

**The thing is Ryder, it's not only broken, but I think it's out of power too. Even if I manage to fix it, I don't know where I'm going to get that sort of energy from. How did you make this thing anyway?**

**I'm getting beside the point here. The point is, we're stuck unless either me or you can think of a way to save us, and I'm out of ideas. Please help!**

Ryder paused upon finishing, a growing look of bewilderment materialising on his face as he pondered the message, a look which promptly turned to irritation and confusion.

"Well how the hell am I meant to help?!" he asked, looking aside to his dragon-like partner.

"Who is it?"

"Believe it or not, it's Rey and Henry…and they're stuck in World War Two of all places."

"What?!"

"Yeah, and it sounds like they're in trouble."

"So how are they managing to contact you?"

"There's a link to my D-Vice somehow…I must have put it in at some point, somehow. She's contacting me right here right now from across the time space continuum… wait, that gives me an idea!" Ryder pondered, grin of determination appearing on his face as he began to reply.

**Rey, it's Ryder with Donmon. You know our secret and I know that you can use it to your advantage.**

Donmon watched over as his partner frantically typed away, before his ears finally heard the approaching footsteps. His eyes widened in shock, fearful they had been discovered, before he heard the familiar voice.

"Huh? Ryder? Donmon? What are you two doing here?"

Ryder paused in his writings, both he and his red partner looking down to the source of the interruption. "Jeri!"

"Finally a friendly face!" Donmon cheered.

"Huh?" Jeri mumbled, before looking to Elecmon on her shoulder who replied with a similar look of bewilderment. The pair shrugged, before looking up to Ryder and Donmon again.

"How did you find us?" Donmon asked, looking over the pair as Ryder continued with his email.

**We just have to rely on everything working and you should find some way back automatically pretty soon.**

"Well, your tail is kind of…hanging out…of the window."

**Until then, try fixing the time device and looking out for anything out of the ordinary.**

Ryder groaned, pausing in his writings. He sighed, rolling his eyes as Donmon laughed nervously, retracting his tail. "Donmon, you almost got us found."

"Sorry!"

"Now, just let me finish this and I'll be ready to talk in a sec."

**Right now though, I've got bigger problems. Mari is trying to kill me, and I'm not sure why.**

"Who's he emailing?" Jeri asked, looking curiously at the boy who tapped away continuously at the screen as Donmon half-fell and half-climbed out of the hiding place, stabilising himself when he landed.

**I think there's a Digimon controlling her.**

"Rey. We got an email from her, and she's ended up in World War Two."

**So I'll try to contact you when possible, but expect some delays.**

"What?!" Jeri gasped, her eyes bulging as she contemplated the dangers they were now facing.

**Good luck! Ryder.**

"That's not a good place to end up," Elecmon added, worry flashing across his face.

"No, and by the sounds of it, they're in big trouble right now," Ryder finally replied, tapping the button to send the email off to its distant target. "Donmon, a hand please!"

"Oh, right," Donmon replied, taking his outstretched arm and attempting to let him down out of the hiding place easily. Unfortunately, he failed miserably, crutches and Ryder tumbling to the ground below. "Uh, whoops," the dragon mumbled, a feeble smile on his face as he looked down to his crumbled partner.

Jeri watched the scene with bemusement, realising how much of a Gogglehead Ryder was being as he pushed himself to his feet, with his crutches to help, of course, and grinned as if nothing had happened. Her eyes glanced up to the goggles on his head, finally noticing them and giggling at the sight.

"You finally put them on then."

"Yeah, I just thought it'd be kinda cool to wear them at least for a little while."

"I don't know. You look a bit funny in them."

"Not to mention you're now opening yourself up to being called a Gogglehead by Rika," Elecmon quipped.

"Right now, I'd say that's the least of my problems," Ryder sighed, frowning as he looked over his D-Vice, checking whether it had sent yet. A look of irritation flashed over his face. "What the…stupid piece of junk…" he complained upon seeing the **Delivery Failed** message, jabbing the screen again before returning to his conversation with a smile once again.

A frown crossed Jeri's face upon hearing his words. "Why, what's wrong?"

"Well, for starters, Mari's trying to kill me."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, this morning, she tried to blow his brains out with her gun," Donmon elaborated, a Jeri gasping in shock as a hand went to her mouth.

"It wasn't a joke either. I was lucky to escape alive," Ryder added.

"But why?" Elecmon asked, bewildered about why Mari of all people would want to murder Ryder, particularly given how distraught she was when he died last time.

"No idea, but…I get the feeling something is controlling her. Like a Digimon or something."

"What about DarkRenamon, is she okay?" Jeri asked, a happy day now turning sour as concern became stuck on her features.

"I hope so," Donmon whimpered, the girl looking sadly to him.

"I think Mari shot her because she was protecting me. Mari wants me dead, but she's going through anyone and everyone who gets in my way."

"Um…am I safe then?" Jeri asked, nervously glancing around through the entrances to the dinosaur as she looked for danger.

"I don't know," Ryder sighed, looking sadly down at the ground. Something caught his eye, an eyebrow raising as he looked over into Jeri's hands, an object glinting where they were held behind her back. "Uh, Jeri, what's that?"

"Um…" Jeri mumbled, looking with surprise to the spanner in her hand as she held it out in front of her. "I think it's a spanner."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Why do you have a spanner?"

"I just…picked it up earlier, that's all. I don't know why, I just…did."

Ryder's face creased up as he looked over the anxious girl, bewilderment flaring across his features. "O…kay…well, anyway, Rey just made it clear I've got other problems too. I'm somehow supposed to help them get back from the past."

"Huh? How can you do that?" Elecmon asked, displaying the same puzzled look as his brunette Tamer.

"Well, Rey said that this D-Vice is linked to her Time Device, so somehow I'm meant to save her and Henry."

"Is Henry okay?" Jeri asked, concern crossing her features once again as she silently pleaded he would be alright.

"Yeah, but he's going to need to keep a low profile, being part-Chinese and all in wartime Japan," Ryder explained, before a reassuring smile appeared on his face. "But, so long as I think of something, and I do have an inkling of a plan here, they'll get back home alive and well before you know it."

"Alive and well…" Jeri mumbled, the words striking a chord in her mind as she unconsciously gripped her other hand to the spanner.

"Uh, yeah, alive and well. All I need to do is…" Ryder continued, shrugging off Jeri's unusual behaviour. His reply was interrupted, however, by a familiar tone from his D-Vice.

"Failed?" Donmon asked, looking over his frustrated partner as the D-Vice was raised in front of his eyes.

"Ugh, yeah. What's going on? It's like something's jamming it," he pondered, before looking over to Jeri. "Hey Jeri, is your D-Arc work…"

"Must…" she mumbled, interrupting his question with bitter tones.

"Huh?" Ryder pondered, unconsciously taking an uneasy step back as worry appeared on his face. Something was wrong.

"Must make…" Jeri growled, her eyes tightly closed and her head pointing towards the floor as she formed an even tighter grip around her improvised weapon.

"Jeri, are you okay?" Elecmon asked, voicing the thoughts of the three males around the girl. She ignored them, instead grappling with thoughts and concepts in her mind, a single key idea coming to the forefront and manifesting itself in a plan.

"Must…make…Henry…DIE!" she screamed, her eyes bursting open as she rushed forward, swinging the spanner towards the D-Vice on Ryder's arm.

Metal met plastic as the spanner smashed into the dinosaur wall, the plaything shaking in response. Ryder had just managed to stagger backwards in time, the attack nonetheless shocking him.

"Jeri, what are you doing?!" Ryder spluttered as Jeri gathered her composure, bringing the spanner back to bear. Elecmon's eyes looked fit to burst out, and Donmon growled.

"Ryder, she's under the same spell!" he reported; ready to defend his Tamer against the attack. He knew, however, they wouldn't be able to retaliate by attacking Jeri, a problem since she would probably be as persistent as Mari had been.

"What, does every girl in the world now want me dead?!" Ryder complained dryly, rolling his eyes.

"I don't want you dead silly," Jeri giggled, her voice taking on a dark tone as she revealed her true intentions. "I want Henry dead."

Donmon's claws flew in the way of the spanner swing, Ryder staggering back again and deciding that he needed to make a run for it as soon as possible. Donmon was growling harshly, hoping to scare the girl back to normal. Elecmon leapt away to the hidey-place as quickly as he could, hoping to get a safe distance from his seemingly-possessed Tamer.

"Leave Ryder alone!" Donmon warned, eyes glaring into Jeri's who looked back blankly, grinning in a way all-too-familiar of her D-Reaper clone.

"If I destroy Ryder's D-Vice, Henry will be stuck in the past to die," she explained, laughing darkly before a glare of malice manifested across her eyes. "NOW DIE!"

"RUN!" Donmon spluttered, shoving his Tamer away before throwing himself between the spanner and his partner. The spanner smashed into his head, the scales providing only some protection against the blunt strike as his eyes began to swim in a sea of dizziness.

"Donmon!" Ryder cried from where he had fallen onto his knees, grabbing a crutch and wanting to help his partner.

"Ryder, I'll hold her off," Donmon insisted, his voice pained and nauseous. "Get out of here!"

Ryder looked over his partner, Jeri pushing forward before being stopped by a claw grabbing the spanner. "Let go!" Jeri wailed, Elecmon watching down in horror and wishing he was in his champion form.

Turning, the Gogglehead's feet began to uneasily touch the ground, his crutches digging trenches in the sand as he jammed them in. He had to get away. He had to put some distance between them. He had to escape as far as he could. He had to…help Donmon.

He took another look back over his shoulder, the dragon having difficulties balancing restraining the girl with not hurting her. Elecmon was by now attempting to convince the girl to stop her homicidal ways, with what looked like very little success. How could he run away from this?

Against his better judgement, he continued to make his escape, hearing once again the clash between plastic and metal as Jeri broke free, losing her balance and smashing into the wall of the dinosaur.

Jeri shook her head, trying to get back a sense of reality but her head wanting to be sick. It should've been so easy, the boy was crippled after all, and her target was in the past.

She glared at the dinosaur and the mammal, standing over her with uncertain looks on their face. Had they hurt her? Was she back to normal? What were they to do?

Her gaze swung round, looking over the spanner now discarded in the sand outside. If she could just get to it…

"SUPER THUNDER STRIKE!" Elecmon cried, turning round.

Seeing her plan falling away from her, Jeri stumbled to her feet, making a desperate attempt to cross to the spanner before it was lost.

She was too late, horror flashing across her eyes as it burst into nothing courtesy of an attack from her partner. She staggered to a stop, staring at where the spanner was and contemplating what her partner was doing. They were partners! He was meant to be helping her, not helping Ryder. She spun around, angrily shooting daggers at him whilst she bit into her lip.

Elecmon looked into Jeri's bitter glare, into her ruffled hair and clenched fist by her side. She looked ready to attack him, but she fought the urge, turning on her heels and pacing off in the other direction, deciding that her target was her first priority. He could be anywhere by now, and she was at a disadvantage by going in the opposite way to the way he had gone. She needed to hurry.

"We have to catch up!" Donmon insisted, quickly making a move to follow.

"Wait!" Elecmon blurted, stopping the dinosaur in his tracks. "I will follow after her; you go find your Tamer."

Donmon hesitated, unsure whether to follow the suggestion or not. Stopping Jeri would stop her getting to Ryder, and he doubted Elecmon would be able to stop her that well. But, on the other hand, Ryder was now alone, without anyone to defend him from a bloodthirsty Mari who was still out there somewhere. Even if he were to Retcon, most things were so unlikely he'd just collapse there and then afterwards, ready to be shot dead with ease.

"Okay," he reluctantly agreed, turning and heading off in the direction Ryder had gone, whilst Elecmon headed the other way. _"Just a little while longer Ryder, I'm coming to help!"_

* * *

Happiness. Bliss, pleasure, nirvana, heaven, whatever you wanted to call it, Chiyo was currently experiencing it as she stared on, her smirk threatening to break her gums. She chuckled, laughing louder once she saw Elecmon and Donmon were out of hearing range. She stood to her feet, coming out from behind the bushes as she no longer saw any reason to stay in hiding.

Everything was going perfectly to plan. Even with Henry out of Jeri's reach, she was still proving useful, and two girls going after Ryder couldn't be a bad thing given his apparent resistance to death.

"Ah, the foils of love," she philosophised, turning to her partner with her smirk never fading. "All love leads to war."

DarkBiyomon nodded reluctantly, frowning before diverting her gaze from her partner. Chiyo raised an eyebrow, her smirk dropping as she paused.

"What's wrong?"

DarkBiyomon cursed herself for not playing along, unwillingly turning her head back to facing her Tamer.

"I'm worried."

"Worried about what?"

"Um…"

"Don't tell me you've gone and started sympathising with them. You're on my side, aren't you?"

"No, that's not it."

"Then what is? DarkBiyomon, I can't say I haven't noticed that you seem to oppose every plan I make, so why?"

"I'm scared…of losing you."

Chiyo raised an eyebrow, before grinning and chuckling in amusement. "Why on earth would you need to be scared of that?" she asked, eyes widened in bewilderment.

"If you fail…you're going to die, I know it."

"But I'm not going to fail."

"But what if you do?"

"DarkBiyomon, this plan is foolproof. Trust me," she said, smiling reassuringly to her partner as she put out a caring hand, one which gently caressed her partner's head feathers. "This plan won't fail, because I made it. We will win, and we will get all of them. With you by my side, nothing is impossible."

"Yeah…sure…"

"You still don't sound that confident."

"It's just…I feel like…um…"

"You feel like what?"

"You've been so happy recently, so why…why are you doing this?"

Chiyo frowned, biting her lip as she tore her gaze away, staring at the crumpled dinosaur through the gap in the trees where they had been hiding. "You know why…" she said bitterly.

"You always say it hurts you to see them alive, but…when you were on holiday you guys seemed to get along so well. And you enjoyed it…you pulled pranks and you talked and you made friends…"

"I enjoyed only tormenting them, that's all."

"But you seem to have overcome the pain so far…why are you risking it all?"

"I…uh…I just am, okay?" Chiyo faltered.

"But…"

"Look DarkBiyomon, here's the cold and fast truth. I'm killing them all, regardless of anything you say. I love you, cause you're my partner, but you can be so stupid at times."

DarkBiyomon frowned, looking sadly at her Tamer's angered face. What could she do? How could she convince the girl she was risking too much? How could she pull the being who had cared for her, who had loved her, who had been her friend through everything, back from the brink of destruction? She owed Chiyo, she owed her this, so how could she pay that favour?

"Let's go," Chiyo said, her voice tinged with bitterness as she turned, striding away from the bushes. DarkBiyomon sighed, nodding sadly before following after the girl.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, they were not the only ones watching someone else at that point. A being who they could only hope to be as sly as, and who could easily compete with Renamon in the subtleness stakes, eyed them carefully, hearing their every word.

Thankful they were out of rang, a black feathered arm raising a black communications device to a yellow beak before a purple finger pressed the button on it.

"Sir, I must report that the Second is currently succeeding in her plan mostly. She is, however, having some problems with her partner, who doubts her likelihood of survival, should she fail."

"**Naïve girl. She will die either way, I am sure of that. I have no room for her in my plans, which are about a thousand times better than hers."**

"Of course Sir, I did not doubt that for a second. Regardless, do you wish me to continue pursuing her?"

"**Of course, but do not interfere. I think it'll be most poignant if she becomes the victim of her own plans."**

"Understood sir."

Wings flapped as the bird took to the air, eager to follow after his current target.

* * *

_**Near Inoue Residence**_

_**10:29 JST**_

"I don't understand, where could she have gone?" Hawkmon mumbled, his wings flapping every so often as he soared through the air above the road near their home. His eyes scanned the pavement below, looking for some sign of his missing partner.

It had certainly been an unusual morning. Yolei, like most teenagers of her age, would rarely get up before eleven on a Sunday, let alone get out of the house, and yet, she had today eaten breakfast, changed and left without anyone noticing. This was particularly odd given how late the party the previous night was.

"I do hope that nothing bad has happened to her. Why would she have left in such a hurry? Was it a Digimon? Then again, why didn't she collect me?"

"Hawkmon!" called a voice from below, bringing Hawkmon back from his thoughts as a startled look materialised on his face.

"Yolei!" he spluttered, swooping down to where his partner was standing outside a subway station. He promptly landed in her outstretched arms, clinging to her tightly. "I was ever so worried. Where did you go to?"

"It was nothing major, I just went to visit Ken, but we've got big trouble."

A look of concern once again graced Hawkmon's face as he left go of his partner, landing on the ground and looking up into her eyes curiously. "What's wrong?"

"There's a bioemergence in the middle of the city, and Ken and Wormmon went to help fight it. I came back for you, but we've got to hurry."

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!"

"Wait…" Yolei mumbled, realising she had to fabricate her plan slightly more to do something so drastic as biomerging. She reached for her D-Terminal, flapping open the screen and pretending to look at an email. "Ken told me in an email on the way here that it's a mega level Digimon, so we're going to have to biomerge!" she explained, returning the D-Terminal to her pocket and reaching for the D-Arc on her belt.

"Right!"

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Hawkmon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

**Valkyrimon!**

The white bird warrior soared up into the air, surprising bystanders as it flew towards the centre of the city.

"_A bit early for a fight, but all the same," _Hawkmon quipped.

"_Yeah,"_ Yolei agreed, her mind elsewhere as she contemplated the betrayal she would have to perform to make a success out of her plan.

Hawkmon, of course, was completely oblivious.

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Nagasaki station, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**19:23 JST**_

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Henry asked, eyes locked on the sign in front of them.

"Yeah," Rey sighed, frowning as she finally tore her eyes away from it. She wandered slightly away, feet stumbling across the pavement loosely as if she were losing it. Henry watched her sadly, before she stopped, clenching her fists, as if she were about to say something with the determination of her father and the passion of her mother.

But, as her hands unclenched, Henry realised just how desperate things were. They were in a city that could be destroyed at any time, he as well as the digimon could easily get them arrested, and survival came with the pain that they would be stuck in the past with no way home. In short, they were completely screwed.

"Come on," Rey mumbled weakly, drive lost from her voice as she decided to simply see if any outside chance could work. She began wandering towards the station entrance. "Maybe we can get a train somehow," she said monotonously as she continued to walk. She already knew it was a hopeless pursuit.

"Rey," Henry interrupted, the girl pausing and turning to face him, displaying her full distress. She looked completely hopeless, depressed about their current situation. "Maybe we can biomerge or digivolve and escape…even if that would attract the attention of the authorities…" he mumbled, not sure what to say. "Somehow…I'm sure we still have a chance."

"Yeah Rey, cheer up. Things aren't completely hopeless!" said a cream and green bunny, landing on the girl's shoulder and gently patting her head with his ear. She continued to stare into the ground forlornly, the word having no effect on her until she finally realised what was wrong with the current situation.

The two Tamers looked to Terriermon with widened eyes, as he finally realised his mistake.

"Uh…oh…"

"YOU THERE!" echoed a voice across the plaza, guns cocking in readiness as the trio froze, horror splayed across their faces as they saw the chief soldier from before, accompanied by three of his men.

"Terriermon!" Rey and Henry hissed together, putting their palms in the air flat.

"Momentai!" Terriermon grinned, his ears flying up as Henry and Rey groaned. They were now, well and truly, dead.

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:35 JST**_

"_I shouldn't have stayed up so late last night…"_ Ryder cursed himself as he hauled himself along, his body feeling like a stack of ton weights as he continually lifted it with the crutches. If he were merely watching himself, he would probably have laughed from the comedy of the situation, but evidently, things were far more grim and real than that.

People hardly noticed him, and, when they did, it was simply in being surprised how fast he was going, or at least, was trying to be going. Nonetheless, at this time of the morning, on a Sunday no less, there were few people out.

"_Few witnesses…" _his mind chirped darkly.

As he "walked", he made his way into a plaza, raising an eyebrow at the people who all seemed to be going in the opposite direction, and in a hurry as well. He paused once he entered the plaza, looking about in confusion at the expanse. Why were they fleeing? What on earth were they running…

"Crap!" he cursed upon seeing the familiar form of Mari, shooing people from the area because of a supposed Digimon attack.

Unfortunately, his foul mouth attracted her attention, although the smooth way she acted made it appear otherwise. The gun was taken from her jeans, cocked and held up, pointing across the plaza towards him as he froze up.

"Stay still Ryder," she spat, striding towards him with a heavy intent. He gulped, unable to move (and unlikely to get far if he did).

"Mari, please, stop!" he pleaded, but went completely unnoticed as she continued menacingly towards him.

"DON'T HURT HIM!" shrieked a voice, a red blur rushing towards Mari in an attempt to stop her.

**Click.**

**BANG!**

Donmon screamed in pain and Ryder's eyes widened as his partner was stunned by thousands of blue sparks radiating from the bullet embedded in his head. Mari looked coldly down at the Digimon, who collapsed to the ground.

"Sorry," she muttered, reloading the gun and reconfiguring it back to its standard mode. "But I have to kill Ryder, and you won't get in my way."

She checked the gun, before lifting it once again to aim at Ryder. She looked along where it was aimed, her eyes tracking the shot, imagining the target screaming in agony before dying.

She faltered, the thought horrifying to her. She became puzzled as to why that was, but a part of her decided to just get it over with.

"Goodbye Ryder."

He gripped his eyes tightly shut, awaiting the inevitable end as her finger moved to the trigger.

**BANG!**

Mari grunted as something crashed into her chest, throwing her aim well off course, throwing the gun from her hand, and throwing her to the ground sharply. The bullet shot through the air, before being lost in the park. She opened her eyes again, to see…nothing.

Ryder stared on, bewilderment rapidly mounting in his eyes as he cursed himself for closing them in the first place and missing it all. What had happened? What had he missed? But he knew that that was the last thing that mattered right now. He needed to stop her from getting the gun back, and that would need a very quick move.

Mari groaned, feeling winded as she licked her scraped hand, the skin pulled up from it slightly and that which wasn't becoming reddened. She painfully pushed herself up slightly, looking across to her discarded pistol nearby through ruffled hair that had fallen over her face. She reached across to grab it, only for it to be slid aside by a crutch several metres away. She growled in annoyance, looking up to Ryder above.

He glared down into her eyes as if she were some kind of wild animal on a rampage, her ruffled hair, growling and fallen form mirroring that concept rather well.

"Now we talk."

TO BE CONTNUED…

* * *

Things are certainly heating up, and Ryder continues to have the worst luck ever. So the usual then.

Until next time…

B.C.


	51. The Trick To Pursuits

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. Also, thanks to Chaos Blademaster for being my 300th reviewer.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 45**

_The Trick to Pursuits_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Streets of Minato Ward**_

_**10:35 JST**_

"Hold on tight," Stingmon warned, Ken gripping tightly onto his partner as the pair leapt into the air. The bug-like Digimon volleyed off various buildings, making his way higher and higher before landing on a short skyscraper. Ken couldn't help but gasp as he was let down onto the flat roof, now about 200 feet up, and with a view to match. The view of Tokyo Bay and Odaiba was blocked only by other skyscrapers, some running far higher than theirs. Unfortunately, Ken was quickly forced to realise they weren't here to sight-see.

"See any sign of them?" he asked his partner, who was currently scanning the streets and skies below for some sign of one of Hawkmon's forms. Yolei wouldn't follow on foot, she would know that she had absolutely no chance of catching up, so she would've gone back for Hawkmon. This bought them some time, but without knowing where she would be coming from, they couldn't manage an effective escape.

"Not yet."

"Hmm…" Ken said anxiously, worried that they would be sneaked up on. He glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to see the warrior's sword looming and ready to strike. Fortunately, that was not the case, but it was evident that every moment was important. Should they hide, cower in fear and just await her arrival, or should they run, hoping they could put some decent distance between them and the extremely fast warrior? They certainly couldn't fight, Ken had already decided on that. Even if she weren't his girlfriend, even if she weren't his friend, she was still a human, and they had always been an absolute no-no for attacking.

Periodically, his mind wondered why that was so. Why were Digimon expendable, killed merely for being confused upon arriving in the human world, whereas humans would be spared? Sure, there was no legal system to deal with Digimon, and they would inevitably be found guilty by a judge unused to such cases, but it still seemed…wrong.

"Ken, this area is far too large. She could approach from anywhere."

"I guess we have to hope Hawkmon can hold onto control of their form, or at least delay her."

"So you are not expecting him to be able to talk some sense into her?"

Ken paused, his mind rushing back to those frantic moments when she was trying to attack him with a fire extinguisher. The fury, the lack of care for his words or their relationship, the determination…she wouldn't be stopped by words so easily. Something else was in control of her, and possessors didn't tend to let their plans be bent by simple talking.

"I'm afraid not, no."

Stingmon's took a step forward as he braced himself, his eyes panning across the sky in front of him in a desperate search.

"Did you see them?"

"I'm not sure Ken, but I don't think we're safe here anymore."

Ken looked behind, the Hypnos Towers looming in the distance above most others. He turned again, formulating a plan in his mind to deal with the current situation. He needed help, and he needed it fast.

"Then we'll head to Shinjuku Park, there is always someone there. They should be able to help us."

"Yes, and even if there isn't, we're at least putting some distance between us and them. Hold tight."

Ken stepped forward into the waiting arms of his partner, gripping on tight before Stingmon leapt into the air, before making a controlled descent down into the city below. Despite the fact Stingmon looked recovered, on foot would be safer right now. It would avoid them sticking out like a sore thumb in the rooftops above, even if it would be slower.

Whether it would be enough to hide from a warrior like Valkyrimon was another matter entirely.

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:35 JST**_

"Takato, we're falling!"

"**No, that'd be me. I'm so sick o****f carrying you I've decided we can all walk. Okay?"**

"But I'm too tired to walk."

"**Quit complaining Guilmon, we've been through worse together."**

"Like…oof…owie, that hurt!"

"**I dropped you, like, one inch! Toughen up for god's sake!"**

"Aw…Takato, Chaos is being really mean to me."

"**Oh, go cry to good old good guy Takato why don't ya?"**

"But you're the same guy? Aren't you?"

"**Takato, how the hell do you stay quiet through all of this?"**

Takato hesitated, brought out of his trance and back into control of his own body. He frowned, a saddened look on his face as he crossed his arms across his stomach. "Sorry…just thinking about Rika…" he mumbled, anxiously glancing to the paths behind them.

"**Why am I not surprised? Look, kid, you've got to lighten up a bit. She's just under someone's spell or something, so all we've got to do is find the moron, beat them to death and we're done, just like always."**

"But we don't even know where to start!"

"**Never stopped you before."**

"Yeah, but that's not the only thing that worries me."

"**What, the fact she's pregnant? Oh come on Takato, I'm not stupid, I'm sure as hell not attacking her and I know you certainly won't be either. Heck, it's my baby too, even if I wasn't allowed any say in it."**

"Yeah, but it still worries me."

"**Of course it does Takato, and I know as well as Rika does, as well as Jeri, Henry, and every other one of your friends does, that once you're stuck on one of these worry rampages, there's very little anyone but you can do to get you out of them. So let's get your mind off things, and run like hell."**

"You say that so casually."

"**When you're my age, you've run like hell so many times it just becomes second nature."**

"You? Scared of something?"

"**Uh…no…no, nothing but…um…"**

"Nothing but what?"

"**Pinecones."**

Guilmon and Takato both raised eyebrows in bewilderment, glancing to each other in confusion.

"**HOW CAN THEY TELL THE WEATHER? TELL ME THAT, HUH?! Freaky pieces of…"**

"Shouldn't we be running?"

"**Good point."**

And with that, Guilmon and Takato turned on their heels and ran as fast as they could, well, as fast as an injured dinosaur and a non-athletic sixteen year old _could_ run. Thick rain clouds had begun to climb over the trees lining the path, and people seemed to all be running in the opposite direction, perhaps to escape the oncoming storm.

Takato glanced over his shoulder, wondering fearfully if Rika and Renamon were on their tail by now, or, worse, Sakuyamon. With Rika and Renamon working together to kill them, they didn't have a chance. He just had to hope that they had the benefit of timing, although it was becoming clear that, thanks to their lack of speed, they certainly didn't have that.

Nonetheless, as they turned the corner, running into a plaza, they did have one form of timing. Bad timing.

"What the…" Takato gasped, seeing Ryder standing menacingly (as much as he could with crutches, at least) over a fallen Mari. She growled angrily in response, glaring eyes occasionally darting about in search of an escape. Aside them, Donmon lay on the ground, seemingly unconscious with blue electrical sparks flitting across his form from something embedded in his head.

"**Whoa, what did we interrupt?"**

"Takato, Guilmon!" Ryder gasped, looking around to see them before a look of relief graced his features. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"What's going on?" Takato asked, his eyes darting about to try and put some sense into things. Ryder was about to respond, but then he noticed the injuries, the scruffiness and the general fatigue that his friends were showing.

"Rika attacked you too, huh?" he asked, frowning as Takato's eyes widened in realisation.

"Yeah, and Renamon too," Guilmon added.

"So do you mean that Mari's trying to kill you then?" Takato asked, trying to get his head round this new revelation. If Mari was also on a killing spree, that changed everything. It meant that whoever was doing this to them had intentions beyond simply killing himself, Guilmon and Chaos.

**Click.**

Ryder was about to reply when he heard the noise, an all too familiar noise, and one that brought a devastating revelation to him. He'd been so focused on talking to Takato that he'd forgotten to keep an eye on Mari, and now it was evident she had the weapon.

"**I think we should take that as a yes."**

"Mari, stop!" Takato called, Mari blinking in surprise and looking over to him, confusion embedded in her features as Ryder scrambled to his crutches. He began to make a run for it, but managed little more than an awkward hobble.

"Huh? Why?"

"Mari, something is controlling you and the other girls," Takato explained, his eyes locked with the girl's as he dearly hoped that he could talk some sense into her. He knew, however, that in reality that was unlikely, but at least he could buy his friend some time.

"What do you mean?"

"Rika and Renamon attacked us!" Guilmon blurted.

"Yeah, and now you're attacking Ryder. Isn't it obvious? Something is making you attack the ones you love."

Mari hesitated in her act, her mind flashing back through the past few hours as she fought with the idea in her mind. Something controlling her? How? When? Whatever gave them that idea?

"You're wrong," she said monotonously, raising the gun again and aiming it at Ryder. Ryder stopped in his tracks, holding his breath as he saw the gun aiming straight at him.

"Don't do it!" Takato yelled, not knowing whether to try to cross the distance and attempt to stop her, risking his own life in the process.

"I want to do this," Mari said, determination flashing through her eyes as she attempted to steady the gun. Periodically, she wondered why her hand was shaking. Why was she so nervous? She hadn't had this problem before, what was going on?

It didn't matter. It was time to get this over with.

**BANG!**

Ryder gasped in pain as he felt a burning sensation rip through his arm, forcing him to tumble to the ground as he lost a hold on his crutch. Guilmon and Takato's eyes widened in horror at the sight blood beginning to pour from their friend's limb.

"Ryder!" Takato yelled, rushing across the plaza to his fallen friend. This was just too much. His friends were killing each other, and god-only-knew what kind of situation the rest of his friends were in.

Ryder ran his hand along his arm, his fingers soaked in his own blood as they found the hole. He bit into his lip, trying to cover it and stop the bleeding. He heard his heard beat as he lifted his hand in front of his eyes, staring at the blood, the red stain.

"Ryder, are you okay?" he heard Takato's voice echo, his mind elsewhere. A blue blur and a red blur appeared at the edge of his vision, looking over him but not quite registering.

Mari growled and bit into her lip again, readying another shot. Her agitation had made her miss, but she wouldn't be doing that again.

She raised the gun, her hand still shaking but quickly steadied by the other hand. What was wrong with her? On the SDCO firing range, in combat, in crisis situations, she'd never had problems like this, so what was wrong now?

She brought herself back to reality, looking across to her orange-wearing target. Her mind forced her to stop, seeing two other things in the way.

"Takato, Guilmon, move!" she ordered, her voice desperate and panicky.

"No!" Takato replied bluntly, turning his head round and glaring into her eyes as he cursed himself for not having taken any kind of First Aid. "Mari, please, think a second here. You have to calm down!"

"I…I…I…" Mari stammered, a moment of clarity shining through her mind once again as she wondered what on earth she was doing. She was trying to kill Ryder, the boy she loved and who loved her in return. Why? What had suddenly made her think this way?

And, in the process, she was en route to kill another of her friends. She'd injured her partner, she'd hurt Ryder's partner, and she'd scared so many people. Was she possessed? Was that the reality of… ?

A sharp pain ripped through her mind, forcing her away from those thoughts as she concentrated on her aim, changing targets.

"I'll kill you too if you're getting in my way," she spat, pulling back the trigger.

**BANG!**

Involuntarily, Takato rose his hand, the bullet slowing in his mind before colliding with a searing wall of red and orange. His hand glowed intensely, the shield becoming more dome-like and expanding around him and his injured friend.

Annoyed, Mari fired off more shots, each hitting the shield and bouncing off with a white burst of light.

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

"Ryder, you're bleeding badly," Guilmon noted, turning his attentions to something Takato was too distracted to see. Ryder had moved into a seated position, his hand covering his wound as blood seemed to rush from his face.

"**The shield's stable," **Chaos reported, Takato looking down as his clutched fists faded back to their normal pink. To his relief, the shield around them stayed intact, providing a dome of safety, for now at least.

Ryder wrenched in horror as he raised his hand, looking at the wound and the bullet sitting within, pressed against the bone. He tried to look away, but his mind locked onto it, the surreal nature of the situation never quite going away.

"**Oh geez," **Chaos groaned, seeing the task at hand as he looked over the injury. **"Hold out your arm," **he said, looking the frightened boy in the eye.

"Uh…" Ryder mumbled, going to hold his arm out before wrenching in pain as the bullet dug into his flesh. He retracted it, before Chaos' grabbed his hand, pulling it out tightly and causing more pain.

"**Sorry, but you don't have time to waste with crying," **he spat, biting into his lip as he looked carefully over the injury, a few more bullets pinging off the shield. The sound was deadened, sounding almost electrical in its effect.

Ryder tried to take his mind off the pain as Chaos stuck his finger into the wound, the digit glowing red as a blast of destructive energy pulsed down it. "What are you…?" Ryder began, before wrenching in pain again as the bullet was disintegrated into nothing.

"**Right, that's the bullet dealt with, now we need to cover the wound," **he reported, Takato watching from behind Chaos' eyes with a sense of awe at how he was dealing with things.

"What with?" Ryder asked, his voice still frantic and panicky as he continued to feel blood seeping from him.

Chaos didn't respond with words, instead reaching out and ripping off a large portion of Ryder's orange sleeve, a thin line of energy circling round it to make the cut as clean and quick as possible. Ryder's eyes widened in horror as he realised that Chaos had destroyed his favourite shirt, before the more logical part of his mind told him that really wasn't the most important thing right now.

"**Ugh, I'm useless with knots," **Chaos complained, before making an attempt anyway as he wrapped the makeshift bandage around the wound. Twisting it around, he managed to get it badly mixed up, before trying once again to secure it. He breathed a sigh of relief once done; going to wipe his bloodstained hand across his forehead before realising that probably wasn't the best idea.

Ryder blinked, glancing down to the improvised bandage, quickly reddening with blood, on his arm, before looking up to the deity-turned-human. "Uh, thanks."

"**Do you have your cards on you?" **he asked, deciding that politeness could wait until later.

"No, I didn't have a chance."

"Aw nuts, I don't have mine either," Takato complained, looking back to see Mari standing over the shield, anxiously reaching out to touch it before retracting her hand in fear.

"**She won't do anything, trust me. This shield isn't a normal shield, it…"**

"It is a thin layer of destructive energy used as an improvised shield, yes, I know, but we have more pressing matters to deal with right now," Ryder stated, awareness of the grave situation they were in slowly creeping back into his mind as the bleeding began to ease up a bit.

"**Huh? How did you know that?"**

"…from the TV show, of course," Ryder replied, grinning uneasily as Chaos raised an eyebrow. The Angel shrugged, deciding that other matters were more important at this particular moment. "Well, anyway, we have got to help Donmon somehow," Ryder reminded, gesturing through the translucent shield to his unconscious partner. Electricity continued to spark across him, hindering his movements even if he were awake.

"**Unless you have any recharge cards, I don't see any way that we could…"**

"What?!" came a voice, gasping as footsteps arrived at the edge of the plaza. All conscious, even Mari, glanced up to see the new arrival, a surprised look on their features.

"Jeri?" Mari asked curiously, not noticing the incriminating nature of the gun in her hand and the bleeding wound in Ryder's arm.

"Mari…um…what are you doing?"

"Jeri, thank god you're here!" Takato interrupted, a look of panic crossing Ryder's face as he remembered Jeri's attack on him previously.

"What are you hiding in there for?" Jeri asked curiously, looking over the dome.

"**Never mind that now, have you got a recharge card?"**

Jeri blinked, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a card as she walked up to the dome. Chaos grinned thankfully, the dome parting to let the girl in.

"No, stop!" Ryder alerted, realising what was about to happen. Jeri smiled as she stepped in, handing the card across to a waiting Chaos. The dome promptly sealed itself over again, Mari arriving at the entrance just a bit too late before cursing herself.

"What's wrong?" Takato asked Ryder curiously, surprised that his friend had any objections to Jeri entering the dome.

"Takato, need energy," Guilmon groaned, diverting his partner's attention and not noticing the slim yet growing smirk appearing on Jeri's face.

"Oh, yeah…DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!" he called, before returning to his now-horrified friend. "So what's wrong?"

"No, no!" Ryder gasped, trying to make an escape but groaning when his arms and legs conspired to hurt him, forcing him to collapse to his knees.

Jeri laughed darkly, drawing attention to her as she looked down to Ryder menacingly. Takato looked unnervingly between them as a sense of fear overcame him.

"Jeri, uh, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously, fearful of the answer.

"I have to kill Henry," she stated monotonously.

"Uh…" Takato mumbled, raising an eyebrow. This was very strange.

"But this is Ryder, not Henry…isn't it?" Guilmon said, confused as he carefully looked over the fallen boy to ensure he wasn't making a mistake here.

"She wants to kill me, because Rey sent me an email from the past," Ryder explained with a frown as he looked down at the ground, contemplating how so many people currently wanted him dead. Takato's eyes widened in surprise, startled that they had been contacted by those who had been thought all but lost.

"What? When?"

"In the last hour, she emailed me and told me that she and Henry are in World War Two, just before the end of the war, something I also told Jeri here. Rey told me that I will be their only hope because only my D-Vice is able to contact her. And _that_ is why Jeri wants to kill me, because then Henry will die in the past."

"World War Two Japan…people like Henry were killed for who they were," Jeri echoed, her voice hauntingly like that of her D-Reaper clone. Takato cringed at the similarity.

"All she has to do is destroy my D-Vice, but I know myself this thing is pretty much indestructible," Ryder explained, prompting both Mari and Takato to look at their own D-Vices curiously. "So long as it's attached to its owner, and they are conscious, it works."

"So take it off then!" Takato blurted, surprised that the boy was taking such a stupid risk by keeping it on.

"Too risky, I could simply put it on again," Ryder explained, looking up to Jeri, his potential killer, with a calm look, perhaps even one of acceptance, as he spoke grave words. "So either she'll kill me, or Mari will."

"**Well, I don't see how! Jeri's not exactly armed," **Chaos pointed out, looking over the girl for any sign of a weapon.

Jeri laughed again, a freakish laugh that made even Chaos recoil.

"Aw, I hate it when she does that," Guilmon moaned, covering his ears and pressing down to the ground.

"This whole dome is one huge weapon," Jeri remarked, amused as she looked about at its blazing surface. "Now…die!" she cried, leaping forth at the boy and pushing him across the ground in pain, the weight of the girl on his legs making them hurt even more.

He heard his breathing, Takato's frantic calls for her to stop, and his own heartbeat, as he stared up at the edge of the dome, but a hairs-breadth away.

"Takato, what do we do?" Guilmon asked, Ryder attempting to grip onto the tiles of the plaza as Jeri pushed her knees into the ground. She planted her hands on his knees, causing him to scream in agony as old wounds reopened and as he was moved ever closer to the destruction.

"Chaos, drop the barrier!" Takato ordered, realising only one way out remained.

"**Mari is on the other side, she'll get in! We have to get Jeri away from him."**

"But we can't fight her!"

"**Oh grow up Takato, not every fight is going to be a clean fight."**

Takato looked nervously across to where Jeri was straining with all her might against Ryder's desperate hold on a paving tile with his one remaining good hand, a losing battle. He had to help. But what if he hurt another friend in the process?

"**Guilmon, get Jeri away from Ryder!" **Chaos ordered, bypassing Takato's objections.

Guilmon glanced anxiously to Chaos, before looking back to the struggling humans.

"No, Guilmon…" Takato began to struggle, before Chaos forced his own voice over his alter-ego. Now was not the time for that.

"Takato, what do I do?" Guilmon whimpered, confused by the quick change in affairs. Bullets slammed into the shield near Ryder's head, threatening to push it closer and closer to its skull with every shot.

"**DO IT!" **Chaos ordered, Takato's voice clashing against it. Guilmon moved forward, anxiously grasping Jeri's arms.

Her angered, bitter eyes looked up into the golden eyes of the dinosaur in surprise, the sudden action catching her off-guard, particularly from such a (usually) calm, peace-loving and harmless creature.

"Guilmon…" she mumbled, confused. "What are you doing?"

"I have to stop you," Guilmon explained, still fighting with himself over what to do.

"Oh, do you?" Jeri asked menacingly, a dark smirk once again materialising on her face. "Such a shame."

With that, she let go of Ryder periodically, instead slamming her shoulder into the chest of the surprised saurian.

"No!" Takato blurted as Guilmon, caught off guard by the act, fell towards the edge of the shield. Mari gasped and leapt aside as the Digimon fell through it, screaming in pain as his head was scalded by the energy. "GUILMON!" Takato yelled, rushing over to his partner. Ryder, now freed, uneasily glanced around, the world a stunned blur of red and blue. "CANCEL THE SHIELD!" he spat at his other half, anger roaring through his features.

"**No."**

"But?! Guilmon will die!"

"**Guilmon is made from me, he is part of me, and he is invulnerable to me. The pain he is experiencing is merely burns from the searing heat, not destruction from the energy."**

Guilmon groaned in pain, pressing himself up carefully as the searing heat lashed as his skin. "Owie," he moaned, sitting up away from the energy of the shield as trails of smoke wafted from his skin.

"Guilmon, are you okay?" Jeri asked, throwing her arms around the creature. "I'm so sorry!" she cried, Guilmon unsurely looking up to his eternal Tamer.

"Takato, why are your eyes bleeding again?"

"_Chaos…"_

"_**Yes, I know, you hate me and all, so what? It worked, didn't it?"**_

"I was worried," Takato replied, Jeri letting go of the dinosaur as he frowned at his Tamer.

"Aw."

Ryder, meanwhile, awkwardly pushed himself up on one arm, his head throbbing in pain as he looked over to Jeri, thankfully off his case for the time being. Even Mari was standing idle, startled by the surprise survival of the virus Digimon. Now would be a perfect time to escape, and yet Ryder knew mentioning that fact to Chaos would only bring attention to him from both of the girls. What were they to do?

As if by magic, as if it were some divine intervention, the shield dropped at that very moment, a large blue energy strike ripping across its surface like a wave and cancelling it out.

Heads turned, looking across to the source of the attack as a grim frown materialised on Chaos' face.

"Missing all the fun, are we?" Rika asked, standing alongside Renamon with a cruel smile on both of their faces and a blue glow on her hands.

"Mind if we join in?" Renamon added with a smile.

"_Aw nuts."_

"_**It's just got ten times worse."**_

* * *

_**Rainbow Bridge, Minato Ward**_

_**10:35 JST**_

"Hold on tight Davis!"

Davis, hearing the words of his partner, pulled himself tightly down onto Raidramon's mane and held on for dear life. Racing along the Odaiba waterfront, they leapt into the air, seeing the entrance ramp to the Rainbow Bridge ahead. With Raidramon's speed, it would provide a quicker and more subtle exit than ExVeemon or Imperialdramon could possibly do.

Raidramon surprised a number of drivers as his hooves slammed into the tarmac, before they continued to pound along, their sound deafened out by the blaring sound of car horns.

"Quit complaining!" Davis yelled at them, as Raidramon turned and began to run along the central reservation, avoiding cars and lampposts as he ran.

"Keep shouting Davis, I'm sure they'll hear you," Raidramon replied dryly.

"Hey, I nearly got killed this morning! Don't expect me to be quiet!"

"Still don't get how that happened," Raidramon mumbled, returning his attentions to the "race" at hand.

For that matter, neither did Davis. He'd fallen five storeys and yet had only scratches and bumps on him. Sure, his back felt sore all over, as did the ball of his head, but compared to what he expected…this just seemed, impossible.

And yet, he knew, it wasn't. He _had_ survived something even worse before…he'd survived an attack from WarGreymon. Sure, he'd been disintegrated into data and then absorbed, but he would've expected to be nothing after all that.

"_Heh, I know I'm known for miracles, but this is just ridiculous. And Kari too…"_

Kari had survived deadly falls, deadly attacks, without much damage. Well, that was an understatement, she had been hospitalised for a long while after she had taken a direct attack from Puppetmon, but the scrambling effect of such an attack on her internal organs certainly couldn't be taken lightly. However, the fact she had survived was still incredible. Whether there could be any long term damage from it would probably be seen as she aged, but she didn't seem to have shown any lasting effects from the attack.

"Davis, you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Uh…" Davis mumbled, reaching his hand down his back and touching his bruises with a painful frown. "Sure, it's sore, but yeah, I'm okay."

"Good to know," Raidramon replied, a touch of concern appearing in his eyes as he felt a tingling feeling run up his neck. "We're in trouble," he said forebodingly.

"SEFIROT CRYSTALS!"

"Crap!" Davis cursed as Raidramon desperately rushed aside, only barely being missed by each of the crystals. They exploded, spinning cars round and blocking the runway as people began to flee their cars in terror. He turned his head over his shoulder, grimacing upon seeing the gold and turquoise angel pursuing them, Shining Javelin and Beauty's Golden Shield firmly in hand.

"_Kari, what are you doing?!" _Gatomon blurted from within, bewildered by her Tamer's sudden attack on their friend.

"_I'm killing Davis, silly."_

"_What?!"_

"_Gatomon, I want Davis dead."_

"_Why? Kari, what's going on?"_

"_Nothing, I just want him dead."_

"_But Kari!"_

"_Gatomon, I'll talk afterwards."_

"Hold on Davis, this is going to take some dodging!" Raidramon told his Tamer after glancing back at their pursuer once again.

"EDEN'S JAVELIN!"

"_Kari, stop!"_ Gatomon shrieked as the burst of energy crashed into the roadway, tarmac flying through the air and crashing into the side of cars and into the metal beams. _"You'll hurt someone."_

Kari hesitated, looking at the cars and their startled drivers with concern. _"You're right,"_ she sighed, coming to a halt in the air as Raidramon slowed his pace nervously, wondering what the reason was for this current pause in attacks.

"Kari?" Davis called, looking up into the eyes of Ophanimon. Gatomon began to negotiate control, hoping to give Kari a chance to think about things.

"_I'll be more careful with my aim this time," _Kari decided, holding out Ophanimon's palms in front as they glowed with white light. Davis gulped, Raidramon turning and beginning to race away.

"SEFIROT CRYSTALS!" Ophanimon screamed, the ten crystals shooting forwards at the Friendship-armour Digimon. They soared along the roadway, sounding remarkably like an aircraft with a similar sonic noise before they smashed into the roadway, thankfully on the blocked carriageway that was clear of cars. Raidramon and Davis screamed as they were thrown from their feet by the shockwave, crashing across the roadway.

Davis groaned as he heard a crumbling and groaning noise from the tarmac below, the sound of falling debris sprinkling nearby. His head ached, the smell of burning tarmac in the air as he swore that his head should've been cracked in two by the fall. Alas, the only injuries were a headache, a general soreness and a small cut.

"_How am I doing this?!"_

The Javelin rose again, pointed at the boy who had a remarkable habit of avoiding injury. Neither Davis nor Kari was ignorant enough to expect it to fail to kill him, particularly given the number of attacks he had sustained so far.

"EDEN'S…"

"Kari, stop!" blurted a new voice, bringing Ophanimon back to her senses as she looked around for its source.

Davis dizzily looked up, seeing double at first before his mind kicked itself back into gear, realising that he was simply going insane by thinking that way. He wanted to look back and work out what was going on, but he was far too distracted by the throbbing pain in his head to think about that.

"Davis, you okay?" Raidramon asked, wandering over to his partner with concern in his eyes. Davis cringed as he unconsciously rubbed his sore head again, wincing in pain and cursing himself.

"God that hurts," he complained. Raidramon was simply surprised he was still alive after everything that had happened.

"Seraphimon!" Ophanimon gasped, surprised that her fellow celestial angel had randomly turned up. What was he here for?

"Kari, what are you doing?" Takeru asked, the golden, silver and blue angel gently waving his wings up and down as he levitated above the roadway, he and Ophanimon's auras making an awing sight for any onlookers.

"I am killing Davis," she replied monotonous, her tone sounding so alien to her own. It was as if this were so different for her that it was someone else entirely.

"What?! Why?"

Ophanimon blinked, confused and bewildered by the question. "It is because I want to."

"Kari is out of control!" Gatomon blurted, breaking through Kari's hold on their form.

"Gatomon, what's happening?" Patamon asked, Ophanimon struggling with herself as Gatomon and Kari fought desperately for control. Unfortunately for Davis, the human side once again won through.

She turned away from the conversation and held her hands out, glowing crystals once again materialising and becoming aimed at the injured boy below. "SEFIROT CRYSTALS!"

"No, stop!" Seraphimon blurted, horrified at the prospect. He raised his own hands, being forced to aim perfectly in such a short period of time and dearly hoping Ophanimon would simply miss. "STRIKE OF THE SEVEN STARS!"

Ophanimon gasped in surprise as her attacks were intercepted, the explosions wiping through the remaining three crystals and saving Davis from a painful end…probably.

"What are you doing?!" Kari spluttered, amazed that her old friend was stopping her from attacking. They had to destroy Davis, it seemed like the most important thing in the universe to her right now.

"What are you doing?!" Takeru echoed, shocked by Kari's lack of thought about what she was doing. What on earth was going on? Was she being controlled by something? Was she…

"EDEN'S JAVELIN!"

Seraphimon glanced down again, looking to see how he could stop the blast of energy from the point of the Javelin reaching the boy on the ground below. Raidramon rushed in front to block, knowing it'd probably be a suicidal act for the armour level.

Seraphimon gripped his chest in pain as the energy smashed into it, realisation bursting across his mind as he realised the actual target of the attack.

He groaned in pain, a look of betrayal crossing his eyes as he felt himself slip down in the air, his wings in pain. He'd been hit nearly at point blank, and it had certainly taken its toll. Ophanimon frowned, looking out at him.

"Sorry," she mouthed, raising her hands again and preparing yet another set of ten jewels. Evidently, she was extremely determined to get him out of the way right now, because she had used up so much energy through attacks in the last few minutes without even taking a single break.

"Please, stop!" Seraphimon pleaded, knowing he couldn't retaliate with an opposite attack. It would risk injuring a friend, and he couldn't do that. Not in a million years, and certainly not to his old friend, Kari.

"Please stay out of my way…SEFIROT CRYSTALS!"

The crystals smashed into Seraphimon chest, each ripping into him without mercy as he was catapulted back towards the cold waters below. He shrunk as he fell, the forms of Patamon and Takeru collapsing into the bay with a distant splash. Ophanimon grimaced at her acts, before turning to face her more important concern.

"What?" Kari gasped, Ophanimon quickly glaring down in irritation at where Davis had once been. "Where did he go?"

"Kari, please, stop!" Gatomon pleaded, Kari continuing to grip hold onto control over their combined form.

"I can't Gatomon, I have to kill him!"

Gatomon sighed, realising that things were getting very dire. What was she to do? Kari seemed hell-bent on destruction, regardless of her objections, and it was so unlike her, the girl who would avoid killing at all costs. Something more powerful was involved here, but Gatomon didn't have the faintest clue what it could be.

All she knew was that today could only end badly. Someone was going to get badly injured, and she wasn't about to place bets on who it would be.

"_Good luck Davis."_

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Nagasaki station, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**19:26 JST**_

"SILENCE!"

Henry, Rey and Terriermon froze on the spot, surprised they hadn't been shot yet. A Chinese boy and a strange creature, perhaps a secret weapon of the Allies, in the middle of a random Japanese city in a time when even the smallest event could impact the outcome of the war - they were the kind of thing that'd be target number one, shoot on sight.

"REPORT YOUR NAMES."

"Rey Matsuki."

"Henry Wong."

"Ter…"

Henry coughed promptly over his partner speaking, hoping that the soldiers wouldn't suspect anything. "It's a stuffed animal."

"Do I look like I was born yesterday?! I saw it talk! What is it?"

Henry nervously glanced to Terriermon, the bunny glancing back nervously from the redhead's shoulder. "I'm a Digital Monster."

"A weapon then. As I suspected," the senior officer boomed, not allowing Henry and Rey to object. He turned to his soldiers sharply, his comrades obediently preparing their weapon. Henry could tell that some of them were fearful of the strange creature. A series of hand gestures seemed to reassure his men, as few words were spoken between them. Rey gripped her hands into fists, stepping forward as Henry and Terriermon's eyes widened in alarm. Terriermon leapt over onto his Tamer's head, as the soldiers raised their guns.

"STOP MOVING!" they bellowed.

"Do you believe in Destiny?" Rey spoke, her determined look masking her total terror underneath. This was an extremely risky move, but it was their only real choice right now. Her hands dimly glowed reds and blues, energy swirling around them but not apparently enough for the soldiers to notice.

"What?" the soldier stormed.

"I asked, do you believe in Destiny?"

"I believe in the Destiny of the Emperor to never be defeated."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but do _you_ believe in Destiny?"

"Uh…of course, but why does it matter?"

"What if I could tell you your Destiny, right here, right now?"

"I would reject, of course. You are the enemy, even if you are Japanese. You have affiliated yourself with the enemy, a traitorous act."

"I have killed so many people, so many victims, so don't make yourself the next one...okay?" Rey asked, her voice a strange facsimile of her mother's as she glared into the soldiers' eyes. He looked into hers, before an amused smirk and chuckle occurred to him.

"A mere child? A girl, none the least? Don't be ridiculous."

"Don't say I didn't warn you…" Rey sighed, flashes of red and blue blazing in her eyes as she raised her hands. The soldier looked upon her with scorn, before gesturing to the others.

"Fire!"

"INFERNO SPHERES!"

As fingers pressed against triggers, those same triggers burst into nothing, the soldiers gasping as burning balls of red flame crashed through the barrels. A smirk materialised on the girl's face as she telepathically complimented her partner for her impeccable aim.

"What?!" the leader of the group gasped, surprised at the sudden turn in events. What were they dealing with?

"Now RUN!" Rey ordered, turning to Henry and Terriermon as they nodded in response. Teenage feet began to pound along long-replaced roads as they were joined by a yellow and red nine-tailed fox, bystanders looking on in surprise at the mystical display.

"You really know your timing!" Terriermon exclaimed, looking across to the redhead and her partner.

Rey smiled with determination, looking aside to the yellow fox and passing a nod. "And you certainly do too," she complimented. Even she was pleasantly surprised by how well that went.

"Don't celebrate too soon, they're following us, and they've got others with guns," Henry panicked, looking back over his shoulder and putting an end to the self-complimenting.

"You had to ruin our fun, didn't you?" Terriermon complained.

"Terriermon, shut up. It's your big mouth that got us in trouble in the first place!" Rey stated, glaring at the bunny.

"Hey, I was trying to reassure you. You looked really sad."

"Hello, I've spent my entire life going through disappointments and depressing battle moments like this…I think I'm able to cope with it."

"You're worse than Rika," Henry commented.

"Yeah, never accept a single compliment!" Terriermon added.

"As amusing as this war of insults is, they're gaining on us," Realmon interrupted, the four once again looking nervously over their shoulders at the oncoming soldiers. Rey grinned, clutching her fist again.

"Which is why I have…THI…" she began, turning and holding her brightly glowing hands out as she went to unleash her wings, and hence her full powers. Unfortunately for her pride, she was interrupted by an all-too-familiar sight, and yet, one that was very surprising in the current situation.

The energy faltered from her hands, the four of them stopping in surprise and all turning to face the rapidly approaching soldiers, who themselves stopped in their tracks upon seeing the remarkable sight.

Right in front of them, floating a few feet in the air with her arms crossed across her chest and a flurry of diamonds ready to be fired, was a yellow fox.

"Renamon!" Rey gasped, a similar look of amazement shooting across the gaze of her friends.

The creature glanced behind, surprised that someone she had never seen before knew her name. Regardless, there were more pressing issues at hand, as her eye line once again moved to the soldiers.

The chief soldier hesitated, something that none of his men did. A strange being, in the air and bracing diamonds to be fired at them, seemed about the right time as any to make a run for the hills. "Come back!" he ordered, to no avail, before he himself was forced to retreat in fear.

"DIAMOND STORM!"

The diamonds slammed into the road and exploded, ripping apart its already badly maintained surface and making it clear to the retreating soldiers that they were doing the right thing now, even if it meant betraying the usual practices and disciplines of their military.

Renamon's feet touched down on the ground, as elegantly as ever, before she swivelled around to look at those she had been protecting. A strange quadruplet they made; two humans, one seemingly at least partly of foreign decent, and a pair of Digimon, one a cream and green bunny that her mind identified as a Terriermon and the other one she had not seen before. The most peculiar thing was, the other one looked remarkably like her champion form, only much smaller.

"Who are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes to closely analyse the four. "You especially," she added, looking carefully over her double.

"This device has no data on her, Renamon," came a new voice from the lengthening shadows nearby.

Heads turned to face a new figure, very pale blue, almost ghost-like hair running loosely down from her pale face. Her clothes were basic, a pair of black shoes, a long, pale skirt and a pale blue traditional blouse, tinged with a darker blue in places. She stared out at them through awed violet pupils, looking amazingly vivid on her otherwise pale form. Oddly, however, she did not look badly fed, but she seemed so light and innocent. Her voice, however, came with a tinge of knowledge, of awareness, perhaps of wisdom, and yet her words were those of a child.

"Who are you and why do you have Digimon?" she asked, looking carefully across them as if she had stumbled on a great secret. What were these people doing here?

Noticing Henry's hesitancy, and even Terriermon's speechlessness in the light of the current situation, Rey stepped forward to answer the girl's question, gesturing about at their group. "My name is Rey Matsuki, and this is Henry Wong. These are our Digimon partners, Terriermon, who is Henry's partner, and Realmon, who is mine," she explained, before frowning as she looked over this new girl. She couldn't have been much older than her, and certainly not younger, and yet she seemed so innocent, so…un-teenage.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot my manners," the girl apologised, bowing lightly and receiving a reply bow from Henry, always taught to do such things. Rey didn't bother.

"What's your name then?" Rey asked curiously.

"My name is Naoko Tamiko," she replied, bowing lightly to introduce herself. She hesitated, a long silence as she seemed to listen to the air itself, glancing up to the sky and the clouds settling in across the orange splendour. "I think…never mind…" she mumbled, sighing. "I will take you back to my home."

"Uh, that's good, but we kind of don't want to attract any attention right now, so, thanks for the offer, but…" Henry began to reply humbly.

"You are running from soldiers, you need to hide," she said, frowning at the concept.

"Yeah, but your parents…we don't want to be turned in by anyone, sorry," Rey dismissed the idea.

"My parents…they're gone, I'm afraid."

"Gone?" Henry asked, before realising what the girl was hinting at. "Oh, right, gone."

"Victims of a bomb attack. They were too long to get to the shelter. It is my fault; I delayed them because I didn't want to be separated from them."

"Why didn't you just go with?" Realmon asked.

"I would be risking losing Renamon, and she means the world to me," Naoko said, a slim smile in the direction of the Kitsune. "Now, please, follow before more soldiers come."

Rey glanced to Henry for a second opinion, receiving a nod in response and breathing a sigh of relief that she wasn't the only one with the present opinion. "Alright," she replied, nodding and smiling to Naoko. "Show us the way."

"I will," the girl replied, turning on her heels and beginning to lead them along a side street, the shadows of the buildings closing in behind them. Renamon brought up the rear, making Realmon speculate she could be for more than simply keeping an eye out for soldiers.

"_She probably thinks we're the enemy or something. Then again, dropping into the middle of everything like this, I'm not surprised."_

Rey smiled when she caught a glimpse of a watch on Naoko's wrist: it suggested she wasn't the worst off, although perhaps it was only an heirloom from when she had parents. Her mind wandered to pondering about how someone could survive without parents for so long, but she knew that she herself was the answer to that thought.

"That's a lovely watch," she complimented after noticing Naoko had seen her gaze.

"Thanks," the girl replied uncomfortably, covering the sapphire-blue reflective D-Vice with her sleeve.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

And finally "Survivor", the Fifth story of Extra Dimensions, should make some sense. No, it wasn't Rika at all, and I'm surprised how many people didn't realise that. Give it another read, and you'll see what I mean.

Until next time…

B.C.


	52. The Trick To Harmony

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 46**

_The Trick to Harmony_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:43 JST**_

"Rika?" Jeri asked, surprised at how the girl had made her entrance. What did she mean, "missing all the fun", and why did she look so ready for battle?

"**CAN'T YOU JUST STOP?!" **Chaos yelled, glaring across at the redhead with bitter irritation.

"Stop what?" Rika asked, evidently treating the question as the most idiotic one she had ever heard, something that was definitely a very high accolade from her.

"Trying to kill us!" Takato explained, still in disbelief about how Rika was simply ignoring his pleas. What on earth was controlling her, and how? Rika never seemed the type to be susceptible to mind games, and he highly doubted this was a mere mood swing.

"Why would we want to do that?" Renamon asked, narrowing an eye in bewilderment at the insane suggestion. Why would they ever want to stop this assassination attempt?

"What's going on?" Mari asked, confused and not noticing that she herself had fallen under the same spell as Rika. In fact, Jeri was just as oblivious, and the only one thankful for that was their joint target, Ryder. The others were irritated by the fact none of the girls had realised what was going on yet.

"I am trying to kill Takato, isn't it obvious?" Rika explained, her tone patronising and annoyed. How long could it take someone to understand an idea?

"What?!" Jeri gasped, hand going to her mouth in horror. "Rika, you can't."

"Guilmon…psst…Guilmon…pass me my crutches…" Ryder whispered, looking across to the stunned red dinosaur and being irritated when the saurian was too occupied to react. "Fine, I'll do it myself," he huffed, reaching across with his good arm to the pair of discarded implements. Perhaps he could make yet another attempt at escaping?

The cocking of a gun put an end to that idea, Mari casually aiming down to him. "Don't even try it," she spat. Jeri swivelling round at the sound of the noise in surprised, before the dark look returned to her face.

"Just hurry up and kill him already," she complained.

"What?" Rika gasped, looking across at where the other two girls were conspiring to kill another boy. What was going on? He wasn't Takato, what were they playing at?

"Fine with me," Mari said, smiling evilly as she pointed the gun towards Ryder's back, a steady hand once again.

"Wait a second; you're both trying to kill Ryder?" Rika said, Mari and Jeri looking up, tedium rife on their faces.

"Yeah," Jeri replied, whilst the three males up for execution silently got their hopes up. Any second now, the girls would realise what was really going on, and everything they had said would…

"I tell you what," Rika began, smiling widely as a new plan was formulated in her mind. "Let's work together to kill all three of them," she added, looking to Renamon who nodded in response.

"A perfect plan," Renamon agreed.

"Okay."

"Sounds good."

"What?!" Takato complained, Rika menacingly advancing towards him. He stepped back, losing his balance and stumbling to the ground.

"**Takato, you are so bloody useless!" **Chaos complained, as the line of the gun moved to point squarely at him and his alter-ego, the barrel hardly two feet from their back. This was getting dangerous.

"Then we'll take out the most dangerous target first," the pregnant redhead decided, smiling widely as her hands glowed the familiar blue tinge, and were set on a perfect aim at Takato.

Ryder stared across in horror as Renamon did likewise, crossing her arms in readiness to send her trademark move in the direction of the boy. _"I have to do something!" _he thought, but what could he do? He was as much of a target as Takato, they would hardly hold up if he ran in the way.

"I won't let you hurt Takato!" Guilmon complained, rushing in front of his Tamer with arms out, determined to block any attempt by Rika to kill his Tamer. Ryder could already see the flaw in the plan, despite the dinosaur's heroic intentions.

Jeri laughed in amusement: Guilmon's tactics were far from foolproof. "Takato will be shot in the back then."

Guilmon panicked, realising his error as he agitatedly looked behind. There was nothing he could do. Takato was going to die!

"**Hmph, you really think I've never been held at gunpoint before?" **Chaos asked, standing proudly to his feet, a suicidal move since it put him out of the defence of Guilmon's body. He smirked widely, hands glowing a blood red.

"Fire!" Jeri said to Mari, realising they would have a split-second chance before Chaos tried something clever, or dumb. Both ways, he'd probably find a way out of the present situation.

**BANG!**

Chaos smirked as his wings shot out, smashing into the bullet in flight and sending it well off course. It came at a minor cost, a hole torn through the reddish skin in the process. Rika growled in annoyance, as Chaos smirked eagerly, shooting up into the air as Harmony and Renamon fired their signature blasts of energy at him.

"DIAMOND STORM!"

"HARMONY'S BLAST!"

"**CHAOTIC VORTEX!"** Chaos replied, raising his hands and sending out a large spiralling tornado of energy to absorb both blasts, cancelling it out in the process. He glared down to Renamon, a dark look on his face. **"Look familiar Renamon?"**

Renamon simply growled in response, the harrowing memory of being trapped within that same vortex replaying through her mind and making her cringe. She couldn't let that happen again.

The gun cocked again, attracting the attention of the unbalanced deity away from his eternal opposite and towards the Second Angel. He angrily pointed out a finger, one tipped with red.

"**Don't even dare!"** he spat, Mari hesitating in her aim of the gun at Ryder. Sure, she could kill him, but it'd risk her own life in the process. Jeri took a step back; things were getting way too risky for her liking.

"Everyone, please, calm down!" Ryder pleaded; glancing over to the still-unconscious form of his partner with a frown as he painfully pushed himself to his feet again with one crutch. He had to help the dragon, even if the bullet itself had ceased with its stunning shocks of electromagnetic disruption. "Or more of us are going to get hurt!"

Chaos looked down at the boy, his face exasperated and his eyes tired. This had been such a pleasant day for him, he'd brought out his Goggles specially, but it'd turned so sour. Things had to stop, right now.

"HARMONIC DISC!"

"POWER PAW!"

Chaos screamed in agony at the unexpected attack that had crashed into his back, before he spiralled down towards the ground. Guilmon similarly screamed in pain, tossed across the plaza like a rag doll and being once again left weak and in pain. Rika smirked: their opponents had lost their upper hand in this battle. She looked over to the pained boy and his thrown partner, both as useless right now as each other.

"Next one," she said, raising her hands again to aim at the boy who had been the target of so many attempts on his life already this morning. "Shall I do the honours?" she asked, looking across to the Second Angel curiously. She didn't want to deprive the girl of her success.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to deal with him," Mari said, smiling before cocking her gun once again and putting it to the back of Ryder's head. Ryder sighed at the sound; evidently she had plenty of ammunition on her, and wouldn't be running out anytime soon. "On your knees!" she spat, Ryder complying in order to buy himself just that little bit more time. What he would do with it was something he still wasn't sure of, but it was better than nothing.

"Fine, but hurry up. This is getting so boring," Rika complained, putting her hands behind her head as she stretched out her uninjured arms. This was so easy; their targets weren't even making the slightest attempt at attacking them back. No wonder they were failing miserably.

"Mari, you're making a big mistake here!" Ryder pleaded, hoping dearly that they wouldn't be his last words as he felt the barrel once again press against his skull. This was going to be messy.

"I don't think I am," Mari replied monotonously. "Why would I be?"

"Ivy will kill you when she gets here, you know that?"

"That bitch can go to hell for all I care."

"An enraged blonde biomerged into an Olympus Twelve mega hell-bent on your death. I don't know about you, but I think maybe that's something to be worried about."

"I have DarkRenamon to protect me."

Ryder laughed, making Mari's expression falter in confusion as her glare was broken. How could he laugh at a time like this? What was so funny?

"Even if you could biomerge, which you can't, Kuzuhamon would be simply put to sleep by her **Goodnight Moon** attack…" _"…finally, studying Ivy's future digivolution profiles comes in useful!"_

Mari growled, pushing the gun further forward in anger. "I don't care, DarkRenamon will win."

"DarkRenamon won't listen to you! You shot her! Twice!"

"What?!" Jeri gasped, horror flashing through her eyes at the concept as Ryder inwardly cheered. He was slowly undoing the bonds between these girls, the foundation for their plans, and with that he could give them all the chance to survive.

"I…I had to get her out of the way to kill Ryder," Mari attempted to defend her actions, lowering the gun as she began to plead with her fellow brunette.

"But you attacked your own partner!" Jeri cried, not realising the hypocrisy of the situation.

Mari looked worried, someone finally managing to make her feel fully guilty and fully responsible for her actions. Rika just looked irritated by the turn of events: this was postponing her chance to get rid of Takato. Renamon, on the other hand, looked concerned: Mari had done something atrocious, and she was only now properly realising it.

"I know…but…" Mari hesitated, trying to think of a way to explain her actions. Jeri wanted Ryder dead too, didn't she? Surely it was all for the same cause? But Jeri didn't want Ryder dead, she wanted Henry dead, and that made a big difference in what she saw as acceptable.

"I lost my partner, and now you go and attack your own!" Jeri yelled, anger mounting in her voice as she forced herself to relive painful memories. "You're worse than him!" she spat, pointing at the boy on his knees.

"I…I'm sorry," Mari apologised, her arms falling to her sides as the full weight of her actions crashed into her like a ton of bricks. In the pursuit of homicide, she had committed genocide; a nuke to kill one person.

"**About time you realised what's going on,"** Chaos cheered, his voice rough and pained as he and Guilmon stood up again, both as injured as each other. Chaos shot a glare across to Harmony, prompting Rika to stride over to the action with Renamon in tow. This was going to either end well, or badly.

"Now can we talk?" Takato asked, looking across to his fiancée desperately. The bloodshed, the pursuits, the attacks, they had to stop now before something really bad happened.

For a split second, seeing Takato, scratched and injured, Rika saw sense. Her mind clicked, things beginning to add up and redress the balance, but they were stopped. Like a shard of glass blocking the hands of a clock from moving, she faltered, her mind rushing back to her previous ways with a vengeance as her hands primed with blue.

"No!" she yelled, raising her palms and sending a pulse of blue energy in Takato's direction. It slammed into his form, the boy crying in agony as he was scoured across the ground. Rika smirked widely, advancing on the boy with malice in her eyes.

"Takato!" Guilmon cried, wincing at the pain of his Tamer, amplified by their link before he himself was thrown by a kick by Renamon. He ended up crashing down on top of his partner's injured form, making things even worse for the pair of them.

"Takato! Guilmon!" Ryder exclaimed, horrified as his intricate plan fell to pieces. This couldn't be happening! They were so close to safety, yet so far.

But there was still a chance. Mari and Jeri were on the verge of realisation: if they could be convinced to change their ways, then maybe he could still save them all.

"Please Mari, put down the gun," Ryder pleaded, pushing himself to his feet again and hoping dearly this would work. Jeri had locked into a continual glare, Mari faltering under the pressure of the girl's anger.

"I…I…I…" Mari mumbled, looking across to the Gogglehead worriedly. "I can't."

Ryder frowned, sighing as he contemplated the fact that this would be his end. It was something he had had a chance to contemplate a lot recently, but it still scared him. _"God I hope I'm immortal...although then she'd just try to kill me forever."_

He nudged backwards, a pointless act since Mari could move much faster than him.

Chaos growled, leaping to his feet with a roaring aura burning around him. His fists clenched angrily, his wings shooting out rapidly as Rika continued to advance on him.

"**No more games,"** he growled, turning and catching Rika off guard by running across the plaza towards his fallen partner. He grabbed the Digimon's tail, not pausing as he dragged the dinosaur across the ground. Rika turned, too late to stop things as Chaos continued on and barged a startled Mari aside.

**BANG!**

The gun fired into the air, Ryder promptly grabbed by Chaos and pulled along the ground, crutches in tow. With a flap of Chaos' mighty wings, He soared over the heads of the girls below. Ryder felt his arm ache as it was pulled on by both Chaos and gravity. He thanked the heavens it was his good arm, although that did mean he could end up with no uninjured limbs. That would certainly make moving around difficult, perhaps impossible.

"_I feel like a rag doll," _Ryder thought as Chaos was forced to land by the sheer weight of those he was carrying and by his growing fatigue. Guilmon landed with a bump, Chaos twisting around as quickly as he could to see the three girls, now a considerable distance away across the plaza.

"_**Okay, I'm tired, Ryder's useless and Guilmon's slow…any ideas for how on earth we get out of this?"**_

"_I've got none."_

"_**Ugh, great use you are."**_

"Can you all just stop running away?" Rika groaned, annoyed by the continual escapades of the three males.

Ryder, deciding that getting to his feet, as painful as it was, was rather important in the pursuit of a quick escape, gripped his crutches and fought back against the pain wracking through his arm.

"Takato, what do we do?" Guilmon asked, both sides of the battle weighing up their current options.

Renamon frowned, Chaos probably had some considerable power banks remaining, but on the other hand the cost of using them could injure Takato. Ryder was just being lucky so far, and if left alone he should've been easy to dispatch, whilst Guilmon could prove trickier.

Ryder began to appraise the females, pondering which of them were truly dangerous. Mari had a gun and an aim to match, but Rika was part-God. If they lost their sight on Renamon, she could easily sneak up behind them, whilst Jeri seemed to be the least useful of them all, not least because she still viewed Mari with scorn.

"Ryder? Takato?"

Ryder and Takato turned to see a new figure approaching from the path behind, a large green insectoid Digimon having evidently placed him onto the ground only moments before. Ken's mouth hung open, surprised by the scene he turned up to see.

"Finally, some backup," Ryder cheered, a grim frown on his face. "Have you got a recharge card?"

"Uh…yeah," Ken replied, unsurely holding out the card to Ryder. He had no idea what was going on yet, but he was already being involved in the action.

"Thanks," Ryder replied, promptly using the card to rehabilitate his fallen partner. "DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!"

Jeri nervously looked across the battlefield to No Man's Land where Donmon's eyes opened, the bullet clattering away as he growled, pushing himself to his feet and looking about at the new state of affairs. "Ryder, you're alright!" he cheered, seeing his partner and beginning to run in that direction.

"Depends on your definition of "alright"," Ryder answered, frowning as he gestured to the blood-soaked makeshift bandage on his arm.

"What happened?"

"She missed, barely."

"Takato, what's going on?" Ken asked as he became thoroughly confused by the current state of affairs.

"Uh, I don't really know myself. I think the girls are trying to kill us because they love us," Takato replied.

"Yolei was doing the same thing."

"Wait, what?" Ryder gasped, it becoming clear as day that there was a specific pattern to these attempts on their lives.

"Stingmon and I only just made it out of there alive, but she could be after us soon."

"We have to stop this before someone gets hurt," Takato decreed, receiving nods of agreement from the others in response.

"Ken, we need to find the source of this mind control," Stingmon advised, Ken nodding in response.

"I agree Stingmon, but it could be anyone. How do we find them?" the blue-haired boy replied.

"And how do we stop them killing us while we look?" Ryder added grimly, looking back over to the girls. Rika, in their distractedness, had prepared another attempt, the blast shooting across the battlefield from the blue shimmering disc in front of her hands.

"HARMONIC DISC!"

Chaos promptly raised a large shield wall between them and the others, the beam of energy colliding with it and cancelling out. He frowned, feeling ready to fall asleep but knowing that they certainly didn't have the time for that right now.

"You okay Takato?" Guilmon asked, concerned about the welfare of his partner.

"Yeah, just a bit tired."

"**I can give us shielding for a while, but we need to make the most of it."**

"Where do we start looking anyway?"

"What on earth is going on here?!" spluttered a new voice, footsteps pounding towards them. They turned to face Chiyo, DarkBiyomon in tow, both looking horrified at the scene they had arrived at.

"They're trying to kill us!" Guilmon blurted, Chiyo's eyes widening in shock.

Inwardly, of course, she knew it was all a façade. The thing was the boys were putting up a much better fight than she had expected them to, and she was getting bored. So, how better than to speed things up by "helping them"?

"What?! Why?!"

Plus, it'd provide an alibi. No-one would suspect her if she herself was helping them, and was shocked by events. Sure, she could've turned up evilly laughing and ready to add to the firepower of the girls, but that would be far less…interesting.

"I think they're possessed by something," Ryder answered, looking across anxiously to Mari, reloading her gun and pondering another attempt. Jeri seemed completely out of place without any weapon to attack them with, but she seemed to be having doubts of her own about the morality of killing and hurting others to kill their targets. "Look, you're not possessed or anything…can you try to convince them?"

"Um…" Chiyo mumbled, frowning before she faked a worried look, looking down to DarkBiyomon. "I could, but what if they attack me?"

"**So long as you don't get in the way, they won't."**

"Please Chiyo, we really need your help," Ryder pleaded.

"_Oh the irony…"_ "Okay, I'll give it a shot at least," Chiyo answered, wandering across the plaza towards the other girls. She began to ponder what she could say to them that wouldn't jeopardise her plan in the process. She wasn't too worried; this was a pretty powerful spell as had cast here.

Ryder crossed his fingers. Their only hopes lay on Chiyo Suzume.

Inevitably, the sky chose that moment to open, a lightning bolt creasing across the sky.

* * *

_**Tokyo Bay, Minato Ward**_

_**10:50 JST**_

The cold waters rushed over the greyish sands of the muddied beach, roughened by the storm winds that had begun to sweep along the bay. The sudden burst of rain did little to aid things, and neither did the loud rumble of the skies above.

Takeru felt sick as he opened his eyes again, his clothes soaked through and his blonde hair without its usual brilliance and shine. He choked up a fraction of the bay's water, dragging himself out of the sea and pushing himself to his knees. He remained bent over, coughing hoarsely for a moment as his mind concentrated on nothing else.

Once his mind was freed from that, however, alarm swept over it and his head and eyes darted about, looking for something conspicuously absent.

"Patamon!" he said, before being forced to clear his sore throat. His hand went to his oddly-bare head as he contemplated fearfully the fate of his partner. Where was he? Had he drowned? Could Digimon drown?

He heard a cough from nearby, small digital lungs (or whatever Digimon actually had, a discovery that pended the creation of the correct medical analysis equipment) attempting to dispel the rough feeling that had overcome them.

"You okay?" Takeru asked, fearful for his partner who was lying on his side endlessly choking.

"I've been better Takeru," Patamon replied, continuing to cough after speaking. He sat up and turned to face his Tamer with a frown. "Are you okay?"

"My lungs hurt, I feel sore all over and I've lost my hat. I'm fine."

"You have others, don't you Takeru?"

"Yeah, but that's not the thing," Takeru sighed, retrieving his D-Arc from his belt and being relieved that it wasn't damaged, or, indeed, wet, something he would've contemplated more if his mind wasn't elsewhere.

"Ophanimon really hurt huh?"

"You said it," Takeru answered, not taking his eyes off the screen as he tried to get both his own mind and his partner off that particular subject. "Worse still, we've lost track of them, and I don't even know what's causing it."

"Try emailing them," Patamon suggested helpfully, waving a wing towards the boy's pocket. He nodded, reaching inside and being glad it was buttoned up. Like before, the device wasn't even scratched as the boy lifted it to begin sending an email.

"I'll email Davis," Takeru decided, beginning to type away. "Kari wouldn't listen even if she weren't biomerged," he sighed.

"Maybe some of the others can help."

"So long as they're not controlled too."

"So is that what you think it is then Takeru?"

"Either that, or I have no idea. Kari never wants to fight anyone, let alone her friends."

"Yeah, and the last person I expected her to fight was Davis."

"…yeah…"

"Even if he can do some stupid things at times," the oblivious guinea-pig laughed.

"Okay, and…send…" Takeru announced, tapping the button and watching the little animation scroll across the screen. An eyebrow rose, quickly turning into an irritated forehead crease. "Failed to send."

"Maybe it's damaged or something?"

"I'm not sure how though, this thing doesn't have a scratch on it. I'll try sending it again."

Patamon nodded, before watching as his partner went through the same procedure again, pausing as he once again watched the animation. The same reaction, albeit more irritated, repeated itself.

"Today is not my day," he groaned, achingly pushing himself to his feet and running a hand through his sullen blonde hair, rain gently dropping into it regularly. "Come on, we'll go to Shinjuku Park. Maybe there'll be someone there to help."

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Tamiko Residence, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**19:42 JST**_

"Please leave your shoes by the door," Naoko requested, turning to face her newfound companions as they entered the traditional home. It was a fair bit smaller than Rika's, although still evidently consisted of several rooms. A kitchen area was on one side, looking untidy and with dust beginning to accumulate on the unused elements of its cutlery. The other side consisted of the typical customisable Japanese room, although right now it had a small low table on it with a collection of pieces of paper, a sofa, a chair, and an old radio, with other furniture presumably in the cupboards lining the back. Between them was a traditional door seemingly leading out to a garden, the last rays of sunlight beaming through as night continued to consume them.

Henry and Rey nodded, promptly doing as they were told whilst Realmon and Terriermon continued to gaze around at the home.

"So do you get good TV reception here?"

"TV? Oh, TV...yes, I saw one once, but...didn't they close the stations down before the war?" Naoko asked, bewildered by the odd question.

"You'll have to excuse him, he's an idiot."

"Hey, Realmon! That's not fair! You hardly know me."

"Terriermon, I have known you for a lot longer than you've known me."

"Hey! Uh…Henry, help me here!"

"Terriermon, please stop getting us in more trouble," Henry sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Sure, when everyone else does it it's an accident, but when I do it, it's my own fault."

"Sorry about him."

"I don't understand. Why does your partner ignore you like that?" Naoko asked looking to Henry curiously as the bunny constantly tried to get his attention.

Terriermon finally decided to get attention the usual way, by jumping onto Henry's head and butting into whatever conversation he was having at that moment. "It's cause Henry always scolds me too much."

"Hmph, a partner who does not listen to his Tamer. How pathetic," Renamon mocked, arms crossed where she stood away from them, over leaning against the wall.

"You sound just like the Renamon I know, you know that? Both of you are so rude," Terriermon complained, crossing his arms in annoyance and pouting.

"You know a Renamon?" Naoko asked, surprised by the reference. Pausing periodically, she glanced across to Rey, memories being flared up in her mind. "Rey, you knew Renamon's name when you first saw her."

"Yeah, we know this Renamon where we come from."

"Is she a tamed Digimon like me?" Renamon asked, curiosity plaguing her mind about her apparent cousin. Perhaps she wasn't the only one from the village to have fallen into the human world by accident.

"Yeah," Henry replied, smiling as memories of home returned to him. It seemed so far away now, all those trivial problems they had. Well, at the time they seemed so important, but compared to this…they simply couldn't compete.

"What's her Tamer like?" Naoko asked, the discovery making her wonder about whether she was alone in this business.

"Well, her name is Rika. She's…one of the best, even if she can be a bit hot-headed and tempered at times," Henry explained, pondering how to describe the girl in words. Rika was one of those people rather difficult to pin down in words alone.

"One of them? You mean there are more of you?"

Terriermon chuckled in amusement. "More? There are tons of us!"

"Really?" Naoko asked, surprised that she had never heard of such a group. Where could they be? How could they survive knowing that their Digimon would instantly get them shot or held indefinitely? "Where?"

Henry glared down warily to his partner. Was this really what they wanted to be talking about? They were obviously getting this girl's hopes up that there were other Tamers out there.

"Tokyo," Rey replied, interjecting into the conversation and coming up with a way to manoeuvre around certain obstacles. She decided to continue her normal game of playing cards close to her chest, since the wrong word now would reveal too much to both pasts, both that of Henry and of Naoko. "We're members of a secret organisation called SLEGNA. It's outside the government, and it manages the presence and role of the Digimon in our world."

"Our world?" Renamon asked, surprised by the reference. "You know of the other world then?"

"The Digital World, yeah, of course!" Terriermon cheered. "Great place, unless you don't like dying."

"The…Digital World?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm…we must be talking of different places then, I know of no such Digital World."

"Really? But you're a Digimon, you must have heard of it?" Henry asked, confused by how a Digimon could possibly not know of their home world.

"The only other world I know of is the World of Ideas."

"What's that?" Terriermon asked, confused.

"I did not see much of it before I fell into this world, but I lived in a village. A peaceful place called the Kabuki Village."

"Hmm…odd," Henry pondered.

Rey, seeing that perhaps too much was being disclosed here, decided to once again pull them off onto another thread of conversation.

"Well, anyway, in this organisation, we all have a role to play. We came here investigating…um…some Digital signals, and then we found you."

Naoko frowned, sighing deeply. "I see."

"Reflecting on it, it wasn't exactly the most logical of missions," Rey sighed, looking up at the ceiling and faking a distant look, something rather easy given who her father was.

Henry decided to fabricate this lie a little more. He was rather impressed, actually, with how well Rey had done it to start with. She clearly had spent their time walking here thinking very carefully. "Yeah, but everyone else was busy."

"The bombing at Hiroshima caused disruption on our equipment," Realmon sighed, frowning.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that," Naoko noted, frowning. "I had family members out there. I was going to go stay with them, but they're probably all dead now."

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Rey said, her hand gently reaching out to reassure Naoko before she hesitated, realising that that would look very unusual in the past.

"Yeah," Naoko sighed, looking off into the distance before bringing herself firmly back to reality again, knowing there was nothing she could do about it. Renamon frowned as she observed her Tamer, saddened by the girl's depression about her family's death. "Please, sit down," she offered, gesturing across the room to the sofa.

"Thanks," Henry said, bowing lightly before he and Rey wandered over to sit on the worn sofa. Naoko took up a seat opposite them, evidently an older one more in the style of an armchair.

"So…" she mumbled, trying to figure out how to deal with this huge influx of new information. "What does SLEGNA stand for?"

Rey smiled lightly, as if she had been asked the question many a time before. "Oh, that's easy. Special Legislative Executive Guard of Normals and A…uh…well, actually…" she hesitated, blushing as she realised how close she had come to screwing things up here. "…uh…you know, I can't quite remember," she mumbled, Henry giving her a confused look. "Sorry."

"Oh, never mind then. How many of you are there in total then?"

"Ugh, don't make me count. Let's see, in SLEGNA itself, there are…" Rey pondered, beginning to count casually on her fingers as she stared off into space. "God, I really have no idea, sorry."

"Does the government know about you?"

"They know we exist, but they don't really know what we do."

"So it's a risky job then?" Renamon asked.

"Huh?"

"Well, the government would kill you for simply being seen with something that could be a secret weapon of the Allies, let alone harbouring a foreigner in your group," Naoko explained, eyes widened as she contemplated the impossibility of it all. She glanced over to Henry. "No offence," she apologised, receiving a dismissive shrug from the boy. The past was a racist time, and they couldn't simply whitewash things over.

"We stay undercover really," Rey explained. "There are a lot of grownups in our group…my mother, Rika…"

"She's your mother?" Naoko gasped, surprised. She'd imagined Rika to be someone about Rey's age, not an adult. "Isn't she worried you might get harmed?"

"She knows I have Realmon to protect me."

"Yeah, but…Realmon, I have been wondering. Why do you look like my champion form, Kyubimon?" Renamon asked, looking across to the smaller fox curiously.

"Um…" Realmon mumbled, glancing to Rey for guidance, and unfortunately realising that Rey had as little idea of what to do as she did. "I'm not sure."

"So how does SLEGNA work? What do you guys do each day?" Naoko asked, her mind still in shock about the organisation she had heard about. Dangerous and somewhat sinister as it sounded, it could be her way out of her current misery. The concept that it involved a family as well, and that it was beyond a simple cold organisation, had made her wish to find out about them even more.

"Basically, we find Digimon that have appeared in the real world, and we stop them from causing havoc."

"Really? Does that happen often in Tokyo then?" Renamon asked, surprised that such an incredibly rare event could be such a trivial one for these children.

"Yeah, it happens a lot. We use our digivices to find them…these things…" Henry began, before reaching down to his belt and retrieving his D-Arc to show the girl. He held it up in the air, a look of confusion crossing her face as she looked over it.

"Never seen one of those before," Naoko noted, looking carefully over the device, its green ring and its black screen as Henry held it out.

"Really?" Henry asked, surprised that someone could be a Tamer without one. It would take a pretty close bond to digivolve without one, something that only Takato had been known to do, and that was in a very climactic situation.

"Yeah, my one looks completely different to that," Naoko replied, pulling down her sleeve, lifting her arm in the air, and completely blowing Rey and Henry's mind with the sapphire device on it, one that promptly expanded to its full form and left no doubts as to its owner's real identity.

Rey gasped, unable to speak at first as Naoko eyed her, confused. What was this girl so surprised at? Had she seen a device like this before?

"Harmony?!"

"…_**WHAT?!"**_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, it was pretty obvious from Survivor that Naoko is a previous incarnation of Harmony but Rey and Henry naturally hadn't realised that yet. Now they have, however, things are going to get very complicated, as if they weren't so already.

Until next time…

B.C.


	53. The Trick To Seduction

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 47**

_The Trick to Seduction_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Streets of Minato, Minato Ward**_

_**11:00 JST**_

"_Rain, rain, everywhere, so let's all get soaked to the skin,"_ Sakura mentally moaned, shivering as she pulled her deep blue coat further over her and attempted to stay dry from the sudden downpour. The sky had turned an odd, yellowish brown colour, the surreal colour seen on occasion about a storm.

Around her, the few people venturing out into the outside world had upped their pace significantly, and she did likewise. However, she was forced to stop once again when her hood was blown off her head, muttering obscenities as she returned it to its pride of place over her blue hair and resumed her walk.

And why was she out? Unfortunately, the previous day, when sent out to get the various items from the shop, she had forgotten one particular item, and hence, she now found herself strolling back through the rain, a bottle of milk making the shopping bag in her hand annoyingly heavy and causing it to crash into her legs every so often as it swung around.

Once again, the bag crashed into her, although this time it was because of her coming to a sudden stop, her eyes registering an object moving towards her at breakneck speed along a road running perpendicular to hers. "Huh?"

Looking to the left, she stumbled backwards upon seeing a golden horse flying through the air towards the intersection, a bizarre sight in any situation. It looked generally unfazed by the weather, and seemed far more determined to complete some unknown task.

"Pegasusmon, are you sure you know where we are?" a voice asked, approaching quickly and gaining volume. The boy seemed to be shouting anyway, the nature of the situation desperate and the pounding of rain making everyone have to talk a bit louder to be heard.

"I hope so Takeru," the Pegasus replied, a half-joking half-serious tone to his voice as he picked up his pace.

Sakura pinned her eyes to the sight, discerning a blonde haired boy on the back of the Pegasus as it flew past her at great speed. He gripped on tightly to his Digimon's back, it registering to Sakura that this boy was obviously one of the Tamers, albeit not one she had seen in their school.

"_I have heard of ones elsewhere though."_

And with that, the golden horse grew smaller and smaller, fading into the distance along the street and heading towards an unknown destination. Sakura frowned; something big was evidently going down.

"_I had better watch my step," _she noted, knowing how risky things got for the people of Tokyo whenever the Tamers engaged in one of their games. Only a few months ago, several dozen people had been killed by a rogue human and his Digimon. Whilst the Tamers had taken them down, it had raised serious concerns about whether they could be trusted with protecting the city from threats.

As she continued her walk, like all those others who had paid a brief glance to the unusual sight, she crossed over the intersection and continued down another road. The buildings became more residential, little trees and grass areas in front of the apartment buildings to make them seem more homely, an attempt overpowered by the omnipresence of concrete.

"_Just a little further," _she mentally noted, seeing a sign denoting the border between the wards of Minato and Shinjuku.

On the right, across the road, there was a brief gap in the buildings, a small park laid out for the area's children. The swings and slides lay silent, however, apart for the pitter-patter of rain upon their surfaces. The area looked distant from where she was standing, a slight fog settling in around a large towering geyser, emanating from the centre of a play-structure consisting of a frame of metal poles. Her mind too busy thinking about other things, she barely noticed it at first.

She stopped in her tracks on the side of the road opposite the park, turning and looking across for a closer look at the current state of the park. Something was not right.

"What's that?" she pondered, seeing the fog quickly consume the park and fortunately having no humans to sweep up in its wake as well. Her eyes widened, this was the thing that appeared whenever a Digimon appeared.

She glanced down the street to either side, half-expecting the Tamers to come barrelling down it, partners in tow. But, oddly, nothing happened, even with the blonde boy nearby. She would've expected him to have come to deal with the issue, or else someone could get hurt, but…nothing.

She anxiously stood, staring across at the fog and seeing a figure materialise within it, a black silhouette. She knew she had to run, to escape, to get away from it and leave it to the professionals, but something made her stop.

And that same thing that made her stop then made her run across the road.

* * *

_**Streets of Bunkyō Ward**_

_**11:00 JST**_

"Greymon, kick the lead out!"

"You try running with my legs!"

Tai frowned, clinging on for dear life to the brown external skull of his orange dinosaur partner as he startled many observers with his bulky form, rushing down the street as fast as he could.

"We should biomerge," Tai mumbled, looking back nervously. They should've done it to start with, but the hurry to get out of the apartment block didn't give them the chance, and trying to do so now risked them getting attacked in the process.

"Tai, we have to get out of the main streets then."

"Yeah, we should," Tai agreed, pointing away down a nearby road. Time was completely of the element, any delay risked them being attacked by...

"CRIMSON FLAME!"

"Hold on Tai!" Greymon growled, Tai grabbing on for dear life as Greymon turned to face the approaching flames. They collided with his stomach, pushing him back through the roadway and creating a pair of long trenches through the ground with his bulky feet. He groaned in pain, Tai carefully leaping aside as his partner tumbled back onto the ground, kicking up dust into the air.

"Greymon!" Tai called, seeing the form of his partner shrink considerably back to a small orange dragon in the dust. He rushed across, fear in his eyes. "You okay buddy?" he asked, fearful.

"Yeah," Agumon coughed, standing to his feet and brushing himself down with his claws. He looked to Tai, determination in his eyes as Phoenixmon expectedly faltered.

"Sora, what are you doing?!" Biyomon gasped.

"I have to kill Tai!" Sora insisted.

"What? Why?"

"Biyomon, break the biomerge!" Tai cried.

"Don't listen to him!" Sora ordered.

"Tai, now!" Agumon called, knowing they had a brief window of opportunity here.

"Right!" Tai agreed, clenching his fist around his out-held silver, orange and blue D-Arc as it burst into orange light.

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Agumon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

**WarGreymon!**

The dragon warrior slammed a pair of solid armoured feet into the ground, sharp claws primed as he glared up into the eyes of the huge bird.

"Tai, I can't stop her…run!" Biyomon shrieked.

"Biyomon, stop it!" Sora complained.

"That's all the advice I need!" WarGreymon cried, turning and shooting up into the air as he flew away, Phoenixmon attempting a pursuit but failing thanks to her comparable lack of speed and larger size.

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Tamiko Residence, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**19:55 JST**_

Naoko stayed silent for a while, a bewildered look on her face as she stared over at her two new companions. Both wore looks of intense shock, as did their partners. Even her own partner, as she glanced over to the bipedal fox, appeared to be surprised by this latest turn of events.

"Wait a minute here, are you suggesting that this girl is Harmony?!" Terriermon gasped, looking to the redhead with an alarmed expression.

Rey didn't answer him directly, instead staring into the girl's violet pupils with intense curiosity. This was something she hadn't expected: she'd become so side-tracked by nuclear bombs, war and racism that she hadn't even considered this possibility.

But those eyes…while being on a different person, they seemed so…familiar. So like those eyes she had looked into all her life, those angered eyes to scold her, those loving eyes to comfort her, those determined eyes to fight whatever threats they faced; the eyes of her mother, Rika Nonaka.

But at the same time, they were not. This was her, but all the same, it wasn't. She was not only different in looks, but in personality too, at least, by how she had presented herself thus far. However, she was technically the same person: Harmony had always said that the split between the alter-egos in their body was not an actual split - Rika was Harmony and Harmony was Rika, the pair's difference was merely the human mind's way of coping with the situation.

So who was this frail girl then?

"I…I don't know what you mean," Naoko finally answered, breaking eye contact with the girl.

Rey frowned. Evidently, this girl was Harmony, the evidence made it clear - from her Renamon partner, to her dark blue D-Vice, to her eyes and her long pauses to listen to her god-half's words - but the girl was clearly afraid of others knowing so, particularly in a time when a mental disability such as schizophrenia, which was exactly how the doctors would describe her condition, would be cause for arrest, sectioning or simply being packed off out of the way somewhere.

"Naoko, its okay…we know who you are," Rey said, creeping forward and gently laying her hand on the back of the girl's. Upon contact, the incarnation's hand froze up, startled by the action.

Naoko kept her stare away from Rey's, a cursing look crossing her eyes as she began to despise herself. Rey, meanwhile, held her breath, even Terriermon not speaking to ruin the moment.

"How?" Naoko spat bitterly yet quietly, her eyes taking on a completely different stare, an angered one, as she continued to keep her gaze away. "How can you possibly know that?"

Rey frowned, wondering how much she could say. She couldn't possibly tell the truth, god only knows what would happen if Harmony were to learn of one of her future incarnations. It could change everything.

"_But…she never can remember…"_

It had always been odd, in that regard, how Harmony's memory was sketchy of such events. She seemed to gradually reclaim memories, of course, but only when provoked. It was, perhaps, understandable, given the sheer size of Harmony's memories from all her past lives.

Nonetheless, it wasn't a risk worth taking.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you," Rey replied, frowning sadly. Those words, this concept, of keeping secrets from someone she loved, were exactly the same as what she had been forced to do with her parents before they discovered who she was.

"Why ever not?"

"I can't tell you that either."

"I see," Naoko sighed, frowning as she returned to a normal position in her seat, her eyes closed periodically as she questioned whether what was happening was really happening. This all seemed so incredibly dream-like, or perhaps a nightmare. "But…"

"Yes?" Henry prompted, Naoko dithering with her words.

"How can you know who I am?" she pressed, before gasping as a thought occurred to her. "Are you…my Angels?"

"Err…" Henry mumbled, glancing to Rey and wondering how to react. She shrugged in response, clearly not sure how she'd reply. "I'm not an Angel."

"Me neither," Rey finally replied, having paused while she pondered what the best course of action was. Sure, she could say she was an Angel, but what would the revelation she was the Tenth do? Harmony couldn't be allowed to know about her, even if she would probably have forgotten by the time of Rika's incarnation.

"**So how do you know that I'm here then?" **Harmony finally spoke up, her voice like that of Rika's Harmony but with tinges of Naoko's voice in it. A slim smile crossed Rey's face.

"I have my ways."

"_**Naoko, I don't think we can trust them."**_

"_Huh? Why not, they seem nice?"_

"_**But how do they know me?"**_

"_I…I do not know."_

"**How can we trust you? Little we know, you could be spies…I will not let you hurt her," **Harmony asked, her voice firm and determined. Rey nodded, this was definitely a different Harmony, albeit only different because of her present situation. Rika would've got angry if Harmony insisted on saying she wouldn't let her get hurt all the time, even if they were the same person.

"Rey, can I say something here?" Henry interjected as Rey went to open her mouth. Rey glanced behind, shrugging.

"If you want, I'm not stopping you."

"Thanks…listen, Naoko. Terriermon and I, we hardly know Rey either, she's the kind of person who keeps secrets close to her chest and doesn't reveal much."

"Guilty as charged," Rey mumbled absent-mindedly.

"But she has proven herself to be trustworthy even if she can't tell us why."

"**And how can I know to trust you? Even if I am not particularly interested in this latest episode of human conflict, you are still the enemy of the country we are in."**

"If I were on the other side, I'd be chastised just as much as if I was on this side, since I'm part-Japanese as well."

"So…you're just like us then?" Naoko asked, suddenly realising the similarity between both of their situations. Both of them would be quickly shot or arrested on sight by the other side, which meant they were stuck in-between.

"Now you're getting it," Rey laughed, Naoko raising an eyebrow and laughing.

"You speak so without formality, who are you?"

"Someone here to save you," Rey replied, determination in her eyes.

"Save me from what?"

Henry cleared his throat, getting his friend's attention. "Rey, can we talk?" he asked, glancing aside to the hallway nearby with suspicious and anxious eyes.

"Uh, okay," Rey answered, looking nervously to Naoko as she stood to her feet.

"Please excuse us a second," Henry apologised, as the pair began to walk away with partners quickly following in tow. Naoko nodded acceptingly, while Harmony was far more suspicious, a wariness shared by Renamon who carefully watched their newfound companions.

"_**Now do you think they're our enemy?"**_

"_Maybe…"_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**11:05 JST**_

The rain clattered down on the concrete around them as Chiyo shivered, the weather dampening her celebrations somewhat. However, she knew that it would also be depressing the Tamers, and that could only be a good thing at a time when they were depressed enough from the harsh punishment she had laden on them. Punishment for an eternity of pain.

"Chiyo?" Jeri asked, drawing the girl's attention away from her thoughts as she looked to the three girls she had to "convince" to change their ways. This would be easy, there was very little she could say to stop them even if she wanted to, and the only way she had to stop things was her own powers. But, why would she, she was succeeding and that was that.

"Yeah, hey," Chiyo replied, frowning. This was going to be a huge waste of time. "Look, I have to know because it's been bugging me since I realised it, but why are you trying to kill the boys?"

Mari looked to her blankly, a quizzical look on her face that was quickly mirrored by the other two girls and the yellow fox-like Digimon. "Huh?"

"I mean, you…uh…love them, don't you?"

"Yeah, so?" Rika answered, blankly serious look on her face, not realising the contradiction here. "Doesn't make me want him dead any less," she added, looking across the ever-wetter battlefield to the brunette Gogglehead staring across, fingers crossed behind his back. Meanwhile, Ken was looking about, anxious that Valkyrimon would arrive anytime soon and make things even worse.

Chiyo frowned, looking across to Ryder and shrugging as if she had no idea what to do. Ryder frowned, racking his brains for anything they could say to convince the girls.

"_This is going so perfectly," _Chiyo contemplated, suppressing a grin. The girls were proving impossible to bring back out of their trance, the boys were weak, and all she had to do was sit back and watch the fireworks. DarkBiyomon eyed her carefully, trying to anticipate what she would do next.

"Chiyo, can you just bare with me one second?" Mari asked, cocking the pistol by her side and looking across the battlefield.

Chiyo froze, what could she do? If she didn't do anything, Mari would fire and probably kill Ryder, but at the same time, that'd make the other suspicious of her. It would be so easy right now to push Mari's arms down as they rose in front of her, sending the bullet to harmlessly embed in the concrete.

"MARI, STOP!" shrieked a new voice from behind, the voice subsequently gasping in pain. Mari swung round, peeved by the endless distractions but knowing they all had to be accounted for lest one of them prevent her completing her task.

"Jeri!" Elecmon called from DarkRenamon's head, both looking worse for wear.

"Elecmon?" Jeri mumbled, surprised at the sight. She silently hoped he wouldn't continue to prevent her plans. She _had_ to destroy that D-Vice at all costs; Henry could not be allowed to escape the past.

"Mari, please, think about things!" DarkRenamon pleaded, Mari freezing as an intense stare transpired between her and her partner. "You can't kill Ryder! Something is controlling you!"

Mari once again began to contemplate the facts, but to Chiyo's relief she once again dismissed them, agitatedly raising the gun and flicking the mode switch as DarkRenamon took a step back. Elecmon leapt aside to avoid the inevitable shot.

"I'm sorry DarkRenamon, but I warned you," Mari said coldly.

"Mari, what are you doing?" Jeri asked, Mari looking aside to her friend who had already cast scorn on her actions.

"She got in my way before, and I told her that next time I wouldn't spare her."

Jeri looked horrified, not sure whether to reach out for the gun and risk being in the line of fire herself. In the event, she froze, wanting to intervene but feeling like her body had turned to stone. Mari looked back to her target, the voice of doubt now silenced.

Chiyo felt ready to cheer, to grin widely, even to help Mari pull the trigger, but she suppressed it. This was perfect, with DarkRenamon down and Donmon and Ryder systematically ignored, no-one could possibly get through to the girl.

"CHIYO, USE SEDUCTION ON HER!"

Chiyo's disgruntled eyes darted around to the source of the voice, Ryder yelling an idea from behind. _"Crap…do I have to? Everything is going so well…" _"What?!"

"Ryder, shut up," Mari spat, looking over her shoulder. Why was everyone trying to delay her?

"Chiyo, do it!" Ryder yelled.

"Uh…" Chiyo mumbled, glancing back to the boy, to the gun-wielding girl and to her weakened fox-like partner, seemingly submissive to her fate as she froze on the spot. _"Oh what the hell, it's not like it'll do anything…"_ "Mari."

"What?" Mari spat, turning with a bitter irritation embedded into her features. Chiyo looked into her eyes, both glowing a faint ring of purple.

"SEDUCTION."

Mari stared into Chiyo's eyes for a short while, entranced by them, before a bewildered expression crossed her features. "…yes? What is it?"

"Damn, it didn't work," Chiyo heard Ryder cheer, while she herself was celebrating that it didn't, something that hardly surprised her. She was already under her spell; it wasn't like repeating it would change anything.

She hoped.

"Sorry," Chiyo uttered across to Ryder, before taking a step back from Mari, leaving the girl space to fire. Her head swivelled around, checking the aim for the hundredth time that day.

"What?!" she spluttered, her target vanished into thin air all of a sudden. She growled angrily, piecing together what had happened before scowling at the oddly-dressed girl to her side. "Thanks a lot Chiyo," she spat.

"_Oh for god's sake," _Chiyo groaned. DarkRenamon had escaped thanks to Mari's distractedness. This was not helping.

"DarkRenamon, where are you?" Mari called out to the air around her.

"Forget about her. We have more irritating things to deal with," Rika reminded, the four possessed girls turning round to face the line-up of boys. Chiyo took an uneasy step back, hoping that despite the fact she had "got in the way," she herself wouldn't become a target.

"**This is gonna hurt!" **Chaos mumbled, stepping in front of his friends and clenching his fists, a thin red shield materialising between them and their attackers.

"HARMONY BLAST!" Rika called, a storm of energy blasts shooting forth from her outstretched palms. Meanwhile, Renamon leapt into the air, flipping over before preparing a series of crystals.

"DIAMOND STORM!"

Mari pulled back on the trigger, adding to the volley of blasts while Jeri watched on, cursing herself for being helpless. Elecmon landed on her head, watching the fireworks uneasily.

"Elecmon?"

"Jeri, you have to think clearly!"

"I have to kill Henry."

"No, you don't! Jeri, please listen to us!"

Jeri shook her head, Elecmon holding on tight. "Elecmon, just…go away," Jeri mumbled coldly, the mammal Digimon looking unsure of what to do. It felt so helpless, so impossible, and so…wrong. This was definitely not Jeri; Jeri would never want to kill her friends. None of them would ever want to do so, even if some of them would jokingly say it at times, so what was going on?

Ryder watched the fireworks bouncing off the shield, trying to figure out what was going on here. Whatever possessed these girls was powerful, much more powerful than Chiyo at least. Her seduction had failed, and now even Chaos was looking weakened by the onslaught. What could they do? They couldn't fight. They just couldn't. It was against everything he stood for.

A swish of air reached his ears from behind, as to his surprise a pair of black paws wrapped around his chest and pulled him back tightly. "I'm getting you out of here."

The world subsequently faded to a hazy blur for Ryder, as he felt a bout of nausea sweep over him. He dearly hoped DarkRenamon would land him somewhere sooner rather than later.

* * *

Mari paused in her attempts at fire, both to conserve ammunition and take stock of the situation. She looked carefully into the barrier, one that looked ready to drop at any moment thanks to the cancelling effect of Harmony. Chaos would continue to load more energy into it, of course, but he and Takato were already weak, and it would be a losing battle. Everything was going perfectly, everything except for one, crucially important detail.

She couldn't see Ryder any more.

"Jeri, Ryder's vanished," she noted, looking across to the pigtailed girl with a concerned look. Jeri was, however, entranced by the sight of blasts clattering off the shield, the two powerhouses going all out in their attempts to resist the other.

"What?" Elecmon muttered, he himself looking across from his tenuous position on top of Jeri's head and noticing the lack of the boy. Where had he gone? It wasn't like he could run far. _"Maybe DarkRenamon took him away," _he contemplated, silently thankful of that fact. DarkRenamon could put some distance between them, but in her injured state, whether it would be enough was another question. By now, Donmon looked horrified, frantically asking Ken if he had seen anything, to no avail. Ken was distracted, looking around for some sign of something. _"Probably Yolei."_

"Where did he go?" Jeri asked, finally breaking her trance and looking around.

Chiyo cursed. This was just making things ten times more difficult. Ryder had been taken away by DarkRenamon, to god-knows-where, and she doubted Mari and Jeri would have an easy time finding him. Still, at least they didn't know about her involvement yet, and that made it all the more fun to play around with them before they died. And since they didn't have to know about her involvement, she could always play along in the aftermath to assist the others in their deaths as well. It would all be so simple…

* * *

Chaos strained himself trying to hold up the shield. Harmony had a lot more energy than him, and was a lot less injured. This was getting hopeless, and he knew they weren't defended from behind.

As if agreeing with his thoughts, a pair of feet landed behind, prompting Stingmon and Ken to turn and stumble back in horror. Chaos glanced over his shoulder, fear flashing through his eyes at the sight of Valkyrimon.

"_Aw nuts," _Takato echoed.

"_**Takato, we should biomerge."**_

"_Yeah, but then how do we defend our friends? Gallantmon doesn't have a shield, well, he does, but not the kind of shield we need right now."_

"_**How attached are you to your friends?"**_

"_What?"_

"_**No, nothing, nothing, just wondering…**__**would be easier that way…"**_Chaos tailed off.

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Tamiko Residence, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**20:06 JST**_

"So what did you want?" Rey asked, Henry taking a cursory glance towards Naoko and Renamon to check they were out of earshot. That was the last thing they would need given the present tenuous nature of their existence in the past. He stepped back into an adjacent corridor, putting them mostly out of sight of those in the living room.

"What are you doing?"

"What? I'm just trying to save her."

"Are you crazy? She's destined to die."

"What?"

"It's 1945, it's Nagasaki and there's a bomb on the way. I'm sorry Rey, but she is going to die tomorrow."

"But we can change things!"

"No, we can't! We don't know what that could do!" Henry whispered sharply, hoping to get through to the girl that she couldn't just play around with history like that. He appreciated the irony; given it was what she was doing anyway.

"But…we can't let her die," Rey insisted, taking a glance across to the girl along the corridor, still sitting in the seat and watching them nervously.

"I'm sorry, but we have to."

"I…she's my mother Henry, I can't let her die."

Henry gasped. Was this what it was all about? "Rey…I know you think she's your mother, but Rika…Rika is your mother, and you know that."

"But Harmony is my mother too, I have to save her."

"Rey…" Realmon called from below, the girl looking down. "I'm sorry, but you have to let history take its course."

"But…but, I can change things! I can't leave someone to die…"

"You have to," Henry repeated. Rey looked into both of their eyes, before shaking her head to dismiss them.

"I…I…I don't want to," she mumbled, sighing and running a hand through her hair. This couldn't be happening. They had the chance to save someone, and they were passing it up. They couldn't…they were the good guys!

A hand gripped hers, bringing her out of her trance and back to reality. "I'm sorry," Henry mumbled. Rey sighed, nodding in resignation before wandering back towards the living room, Henry, Realmon and Terriermon pausing to watch her walk away.

"Poor Rey," Terriermon mumbled, not wanting to make a joke at this sensitive time. Even he had a semblance of tact, as little and hesitant to interrupt as it usually was.

"You okay?" Naoko asked, noticing the redhead's saddened look, stare at the ground and her stumbling, slow walk.

Rey looked up, into those violet eyes, deep concern embedded into them at her current distress. Was this Harmony, or Naoko? She hadn't a clue, but either way, seeing this care, this love, this concern, this worry for someone she had only just met…how could she let someone like that die.

"Yeah," she mumbled, sighing as she fell back into a seat. "Look, we have to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Well, you won't be able to move out before tomorrow morning."

"She's right, we're already suspects enough, going out of the city during the night makes us look completely guilty," Henry agreed.

"You can stay here overnight, there are enough spare beds," Naoko offered, dismissing her alter-ego's concern. These people seemed nice enough, and she could tell that that look of concern in Rey's eyes was genuine. This definitely wasn't just an act.

"Thank you," Realmon said, bowing her head slightly to the larger fox and her human partner.

"**I warn you, if you try anything, I'll make no hesitation in killing you."**

"Well, you're lovely, aren't ya?" Terriermon quipped.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Well, after a while between updates, the next chapter's here. I've improved my plan for this story, and I've also got Book Seven planned out better too now.

Until next time…

B.C.


	54. The Trick To Sympathy

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated). Oh, and I don't own one particular character for whom revealing the name would spoil too much right now, but the owner knows who and that should be enough for a disclaimer.

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 48**

_The Trick to Sympathy_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Streets of Minato, Minato Ward**_

_**11:06 JST**_

The thick fog was pierced only by the drops of rain and the body of a blue haired girl, breaking through and into the Digital Field. Her eyes instantly misted up, forcing her to come to a stand and cover them with her hand, blinking continuously to clear the false proteins.

"_What is this?" _she panicked, looking out at the blurry world and praying it hadn't caused any long term damage to her eyesight. She wasn't even sure why she was there in the first place, running was her first instinct. Screw fight or flight reflexes, this was something she could be killed in with ease, simple as that, and yet…she had gone against common sense. She hoped that wouldn't be her fatal decision. The cold feeling of the air around her on her bare shoulders didn't exactly reassure her.

Finally, her eyes cleared enough for her to take stock of the situation. About the park, a series of brightly coloured play structures were dulled by the haze, something which the rain seemed to have no effect on. There was a sharp, almost electric smell, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck creep up from the slight static in the air.

"Hello?" she called out, before cursing herself. This wasn't walking through a neighbour's strangely open door and checking they were alright, the last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to herself from whatever was inside the mist.

Something stumbled, footsteps echoing amongst the mist. Sakura took an uneasy step forward, deciding that it was too late for subtlety. Whatever it was, it didn't seem ready to just leap out.

"Anyone there?"

Upon receiving no reply, she carefully wandered further into the mist, stopping in her tracks when she heard a voice.

"Are you okay?" it asked, in a childish voice, perhaps even babyish, with a tinge of an American accent and a generous dollop of concern.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, bewilderment streaking through her features. What was going on? Why was the Digimon asking her if she was okay?

"I'm...alright…I guess," she replied, calling out to where she thought the voice came from. Subconsciously, she reached down to her back pocket, feeling the bulge of her cell phone and hoping she wouldn't need to use it anytime soon.

"Huh?" continued the voice, confusing the blue haired girl even more. Why did this…Digimon, she presumed…feel surprised that she had replied, or that she was okay, or whatever? It felt rather…creepy, in all fairness.

She continued to step forward, coming closer and closer to the source of the noise, emanating from behind a large colourful elephant-like structure. "Hello?"

"Who's there?" the deeply fearful voice asked. It sounded so much like a child Sakura could swear it…

"_Is a child?" _she thought, finally stepping into view and seeing a short boy, standing fearfully and looking up at her with worry.

His clothes were, oddly, all black, leading Sakura to initially ponder whether he was some kind of Goth. He seemed rather…young, however, to be one. He looked about six or seven, and his untidy dark hair suggested likewise. Of course, she knew boys older than her that still didn't pay any attention to their haircuts, so that wasn't really a measure of age for a boy. A black hood came out of the back of his small black top, an odd thing to wear until she remembered that it had been forecast to be a cold rainy day. His mother had probably insisted he wear it before he had come out, but what mother would let their kid go out in black top, pants, sneakers, and, probably shirt too, at this child's age was beyond her. Maybe he was stubborn or insistent or something? Then again, maybe he just liked the colour black. He was a bit young to be making a fashion statement after all.

"Hello?" she asked, her voice attempting to be more caring than shocked.

The kid looked horrified, but why she couldn't even begin to guess? Was he surprised to be "caught" in the mist? Had he been doing something wrong? Maybe his mother had told him to stay indoors and he'd ignored her? Whatever it was, this kid looked worried.

"Are you lost?" she asked. Fear flashed in his eyes, as he turned on his heels, running away from her through the mist. "Wait!" she called after him, but he kept running until he exited the mist and vanished entirely from view. She stepped forward, preparing to run after him, before her eye caught on something else below. "Huh?" she mumbled, kneeling down to inspect the form lying on the ground below and dropping the shopping bag by her side.

It was obviously a Digimon, that much was clear, but which one she hadn't the faintest clue. The card game had never appealed to her, a combination of a limited allowance and a short attention span for that kind of thing putting it well out of her reach. The Digimon had a green, plant like body, shaped oddly like a bipedal animal, yet its feet stretched out like roots. A series of petals sticking out from its neck resembled a lion's mane or a jester's neck brace, and it had a similar set of petals riding over her head like a cap, broken where the half closed, half open blue eyes sat. Its hands and arms were shaped like purple flowers, golden stamens lying weakly aside where her arms had fallen by her sides.

Sakura's eyes widened, the Digimon definitely looked hurt. What from she didn't have the faintest clue, but the Digimon seemed to be lightly coated in dirt, with scratch and wear marks all over its form.

Forgetting the danger for the present moment, she reached out a hand, gently placing the palm on the side of its head and feeling the soft petals against her skin. It felt very much like a flower, too much to be honest. She'd always found it strange how much Digimon seemed to be composed of the most impossible things. How could a flower walk and talk anyway?

Her question was answered when the creature groaned, displaying a red tongue inside its small mouth, something that struck Sakura as particularly weird given how much like a plant this thing otherwise seemed. The groan was female, evidently, and it was a pained, aching groan.

Fighting the urge to sit back and contemplate the surreal nature of her present situation, she pulled her hand away fearfully as the creature tried to sit up.

"Are you okay?" she asked, wondering if it would take her greeting as what it was rather than as a call to start blowing her to smithereens.

It looked at her, bewildered and half-asleep as it tilted its head, confused. Evidently, it wasn't used to such a greeting. Maybe it wasn't used to people being polite, or maybe it wasn't used to people full stop. Maybe it simply was surprised to suddenly wake up in a different world, having heard the childish voices of a little boy and then waking up to see a girl who clearly was.

"I'm fine," it replied, in a female voice as she expected. Sakura taking another look over her injuries, a frown deepening on her face.

"You don't look fine."

The Digimon uneasily got to its feet, looking at her, bewildered and lost. This clearly wasn't what the flower had expected to see and be asked. Sakura was about to speak, but the Digimon quickly began to fall over, only to be quickly grabbed by the girl.

"Careful," she mumbled, her hands now on the Digimon's shoulders, or at least, whatever they were.

"Who are you?" the Digimon groaned, pushing itself away from her hands and back to its feet.

"My name is Sakura…" the girl answered, gesturing to herself. "Sakura Yuuna. What's your name?"

The Digimon gripped its head, clearly in the clutches of a killer headache. "…Floramon," she finally said, Sakura reaching out a hand again sympathetically. The Digimon eyed it with suspicion, Sakura moving as slowly as she could so as to show she wasn't a threat. Her hand made contact with the petals again, as the Digimon looked at her, bewildered.

"You look pretty badly injured. What happened?"

"I…I don't remember."

"Really?"

"I just remember…nothing," the Digimon answered, straining its mind and memories for an answer.

"That's strange."

"Is this the human world?"

Sakura hesitated; surprised at the odd description of the world she'd always taken for granted as being the default world. She nodded, looking around at the quickly fading fog and pondering where on earth the Tamers had gotten to. They normally weren't this slow; at least, she hoped they weren't. "Yes, it is."

"So I made it then," the flower mumbled, nodding as it began to walk towards the edge of the field and away from Sakura. Sakura lifted a hand in objection.

"Wait!" she called, the irony of how she had done this twice in the past five minutes not failing to cross her mind.

"Huh?" the Digimon uttered, turning and looking to her, surprised.

"You look pretty badly injured. How about you come back to my house and I get you checked up?"

"Hmm…" the Digimon answered, looking over her blue hair, her strange clothes and her concerned yet warm face. "Is there a catch?"

"No, no catch!" Sakura insisted, raising her palms in objection. "You just look like you need a bath and all."

"A bath?"

"A wash."

"Oh, okay," Floramon agreed, nodding her small head and wandering towards the girl again. "So long as you're not going to…" she began, tailing off and feeling weak before flailing into the girl's arms.

"You look tired. I'll carry you, okay?"

"…okay."

Sakura carefully put her arms around the Digimon, lifting her up and over her shoulder like one would carry a baby or a pet. The Digimon looked surprised and uncomfortable about the position, but evidently not enough to want to be put down.

"_I can't believe I'm doing this," _Sakura thought, frowning before she turned to look across the park. The fog had cleared now, but thankfully the area was quiet enough that it had failed to pull much attention to itself. She bent down, carefully adding the shopping bag handles to the load she was carrying, before beginning to walk across the park. _"Mum's going to hate me for this."_

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Tamiko Residence, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**20:41 JST**_

"Finished so soon?" Rey asked, turning around from her bed making to face Henry and Terriermon at the door to her room for the night. Henry nodded, a slim smile on his face despite the grim nature of the situation.

"It's not like I have a lot to pack," he joked, wandering into her room as she finished folding over her sheets. Realmon sat watching from nearby, keeping a cautious eye out for a sign of the other two residents in the house. It'd be a bad thing if they overheard something they weren't meant to know.

"I wish I had my backpack, I at least had some supplies in that," Rey agreed, frowning and bringing the mood of the room down several notches further.

"Hey, look at it this way, at least you don't need to make the bed in the morning," Terriermon joked, trying to cheer everyone up.

"Terriermon, I think we need to be careful about saying stuff like that," Henry said, looking up to his head-bound partner with concerned eyes. "The wrong word in the wrong place could spell disaster."

"Rey doesn't seem to have done that so far."

"Just good luck I guess," Rey shrugged, a curious look on Henry's face as he contemplated the fact. All those theories about time travel always said that the smallest alteration would change the whole of history, and yet Rey had done a lot more than that in her tenure in the past. And yet, somehow, she'd avoided making a paradox. Maybe she was lucky, but Henry couldn't help but wonder if there was another explanation.

"All the same, we are going to need to be careful," Henry warned, frowning and glancing around the room, lit by a few electric bulbs to hold off the darkness that night brought with. The strangest thing was contemplating how this room would cease to exist soon, how even the moths fluttering around the light bulbs would be burnt to death soon enough.

"Still, great way to go eh?" Rey laughed morbidly, standing up from her preparations and smiling grimly.

"Yes, I have to say I'm looking forward to being irradiated and scalded to death."

"Makes a great anecdote," Realmon noted, smiling despite the gravity of the subject they were talking about.

"Not that we'll ever get a chance to tell anyone it, of course," Terriermon finished.

"I have to say though, this was not the way I expected it all to end when I started travelling in time," Rey sighed, frowning as she contemplated her long journey to reach this point. She held out the time device on her wrist, looking at it curiously. "I knew it was dangerous, but I didn't expect to end up in a situation like this at all, particularly with the time device broken," she noted, removing the device from her back pocket and turning it over, showing the various scratches on its surface and its cracked display.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that…" Henry began to apologise.

"It's not your fault, you didn't know."

"Yeah but…maybe we can help you fix it?"

"I don't think either of us would know where to start."

"Well we'll figure it out then," Terriermon huffed, leaping down to the floor and looking at the device. "Geez, it's not like it can get any more broken."

"Yeah, but that's the thing. Even if I do fix it, it's out of power."

"Huh? How do you know that if it's broken?" Henry asked, looking to the girl curiously as she

"I could always sense it…I mean, let's be honest, the amount of power needed for a time device doesn't exactly go unnoticed. It used to have heat radiating from inside, but it's stopped."

"So? Let's get that thing fixed and hook it up to the Grid!" Terriermon cheered; irritated by all the pessimism that everyone seemed to be hooked on.

"I think it'll need a bit more power than that."

"Why did I have a feeling you were going to say that?" the bunny sighed.

"Look, I think we should get it fixed first and then figure out how to power it later," Henry suggested, holding out his hand and gesturing for Rey to pass him the device. She was, expectedly, reluctant to do so, frowning.

"Hmm…I don't think it's a good idea to let you see how this works," Rey said, instead moving the device closer to her and inspecting its form for some way to open it up.

"Oh…okay."

"Sorry to disappoint, but there are some things about this device you just shouldn't know."

"Geez, stop being so secretive."

"Terriermon!"

"No, seriously! How are we meant to help you if you won't even let us look inside?"

"Find me some tools," Rey replied, smiling slimly and in amusement at how the others would need to be her slaves from now on.

"Aw, that sucks."

"Come on Terriermon, we'll ask Naoko. Maybe she has something we can use."

"Fine," the dog-bunny huffed, leaping back onto the head of his partner as the boy turned, heading out through the sliding door before closing it behind him. The last thing they wanted was Naoko finding Rey and the device and asking too many questions.

Rey meanwhile, continued to play with the back of the device, finally clasping it open and removing the back plate, a smile crossing her face as she looked down at the components, Realmon doing likewise and being amazed by what she say. "So, he _was_ telling the truth," Rey noted, amused.

* * *

"Naoko, are you sure that we can trust them?"

"Yeah...I think we can…hopefully."

"**Why do you think that?"**

"I…I just do. I feel like I can trust them, you know…and I do not know why either."

"Hmm…"

"Why don't you think we can Renamon?"

"They seem suspicious. We have never seen any other Tamers here before, and yet all of a sudden a group of them arrives out of the blue, saying they're part of some secret organisation outside the government. The fact they cannot reveal much about themselves worries me too."

"Yeah, but Henry did not seem to know much about Rey either. So maybe they're not both in on the plan, if there is one, that is."

"**Either that or they are lying."**

"Hmm…I don't think they are. They look too close to be lying to each other. Maybe they are a couple?"

"Whether they are or they aren't, you seem so easily trusting of them, Naoko. Why is that?"

"I really don't know."

Naoko frowned, sighing as she stared into the wall across from the sofa, Renamon standing by the wall nearby as the trio of Harmony talked about their present situation. The night had drawn on and the orange of the sunset had vanished entirely, replaced only by the dark sky and the artificial light of the bulbs around the room.

"The thing is, she said she was here to save me."

"**Save you? From what?"**

"That's what I'm wondering about. I mean, am I going to be attacked or something? I'm sure I have plenty of enemies, but how do they know what's going to happen? And why couldn't they just tell me?"

A tapping on the wall from nearby interrupted the girl and her partner from their musings, both looking up to see the black-shirted boy, his blue hair crushed by the cream and green bunny. "Hey," the boy greeted, the bunny waving an ear.

"Hi," Naoko replied, curiously tilting her head. "Is anything the matter?"

"Do you have any tools?"

"What kind of tools?"

"A screwdriver maybe?"

"Hmm…my father may have had something like that. I'll have a look."

Harmony decided to be less trusting, posing a question that Naoko had failed to ask. **"Why do you need them?"**

"Uh…" he stuttered, trying to think of some explanation. "I…uh…we…"

"**Hmm?"**

"I…can't tell you."

"_**There! Doesn't that leave you worried?"**_

"_I still trust them."_

"_**Please Naoko, listen to me! We have to be careful here!"**_

"I see. I will go and try to find them," Naoko replied, standing to her feet and walking towards Henry and Terriermon, who smiled uncomfortably under the scrutinising gaze of the bipedal fox behind.

"_Just as freaky as our Renamon," _Terriermon thought, wanting to shudder but resisting the urge.

* * *

"Right, so…that's weird, that switch there does nothing. It's not even connected to anything. Seriously, this thing is the biggest piece of junk I've ever seen."

"Rey, one of the wires came off."

"Huh?"

Realmon gestured into the device, "That thing, the wire there came off when you were playing around with it."

"Oh, okay, thanks," Rey said, fiddling around with the device and hooking up the wires once again to the core of it. "Hmm…there must be some way of fixing it…some of the wires are damaged but they seem longer than they should be. If I can just cut them down and strip away the rubber, I can get rid of the burnt sections and then get new wires when we get back home."

"So we need something to strip back the rubber then?"

"Hmm…that's not the only thing…the screen is cracked, I would have to blindly enter the number and hope that the device is understanding it."

"I see. Rey, is that button what I think it is?" the fox asked, gesturing to a small button inside the device.

Rey took on a serious expression, frowning as she looked across to Realmon and nodded. "That button activates the paradox fixer. I just hope I get a chance to press it."

"Rey?"

Rey quickly glanced to the door, before she began to scramble around, putting the lid back on it and smiling falsely. "Hey," she said, waving with her spare hand as the other hand clicked the lid back into place.

Naoko raised an eyebrow, looking curiously down at the device. Henry looked to her with concern, she couldn't be allowed to see the device, or even begin to find out how it worked. "What is that?"

"It's nothing!" Rey insisted, putting the device behind her back while Renamon gave a suspicious glare. Rey shot a glare back, Renamon looking away quickly when she realised she had been noticed.

"Oh…"

"I got a few tools," Henry said, wandering over and placing a small wooden toolbox on the floor. The redhead clasped it open, looking curiously in and beginning to ponder exactly how she could use them to accomplish her task.

"Perfect," she said, smiling as she lifted a set of pliers. She could easily scald the edge to make it hot and assist in using them as wire cutters.

"**What do you need them for?" **Harmony asked, hoping that the girl would be a bit more informative than her male companion.

"I have to fix something."

"**That thing being?"**

"Uh…" Rey mumbled, before bringing out the device in front of her, glancing down and gesturing to it. "It's a communication device…uh…SLEGNA made it, it's designed to allow us to contact each other but I…dropped it and it broke."

"Wow, that looks really cool," Naoko said, carefully kneeling down and having a look at it. Rey nodded, complying and passing it over, smiling proudly as Naoko turned it over, looking carefully over its surface. It wasn't a problem simply letting her have a look.

Unfortunately for Rey, Harmony chose that moment to take control of their body, her wondered movements turning to intentional actions. She flipped the device over, clasping her fingernails under the device and lifting it open just as Rey realised what she was doing.

"Wait, stop!" Rey blurted, reaching out to grab the device and push the lid down again. A bewildered look crossed Harmony's face as she looked down, the oddity of what she saw not failing to confuse her.

"**What is this?"**

Henry, wondering what all the fuss was about, wandered towards the pair and looked over Rey's shoulder as she closed up the device, only briefly catching a glimpse of red and orange reflected in the silvery metal within. What was it, a fire? Why would you have a device powered by fire? Maybe it was how it worked…or was he just mistaken?

Unfortunately for Henry's attempts to identify the object, Rey had closed up the casing, before looking reluctantly across to Harmony's confused expression.

"**What was that for?"**

"I want to ask you the same question."

"What was it?" Henry asked, still confused as to what was going on.

"**It was…"**

"Something that cannot be known about," Rey interrupted, speaking louder before looking Naoko in the eyes with a determined glare. Naoko looked back curiously, before nodding reluctantly in agreement. "You can never say."

"Hmm…" Renamon mumbled suspiciously, eyeing the scene curiously. Why would Rey not want her companion to know what was inside? This situation was getting more concerning by the minute. She wondered what was better, trusting Naoko in her belief that they could trust the pair or asking the questions which had bugged her.

"Oh…okay, I won't then," Naoko replied, a bit surprised by the turn in events.

"Promise?"

Naoko hesitated, wondering why she couldn't tell anyone about what she had seen. It was definitely an unusual sight, that much was apparent to even the casual viewer, but why it was there she hadn't the faintest clue. Maybe that was the reason then? Maybe only Rey knew about how it worked? Whatever it was, she had the odd feeling she couldn't even consider breaking a promise with this girl. "I promise."

"Aw, that sucks," Terriermon complained, pouting and crossing his arms in annoyance. Rey rolled her eyes, before looking to her two companions with similar irritation, albeit well-hid irritation.

"Listen, I need a bit of quiet to work on this, so can you two go away and talk or something? I'll join you later?"

"_**Naoko, isn't this all a bit worrying?"**_

"_I don't know but…I don't want to break my promise."_

"_**Why did you make that promise in the first place?"**_

"_I…I just did, that's all."_

"_**You are really concerning me lately."**_

Henry sighed, irritated by the secrecy surrounding their remarkable method of transit. What was so bad that even they couldn't know? "Fine," he sighed. Naoko nodded in agreement and got to her feet.

"Follow me," Naoko said, turning and walking out the room with the boy following with a nod.

The last to leave, Renamon took a brief suspicious glance back at the pair on her way out. She looked away again after Rey caught her gaze, her suspicions and concerns about their true intent still remaining.

"_Something about this is not right."_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Right, I go on holiday next Monday for a week, after which its back to school, or rather, college, so I'm trying to get as many chapters as possible done this week. I can see about 6 or 7 chapters remaining in the "action" part of this story, and expect plenty of twists still to come. Wish me luck!

I don't expect to finish the action part this week, but I do expect to get either to an annoying cliff-hanger, a very annoying cliff-hanger, or an EXTREMELY annoying cliff-hanger. The action is about to seriously get a hundred times more fatal, whichever way.

Until next time…

B.C.


	55. The Trick To Betrayal

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 49**

_The Trick to Betrayal_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

"_**Guilmon's Hideout", Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**11:14 JST**_

The world felt very sickly and washy as his feet finally met concrete again, or at least, what probably was concrete but right now felt like quicksand. He stumbled slightly forward, his mind beginning to attribute his nausea to the combination of blood loss, the travel here and the suddenness of the trip.

Only a last minute grab by DarkRenamon around his stomach with one arm prevented him from tumbling to the ground in a heap, his mind too addled to contemplate putting out his crutches to stop him. He looked up to the face of his girlfriend's partner, a frown evidently on the Kitsune's face.

"Thanks," he mumbled, before being passed one of his crutches from the floor below by the white-tipped tail. He thankfully took it, using it to balance himself while DarkRenamon let go of him and wandered over to pick up his other crutch and hand it to him. "Thanks again," he said, nodding and smiling gravely before propping himself up again properly.

"I had to get you out of there before you got killed. I know Mari would've wanted me to do so if she knew who she was."

"Yeah, but...I can't just leave her there."

"I have the feeling she'll come after you. You have to escape."

Ryder frowned, looking away along one of the nearby pathways anxiously. His friends were out there, getting injured and killed. What was he doing here?

"I'm going back," he said, beginning to hobble his way along towards the plaza, before DarkRenamon vanished into thin air and reappeared in his way, a frown on her face.

"No."

"DarkRenamon, I have to…"

"I brought you here to protect you on behalf of Mari. I will not let you go back."

"I can help them! I have to try!"

"How can you help them?"

"Uh…" Ryder faltered, frowning as he looked down at his crutches and his injured legs. The flow into his blood-soaked bandage was easing up slightly, but still dripped along his arm. And of course, it still hurt like hell, but by now it had become a numb pain that Ryder continually tried to ignore, and was worsened every time he moved the limb. He hoped there wouldn't be any long term damage, but he knew that was being extremely optimistic.

DarkRenamon didn't let him continue with an attempt to justify his intended actions, instead laying down her argument which hit him like a ton of bricks. "Right now Ryder, you are useless."

"I know," Ryder sighed, hunching over and looking down to the ground below as DarkRenamon caringly planted a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I know you mean well, we all know you mean well, but unless you find someway to help them, you are going to make their lives more difficult."

"Yeah, but, how?"

"I'm not sure. I can help you get out of here, but, as you can tell, I'm already injured so we have to leave soon if we do. If Renamon were to go after me on behalf of Mari…"

"Yeah, that could prove fatal. So…what can I do? Maybe…maybe I can call for help…" he pondered, twisting his arm out in front of him and peering down at the D-Vice's screen. He chuckled grimly, flicking through to the **Messaging** option and selecting **Send to All**. "I've always wanted to do this," he explained upon seeing the Digimon's bewildered reaction to his dark laugh.

**SOS to all Tamers. Girlfriends AWOL, killing us. Not a joke. Shinjuku Park Plaza, near fountain ASAP.**

"Wait…I better not send it to the girls as well, or else they might start panicking," he pondered, removing the addresses from his list and flagging it up as **Emergency**. "Right, and…send," he mumbled, tapping the screen and watching the progress bar begin to cross the screen.

"If the others can't stop them, there could be a bloodbath."

"Yeah, so we have to hope that the numbers will convince them to stop. They aren't going to be able to kill all of them."

"I am sure Harmony would beg to differ."

"Yeah, I suppose…what the?!"

"What?"

"It didn't send! Again!" Ryder complained, pressing the button again and attempting to resend the email. This had to get through, if it failed, they didn't have any hope at all. "Come on, come on, please, please, please," he pleaded, crossing his fingers and biting his lip, despite the face it added to his current pain.

**Delivery failed due to unknown error.**

"I hate computers," he groaned, looking up to the heavens in the hope something would come at that very moment and solve his present woes._ "It couldn't be too much to ask for some good luck once in a while, could it?"_

"Then it is better that we get out of here," DarkRenamon decided, stepping over ready to pick him up. Ryder frowned, still reluctant to take that option.

"Wait, there has to be some other way I can help."

"Such as?"

"Maybe…maybe I can work out who's the culprit in all this."

"Hmm?"

"Come on, think, think," Ryder pleaded with himself, tapping the side of his head while DarkRenamon raised an eyebrow at his mannerisms. "Something, something, something…there must be something I'm overlooking here…something absolutely massive that I'm missing because I'm a complete twit, and yes, that counts as admitting that I'm an idiot."

"I wasn't going to say it."

"Come on, think, think, think, think…you're an Angel for flip's sake, you must be able to…" Ryder began, stopping mid sentence as his eyes widened in horror, the mention of Angels throwing up a huge flag in his mind. He stopped tapping the back of his head with one free hand, freezing up before he looked up to the confused face of DarkRenamon.

"What is it?"

"Chiyo."

"What?"

Images, thoughts, memories and ideas flashed through Ryder's head as he replayed all those days since he first met Chiyo, back when he was lying bored out of his wits in a hospital room. A girl wearing clothes that could easily give one a very wrong impression of her who then subsequently beat a bunch of information out of him, and, of course, kissed him before fleeing with the help of DarkBiyomon. At the time, she'd seemed like the lowest of the low, and he hadn't even had a clue that she was a Tamer or a Demon. When she had returned and given her explanation, he remained unconvinced until Mari had discovered her real identity. All the same, they had forgiven her, and she had proven herself to be trustworthy, despite her threats to the contrary from time to time which were usually taken in good humour.

So how could he now think it was her? She had fought so hard to put off her Demon instincts, and she seemed to win. Just the previous day, she had told them how painful it was but…had she failed? Had she failed to hold them back?

How was she doing this anyway? Had she seduced everyone, or had she kept certain secrets close to her chest? Was she more powerful than she seemed? He certainly hadn't noticed her going around and seducing all the girls the previous day, and it had worn off so easily.

This thought, unfortunately, brought him onto a conclusive piece of evidence. Chiyo was so assertive at times and powerful, it was difficult to believe she had failed to use her Seduction power on Mari earlier, but she had. And this was why, it all made sense now. Of course she wasn't able to seduce Mari; she was already under her power.

Ryder wanted to feel horrified, he wanted to feel eager to escape, but all he felt was betrayed. Betrayed by someone he thought was a friend, someone who, whilst misguided, he hoped to get to know better and work together to save the city with. She had given him hope, so much hope, that he wouldn't have to kill anyone else for simply being a Demon. They simply had to become friends with the Demons…that was all.

Had he deceived himself? Had be been so eager for that to be true that he had ignored the reality right in front of him?

He frowned, looking grimly down at the concrete below and feeling like a huge part of his heart had been taken away. All of his hope, taken.

"She is doing it. She is controlling all of them."

"Huh?"

Ryder looked up to his girlfriend's partner, anger flashing through his pupils as he clenched his fist around his crutch. This hurt, so badly, both physically and mentally. "She couldn't seduce Mari…because Mari is _already_ under her power," he explained, flames in his eyes. "She has to be stopped," he growled harshly, turning and beginning to move. "If I tell the others, we can stop her!"

"Then let's go!" DarkRenamon agreed, realisation in her eyes turning to anger turning to determination before she rushed forward, wrapping her arms around the boy and surprising him. He looked up, bewildered before she smiled slyly. "Like I'm going to let you walk."

"Time to be sick again," Ryder groaned, as the pair vanished from existence, bringing once again with it the searing wave of nausea.

* * *

**8****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Tamiko Residence, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**21:09 JST**_

There was an eerie silence to the world about the four beings as they sat in the living room, the city around them near-silent. This was unreal to Henry; he'd never been in a city before that didn't have traffic noise, building noise, or just the general hubbub of day to day life, even in the evening. Shinjuku was hardly the quietest of areas at night, with a booming nightlife in some places.

Naoko, naturally, didn't bat an eyelid at the looming silence. She seemed more curious and shocked about the occasional cursing noises emanating down the corridor, Rey's foul mouth evidently not what she was used to hearing.

"God damn piece of crap! Work! How can you be so useless? I hate you, you stupid, idiotic, piece of s…"

"…anyway," Henry changed the subject, deciding to ignore the redheads complaints about her current task.

"Does…does she always talk like that?" Naoko asked, wincing at the profanities floating their way down the hall.

"No."

"She does have a bad temper though," Terriermon chirped in from where he sat on the sofa arm.

"Terriermon," Henry scolded quietly, a glare passing to his partner, who continued regardless.

"I think she gets it from her mother. Rika has tried to kill me so many times! What a bi…"

"Terriermon, what did I say?" Henry uttered again, interrupting his partner mid-curse.

Terriermon looked into Henry's eyes, his Tamer dearly hoping he was getting the message that he had to stop right now. He grinned, once again ignoring his partner.

"She hit me with a frying pan once. I was out for days."

"Terriermon!"

"I don't blame her," Renamon muttered.

"Renamon!" Naoko scolded. "I apologise for my partner, she never normally acts like this."

"Yeah, that's definitely the same old Renamon I know," Terriermon laughed.

"Huh?" Naoko and Renamon said, confused. What on earth did he mean?

"Well, anyhow," Henry laughed nervously, once again changing the subject before his partner was able to slip anything far too major. "If Rey manages to fix the communicator, we should be gone tomorrow."

"Oh…okay," Naoko said, frowning and sighing.

"Uh…" Henry began, not sure how to pose his next question after having seen her reaction.

"Sorry, it's just…I haven't had any real company besides Renamon since my parents died," she said, looking sadly down into her lap. Her blue hair fell down in front of her face, before she swept it aside, wiping away a tear at the same time.

Henry suddenly felt really guilty, looking over this poor girl who had no-one human to support or protect her. The war had killed everyone; at least, it seemed like that. "I'm sorry but…"

"Never mind," Naoko replied, smiling bravely. "I…I know you guys have to move on. These are dangerous times. I was just wondering whether…whether I could…join SLEGNA?" she asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Hmm…I'm sorry but…I don't think so."

"Huh?" she replied, her hope deflated and her expression faltering.

"Sorry, but…" _"God, it hurts to crush her dreams like this."_ "Our organisation…it's dangerous, and…people get really hurt. Badly. There…there was an accident…someone else died, and then one of our members ended up in a coma from the trauma. We can't recruit anyone until we reorganise and find a way to work without such high risks…sorry…"

"Henry, my whole family is dead…I have _nothing_ to live for…" Naoko cried, before forcing herself to stifle her tears. Why was she taking out her anger on a random stranger? She pressed her head into her hands, pressing her hands into her tear ducts and breathing erratically while she fought the swelling emotions.

Henry panicked, quickly rushing to her side and putting his arm around her, pulling her close and almost acting upon instinct to comfort her. "Don't cry, don't cry," he pleaded, Terriermon watching worriedly and Renamon watching sadly.

"I…I just hoped that there was someone out there, you know," she continued tearfully. "I want to leave this city and all the memories, but where can I go?" she asked, her voice and eyes still pleading with him to let her into their exclusive club. "Even if it means risking my life."

Renamon looked on worriedly, the prospect of her Tamers' death, particularly one she had practically volunteered for, horrifying her.

"I…"

"Please," Naoko begged, putting her hands together and looking to the boy.

"Uh…" he mumbled, looking up to her face and feeling slightly worried about how close it was to his.

She suddenly faltered, retreating back as she realised the pose she had unintentionally put herself in, albeit with his help. His arm around her back, her head close to his, this would certainly confuse Rey when she came in. She didn't want to complicate things in their relationship. "Oh, sorry!" she gasped, putting her hands out apologetically.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, that looked completely wrong," she apologised, as Henry became even more bewildered.

"What?"

"Rey would have killed me if she saw us like that, if the curses I keep hearing are any indication, that is."

"What? Why?"

"You two are a couple, and I…wait…aren't you?"

"God no!" Henry exclaimed.

"You said that a bit fast," Terriermon noted slyly.

"Wait, you're _not_ a couple?" Naoko asked, her opinion of the pair twisting a full one hundred and eighty degrees.

"Of course not, I think the first person in line to kill me would be Rika, and then… "

"Is she protective of her daughter then?" Renamon interrupted.

"Remember the frying pans?" Terriermon reminded, grinning.

"Ah."

"Yeah, well, you really have no idea how far from the point you are with thinking Rey and I are a couple."

"Oh, really…" Naoko replied, a strange look on her face as she fiddled with her hair unconsciously. "So you're…free then?" she asked, unconsciously nudging closer to the boy.

"Uh…what do you mean by that?"

"Uh…" Naoko mumbled, thinking of the most romantic way of making her point clear.

The girl moving even closer in, Henry's eyes widened when he realised what she meant. So wide, in fact, that they looked ready to fall out of their sockets, something that Naoko failed to notice in her current state of wondering.

"_WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"_

"_I don't think I even need to make a joke right now," _Terriermon contemplated; the first time in his life he had had such a thought. He did contemplate stopping the situation, but given the frozen state of Henry and the blood missing from his face right now, it was likely that Naoko would realise not everything was right anytime soon. If she didn't, however…

"_What the…okay, get your wits about you here Henry. Think things through, before you do something or get something done to you that you regret. This is the previous incarnation of Harmony, this is the previous incarnation of Harmony…who am I kidding, this is RIKA!"_

Naoko had crept even closer in the time Henry had taken to be shocked, and Henry wasn't too sure exactly who was making her do it. Was it Naoko, a lonely girl who had no-one else and had just been comforted by a friendly stranger, or was it Harmony, a deity who probably by now was wanting some romance, or alternatively, who wanted to screw with the minds of someone she had only just met. He had to stop her, because the repercussions from everyone, Rika, Jeri, Rey even, if they found out about this would be…

Henry blinked, feeling an odd sensation press against his lips, and hearing a barely-withheld chuckle from nearby. He looked across into Naoko's closed eyes, not moving while she didn't seem to get the message he was implying, at least not in time. He had been overthinking when he should've been action: his initial reaction should've been something along the lines of "go away" (as harsh and painful as that would've been for the girl to hear). He had taken so long to get over the shock that he had forgotten about the actual reason he was shocked, and his mind was by now in crisis mode.

"_Crap…Jeri is going to kill me."_

Of course, in that split second while Naoko was blissfully unaware of the fact her charms were unwanted, while Terriermon was half-stunned half-holding back laughter, while Renamon was staring on in shock and while Henry became practically cryogenically frozen in fear, something else approached from across the room unnoticed.

"Oh, hello Ryder, I didn't know you were here."

Hearing the voice and realising what she was doing, Naoko leapt back to her previous position and looked up in horror to see the redhead, a grin widely shining from her face at the sight she had walked in on. Naoko was far too shocked by the turn of events to even begin to contemplate what Rey meant by her words.

"Rey!" she gasped.

"Oh, no, wait, it's not Ryder! It's Henry! My mistake," Rey continued, grinning slyly and looking across to the cream and green bunny on the seat end. "Seriously Terriermon, I want you to tell me the full, uncensored version of however on earth these two ended up like this, because I think this is the ultimate in blackmail material."

"It is _seriously_ not what it looks like," Henry insisted.

"It _seriously _is!" Terriermon insisted.

Naoko had gone as red as Guilmon's skin, suddenly wondering what on earth had possessed her to do such as thing. She had been caught in a moment of weakness...or perhaps it was more…loneliness.

"Sorry!" she blurted, putting her hands up apologetically to both of them.

"Geez, like I care, I'm not his girlfriend," Rey laughed. "Still, you-know-who might have something to say about this, _Henry_," she said as she sat down in the armchair opposite, thereby forcing Naoko and Henry to stay seated next to each other regardless of whether they liked it or not.

"_I like her style," _Terriermon mentally complimented, knowing that Rey's actions and seating position weren't unconscious. Realmon came to sit on the armrest next to her.

"Huh?" Naoko wondered, looking curiously between them before her mind cottoned onto what exactly was going on here. "Oh…you…you already have a girlfriend, don't you?" she realised.

Henry had never felt more uncomfortable in his life. Well, perhaps maybe a few seconds ago when Naoko was leaning over him he had felt more uncomfortable, the thought of which made Henry feel even more anxious. "Yeah…her name is Jeri," he sighed, frowning as he noticed Naoko's expression, both embarrassed and saddened. "Sorry for not saying."

"Why are you apologising Henry? I didn't wait…it is my fault…I didn't think…I was just trying to be…uh…sorry," she said uncomfortably, gently placing a hand on his shoulder before retracting it again when she decided that right now that perhaps wasn't the best thing to do.

An uncomfortable silence fell between the pair, broken only by Rey who found it all too familiar.

"Well, if my father has taught me anything, it's that uncomfortable silences are best broken by continuing the conversation."

"True," Henry chuckled, smiling a slim smile.

"Oh, and also, things work out better if you bury them down endlessly until they really cause problems…no, wait, maybe that's not the best lesson to take from him."

"Sounds like Takato to me," Terriermon agreed.

"Rey, did you manage to fix the device?" Naoko asked, pushing down the uncomfortable previous situation and trying to forget about it. It was a stupid folly of her lonely mind, and something better lost in time.

"Oh, right," Rey said, nodding as she remembered what she had been doing until a few minutes ago. She took out the time device from her back pocket, smiling as she looked over it. The screen was still broken, but she had seen hints of movement of the liquid crystal of its display. Some of the lines were permanently fixed on and others stuck off, like a lot of broken clock displays designed like this, but it would have to do. "I fixed it, but it's still not got enough power to work."

"There is an outlet on the wall, you can plug it in there if you want," Naoko offered.

"Sorry, but this thing requires a completely different kind of energy."

"**Well, I am basically a living battery, as you know, so I can put a lot of power into it if you wish."**

"Thanks for the offer Harmony, but I'm afraid that even that isn't what this device needs."

"Then what kind of energy could it _possibly_ need?!" Terriermon complained, annoyed at how Rey wouldn't simply give them a straight answer.

"Terriermon," Henry muttered.

"Without any connection to its usual power source to charge it up, it will need raw power, you know, power not controlled by anything," Rey explained.

"What's its usual power source?" Henry asked curiously.

"What do you think?" Rey replied, smiling as Henry got the message. How Ryder was being used as a power source was beyond him, but at least it was an explanation for why right now they were beyond charging distance.

"Why am I not surprised?" Henry noted, grinning.

"What is so amusing?" Naoko asked, confused at the knowing smiles passing about the group.

"Never mind," Rey said, dismissing her question with another smile. "Anyway, if everything goes to plan, we should be going home soon."

"I want to come with."

"…what?"

"I said I want to come with you two."

Rey looked to Henry, not sure how to answer the question. "She asked me already, I wasn't too sure," Henry explained, Naoko clasping her hands together eagerly once again as she looked over to the redhead.

"Please," she pleaded. "I want to get out of this city, and all its memories," she added, sadly frowning.

"I…uh…" Rey began, looking across into the girl's eyes. She was lonely, she was helpless, and she had nothing in her world that meant anything anymore. How could she say no to this girl's one glimmer of hope? "I'll see what I can do."

But what could she do? There was no SLEGNA for them to take her to; it was all simply a lie. She cursed herself for not telling the truth, which would've been far easier to say "no you can't come with" to. What could they do though?

Her mind briefly touched upon an idea of taking the girl back to the future with them, but she knew it was a stupid thought. For starters, even if they were to recharge the device, it'd probably break again with so many people to transport, and even if it worked, what would be the repercussions of having two Harmonys in the same place? Forget Blinovitch, Harmony would simply remember everything and probably screw up history.

But one piece of conclusive evidence told her she couldn't do it. Naoko wasn't there in the future. She knew exactly who was going to survive, and who was going to be lost or die, because if they weren't there in the future, they weren't ever there. It felt like a curse, knowing so much but being powerless to change things.

Henry frowned across to Rey, he likewise wondering how they could get out of this situation whilst letting the girl down lightly. Maybe telling the truth would be better, but the repercussions could be terrible.

Naoko was too giddy with excitement to notice the concerned glances, however. "Thank you!" she cheered, smiling widely.

"Don't mention it," Rey replied casually, yawning and sweeping aside her concerns for now, leaving them to a time when she was less tired. "Right, I'm exhausted," she said. Henry yawned likewise, the toll of the fact their internal body clocks were thinking it was late at night finally catching up on them. Rey stood to her feet, Naoko and Henry nodding and doing the same.

"We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?" Henry said to the blue-haired girl, who nodded in agreement.

"Looking forward to it," Naoko agreed, Henry feeling even guiltier in knowing there was a pretty big chance that talk could never happen. The trio, with their partners, began to wander down into the hallway.

"Night, night," Rey wished to the other girl, who nodded and exited into her own room, Renamon in tow.

"Goodnight," she replied, closing the door behind them.

Rey looked across to Henry as they continued walking down to the next couple of rooms. Rey paused at her door, frowning.

"Henry, when do you think that…it…is going to happen?"

"I have no idea."

"I wish I'd remembered things better from Wikipedia," Terriermon added glumly.

"Then we have to get out of here as soon as possible tomorrow," Rey said, Henry nodding in agreement. _"I just hope that doesn't mean we have to leave Naoko behind."_

"See you tomorrow then," Henry said, turning and walking away further along the corridor towards his room.

"If we're not killed before then, of course," Terriermon added, waving an ear cheekily.

"Oh great, thanks for reminding me," Rey groaned, looking down to Realmon and nodding before the pair entered their room.

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**11:14 JST**_

"Valkyrimon, stop!" Ken exclaimed, the bird warrior drawing out her Fenir Sword and preparing to use it to decapitate him.

"Ken, get out of here!" the insect ordered, stepping forward, ready to get in the path of the attack if necessary.

"Yolei, what are you doing?" Hawkmon spluttered from within Valkyrimon, surprised by the sudden turn of events and the fact that their friends were fighting each other not far away. Takato looked in very bad shape, as he continually tried to shield against Rika's endless onslaught of blasts.

"I want to kill Ken," Yolei replied, her voice monotonous. Valkyrimon stopped in her tracks,

"What?! What on earth would you want to do that for?!" Hawkmon asked, horrified at the prospect as Ken took the chance to put some distance between him and the mega level Digimon. Stingmon promptly followed, as the boy ran across the plaza, around the edge of the shield.

"Because I must!" Valkyrimon insisted, Yolei wrenching back control from her partner and leaping forward, wings sweeping back and propelling her rapidly across the plaza. Stingmon stepped in the way, only to scream in pain as a red slash cut across his chest, too fast for him to see. He collapsed to the ground, shrinking back to Wormmon as Valkyrimon continued onwards.

"Stop Yolei!" Hawkmon cried.

Ken threw himself to the ground when Valkyrimon reached him, hearing the blade cut through the air where he had once stood. He rolled over, looking up at the face of his attacker.

"Yolei, you're being possessed! You have to stop yourself!"

Chiyo felt fit to burst out in laughter at the sight. This was just too perfect; Valkyrimon was so fast that Ken didn't have a hope in hell of escaping.

DarkBiyomon looked up at her partner, feeling a mix of pride in her partner's success and horror at what she was doing. This wasn't her, this wasn't Chiyo! The Chiyo she knew, the real Chiyo, was kind, especially to her, but something else…her Demon side had taken hold. That had to be the reason! She couldn't…she couldn't…_"…actually want to do this…could she?" _the bird thought, sighing as she realised that Chiyo _did_ want to do this. This _was_ Chiyo, whether she liked it or not, something which the girl herself had made clear on many an occasion.

"No Ken, I have to kill you!" Yolei insisted, Valkyrimon raising her blade ready to slice the boy in two where he lay on the ground.

"GREAT TORNADO!" cried a voice, Valkyrimon suddenly being barrelled aside and to the ground by a huge orange vortex. Eyes widened as even Rika stopped firing, looking across to where Valkyrimon was thrown into a tree. WarGreymon stood nearby, looking over her form as it got to its feet and glaring at her.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Tai asked.

"Yeah, Ken is your boyfriend!" Agumon added.

"What the hell is _your_ problem?!" Yolei spat. "Tai, we're friends!"

"So are you and Ken, so why are you attacking him?!" Tai argued.

"_**Takato, run!"**_ Chaos ordered, finally noticing that Rika was no longer continuously assaulting them.

"_You don't need to tell me twice!"_ Takato agreed, turning and running away from the currently distracted girl with Guilmon promptly in tow.

"Tai, she's possessed by something!" Ken yelled over to him, getting to his feet and breathing deeply as he tried to overcome the shock of what had just happened.

"_Tai, I think they're all possessed!" _Agumon thought, Tai nodding in agreement from within his orange sphere.

"_Yeah, which means only one thing…"_

WarGreymon threateningly raised a claw. "I have to stop this right now!"

Chiyo growled angrily, clenching a fist by her side as she watched from the sidelines. What was he doing? He was going to ruin everything; they couldn't possibly attack their own friends. Although…then again…if they did so…someone could die either way. Of course, they may not have been the most important and significant targets - you didn't get much bigger and important targets in a group than the Goggleheads - but at the same time, any casualties would severely damage their group, particularly with the ensuing legal proceedings. She chuckled, unclenching her fists. _"Perfect."_

"You…mustn't interfere!" Yolei insisted, raising her Fenir Sword and racing forward at the dragon.

"Then you leave me no option," WarGreymon growled, raising his shields across him and protecting from the attack.

Ken rushed over to his fallen partner, hearing the clashes of metal across metal from behind him as Yolei continued to try to break through the dragon's defences.

"Wormmon!" he cried, looking down at the bug who groaned. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better Ken," the bug answered. Ken smiled, thankful that his partner was alright. He picked the insect up in his arms before turning back to face the ongoing duel between the two mega level Digimon.

It seemed a pretty one sided duel as well. WarGreymon's shields had held fast, barely a scratch on them despite the persistence of the now-panting warrior. Valkyrimon took a break to recover her strength and reappraise the situation.

"_Yolei, you have to stop!"_

"_No. Hawkmon, I have to do this."_

"Please, stop attacking each other!" Jeri pleaded, fearful that her friends could get badly hurt or killed if this were allowed to go any further.

WarGreymon stayed adamant, glaring forward into the eyes of the panting warrior. "No," he said, determination deep in his eyes.

"What?!" Takato gasped, disbelief in his eyes that someone he had treated as a hero like Tai could resort to such horrid tactics.

"_**Great going Takato, now you just drew attention back to us. And how flipping useful is our plan of holding back and getting the crap kicked out of us?!"**_

"_Aw nuts…and it's better than hurting Rika."_

"_**Rika, they escaped!"**_ Harmony said, alerting the girl to where her boyfriend had run away to. He stood on the edge of the plaza, watching events unfold with horror.

"_Not for much longer," _Rika replied, turning menacingly and making a bee line for him.

"When I was under the control of the Digimon Emperor, you guys fought to get me back to normal, and you didn't hold back!" Agumon explained, his tactics completely different to those anyone else had been using. They needed to fight to protect their friends, even if it meant hurting them. They were a threat, and as harsh as it seemed, even their deaths would be advocated by them if they were in the right mind. Gatomon had said it before when Agumon was MetalGreymon, a horrid menace that took a lot to bring back to normal, that if they saw Agumon, they had to "cram him, okay?"

"I know that if Yolei were in her right mind right now, she wouldn't want any less," Tai agreed, WarGreymon clenching a fist in determination as nearby Chaos and Harmony began to charge their attacks.

"_Here we go again…" _Takato thought glumly.

"Now let's do it!" WarGreymon growled, turning back to face his foe.

"FERAL SWORD!"

WarGreymon was frozen, literally, in his tracks as the blade crashed into his side. His momentary period of distraction had given Yolei the chance to change her tactics, and the attack had frozen him solid into a block of ice.

"WarGreymon!" cried a new voice, four hooves touching down on the plaza nearby, coincidentally between Chaos and Harmony and preventing a very costly battle as it raced across between them, distracting both from their oncoming battle.

Davis leapt down off his partner who subsequently shrank back to Veemon. Horror permeated the eyes of the Gogglehead and his partner as they crossed the short distance to the WarGreymon ice lolly. He turned, looking up to Valkyrimon in horror.

"Yolei, what are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

"Davis, she's possessed just like Kari!" Veemon spluttered, looking about at the battlefield around them.

"Don't get in my way," Yolei spat, advancing forward and ignoring the ice cube. She even ignored Davis and Veemon, instead making a bee-line for her target: Ken.

"Ken," Wormmon exclaimed, anxious about the mega level Digimon currently advancing on them. "What do we do?"

Ken panicked and was unable to reply as his mouth ran dry, horrified by how Yolei continued to attack him and anyone who tried to protect him.

The gravity of the situation and the fact he _had _to do something returned to him, and the words of Tai from only moments earlier replayed in his mind. He nodded, determination flashing in his pupils as he reached to his belt for his black D-Arc, clasping the object in his hand and throwing it to his chest. It burst into a black light, consuming both him and his partner in its embrace. Valkyrimon froze in her tracks a few metres away to watch the display.

"Biomerge Digivolution Activate!"

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Wormmon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

**GrandisKuwagamon!**

The black bipedal insectoid warrior, its four yellow-tipped wings arranged in a cross shape across its back, raised its claws out in front of him in the hope Valkyrimon would see the gravity of the situation.

"Yolei, please stop before I have to hurt you," Ken said, the fact he had to say those words hurting him badly. He didn't want to even have to consider hurting the girl who he loved, let alone actually having to do it.

"Hmph," Valkyrimon huffed, raising her crossbow in front of her. "LIGHTNING ARROW!" she cried, a series of arrows shooting out and making a course for the insectoid Digimon.

"GRANDIS SCISSORS!" GrandisKuwagamon growled, the arrows cut to pieces in the air in front of him, the data slipping away.

"_All our attacks are offensive…what can we do?"_

* * *

Davis stood, his hand on the side of the Popsicle and his mind racing. This was wrong. His friends were fighting each other, Kari was trying to kill him, and he couldn't do anything without hurting something.

Hearing the swish of wings and the landing of feet behind him, he and Veemon turned to face his pursuer, the Angel finally catching up with him. Raidramon's deft evasive manoeuvres through thin alleyways and the tight streets had only bought them so much time.

"Kari, please, stop!" Davis pleaded.

"I have to…wait…Tai!" Kari spluttered, seeing the frozen form of her big brother's biomerge behind Davis. "What did you do to him?!" she threatened, javelin held tightly in her hand.

"I didn't do anything!" Davis argued, clenching his hand around his D-Arc in readiness. This was going to get desperate, and he knew that he needed to be ready. "It was Valkyrimon."

"What?!" both Kari and Gatomon exclaimed, horrified at the prospect. "Why?!" they both asked together, the first bit of cooperation between them for a while.

"Yolei is possessed, just like you," Davis explained, staggering forwards to look Ophanimon properly in the eyes.

"WarGreymon got in the way of her attempt at killing Ken, and she froze him!" Veemon elaborated, doing the same as his partner, a move they would soon be thankful for.

"Possessed? I'm not possessed."

"Kari, you are! Please, listen to me!" Gatomon insisted.

"Gatomon, I'm not possessed," Kari laughed. "I want to kill Davis," she said, menacingly and so unlike her that it sent a chill up Davis' spine as she fingered the javelin in readiness to attack.

"CRIMSON FLAME!" screamed a voice from behind them, Davis and Veemon feeling flames lick their backs as the space they had once stood in burst into flames. Water hissed as the ice melted and then evaporated, before WarGreymon screamed in pain.

Ophanimon turned her eyes skywards, looking to the huge bird that was Sora's mega level with surprise. "Phoenixmon, why are you attacking Tai?!"

"I have to kill him," Phoenixmon insisted, but Ophanimon continued to fail to see the fact that she was clearly possessed like the rest of them.

"Stop it, all of you!" Tai cried, WarGreymon shooting up into the air to face his attacker.

"No!" Sora said, determined to continue this fight regardless.

"Kari, please, stop!" Davis pleaded, Ophanimon clutching her javelin as tightly as Davis clutched his D-Arc.

"No," Kari said monotonously, as Ophanimon held her Javelin out in front of her. "EDEN'S…"

"BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!" Davis yelled, his D-Arc bursting into light and forcing the Angel to freeze in her tracks.

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Veemon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

**Imperialdramon!**

The huge form of Imperialdramon Fighter Mode, the biomerge mode of choice for Davis and Veemon, swooped upwards into the air, being followed by the Angel who growled in irritation at the last minute save.

"Here goes nothing," Imperialdramon said anxiously, knowing that his words couldn't be further from the truth.

* * *

"Takato, if you thought you were getting away from this, you can forget it," Rika said, the pair staring down opposite each other as their hands glowed. This was simple, they were away from the others, there would be no unintentional casualties or last minute saves. By their sides, Renamon and Guilmon prepared to fight, the latter reluctantly. Takato was horrified at the prospect of the upcoming battle, and the fact that there was more at stake than simply Rika's life or his life. But Chaos took on a different view, a far more simplistic view:

This was simple. Harmony versus Chaos. Renamon versus Guilmon.

Takato versus Rika.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Seriously, I think you could literally cut the tension with a knife right now. Ryder's on his way back, the mega levels are about to duke it out. Oh, and the end of the world is nigh for Rey and Henry. Fun!

Until next time…

B.C.


	56. The Trick To Him

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. It's the big five zero people, fifty chapters (fifty-six technically, but meh, I'm the author, I choose). This is definitely working out to be a long book. This was also working out to be a very long chapter, so I'm splitting it into multiple chapters instead so I can update for you guys sooner. Anyhow, enjoy!

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 50**

_The Trick to Him_

* * *

**9****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Tamiko Residence, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**09:05 JST**_

As the doorway was opened, the light from the outside world shone into the room, removing all traces of the terrifying darkness that had filled it the previous day. Already up and feeling refreshed, albeit drowsy, Rey walked out into the hallway. She opened the exterior door and looked out into the garden, pausing to appreciate the beauty of it all as her partner joined her.

"_So beautiful…yet so tenuous," _she thought, the sky mostly cloudless and the conditions perfect. For once, it'd be a curse for this city to have bad weather: the planes carrying the nuclear bomb would have a much easier set up for the bomb drop like this with such clear visibility. Nonetheless, the warmth of the city bearing down on her bare shoulders would at least make their escape that day pleasant, if not taking the desperation away from it.

That was, of course, assuming they still had enough time to escape the city.

She sighed, closing the door and turning, looking down the corridor to the living room at the end and mentally noting how similar this house was to Rika's childhood home, albeit a fair bit smaller. Yet whilst Rika's was a novelty in their world of concrete and steel, here this house was just another one of many.

Her socks pressed down on the floorboards, creaking slightly, as she wandered down to the central room of the house, smiling when she stepped in and looked around to see a pair of figures.

"Hey," she greeted, giving a slight wave as Realmon leapt up onto the counter.

"Good morning," Naoko said, currently preparing breakfast.

"Morning," Henry echoed, currently looking curiously at the radio in the room and trying to find a station that gave some useful information. Maybe they could work out when the bomb was due or something. Naoko was, as before, blissfully unaware of the nature of his search, and after the previous day's…complications, there seemed to be a tense air between them, despite Naoko's general cheeriness.

As the smell of rice reached her nose, Rey savoured it and heard her stomach rumble. She put her hand on her belly, her mind finally catching onto the fact that she hadn't eaten anything since the snack table at the party. Naoko, following Rey's hand, looked down to the girl's stomach, a smile of amusement on her face. Noticing something odd, however, she raised an eyebrow, looking Rey up and down with an uncomfortable look.

"Uh…pardon me but…isn't that a bit…revealing?" she asked, looking back up into the girl's eyes and asking the question in a nervous tone. She'd never had to call someone out on such a thing before.

Rey raising an eyebrow in confusion before she looked down at herself and her current attire, hoping that she hadn't forgotten to get changed. She was thankful when she realised she was at least wearing some clothes, and that those clothes were more than just underwear. That would be a huge taboo both in her time and this. But that still left her wondering what was so revealing about her present outfit.

She began to take a closer look, but at first, she noticed nothing, apart from the fact that she was wearing her top inside out and had ripped the tongues off her shoes. Did she have a hole in her scruffy jeans or something? That'd hardly be the most important thing to worry about right now.

"_Aw nuts…" _she thought, finally figuring out what was so revealing. The notable difference between the previous day's outfit and today's was that she had forgotten one key item: Henry's inside-out jacket. The absence of that particular item left nothing to cover the skimpier sections of her top, namely the sleeveless shoulders and the midriff. On the latter, making things worse, the fabric was currently folded upwards to be higher in places thanks to an uncomfortable and restless sleep full of fear about their oncoming fate.

For the first time in her life when wearing such an outfit, something that seemed normal to her and batted an eyelid only on the very few, she felt embarrassed. A slight reddish tinge came to her cheeks as she cursed her drowsiness upon waking up that morning.

"Oh, sorry," she said anxiously, embarrassingly crossing her arms across her midriff.

Naoko shrugged, a slim smile on her face as she realised the amusement of the situation. "Things must be different in Tokyo," she laughed, giving the redhead a slight unease from her anxiety.

"Yeah, they are," Rey said, dwelling on whether to go back for the jacket or to simply press on with the day and not make anymore of a show of herself. She pushed the top down into her pants again, hoping that it wouldn't repeat the thing it had done the previous day of popping out a few moments after.

"I can't wait to see it," Naoko added, smiling as she continued to prepare her food. "It must be a wonderful city."

"Yeah, maybe…" Rey said, smiling uncomfortably, and this time not because of her current wardrobe. She still hadn't figured out how to tell this girl that not only was there no real SLEGNA, but that her home was about to be destroyed and that she and Henry had to leave as soon as possible and never return. "We still need to contact the others to ask first."

"Oh, okay," Naoko replied, her enthusiasm only slightly dampened by the prospect. "Take a seat then, and breakfast will be ready in a moment," Naoko said, looking across the room to the low lying table, smile still on her face. Terriermon sat on the table itself, looking eager to eat before he starved to death.

"Thanks."

As Rey wandered across the room, she paused by the radio, checked that Naoko wasn't looking, and subsequently began to whisper a few questions to Henry. "Any luck?"

Henry glanced over to Naoko, frowning before he continued to turn the dial, switching between a variety of stations with an array of sound and static. "Not yet. I haven't found anything that sounds remotely like an indication of the attack."

"Hmm…well, I think it could be today. The weather is clear, and it couldn't have been that long after Hiroshima," she whispered, taking a brief pause to check up on their host again.

"Then we need to get out of here now."

As if she had planned it, Naoko chose that moment to speak. "Breakfast's ready!" she said cheerily, planting down a few bowls and plates on the table.

Henry's stomach rumbled, conflicting with his head which told him to escape ASAP. "I think we need to eat first though," he added, pretending he was thinking with his head rather than his stomach in saying so.

"Yeah, otherwise we'll collapse from exhaustion," Rey replied, the pair standing to their feet and Henry switching off the radio. It wasn't much use anyway, and he doubted it would be. The Americans would hardly give them a timetable of when the bombing would happen.

The pair wandered over to the table, kneeling down by Terriermon who had his head inside the bowl as he scoffed down the food he had been given. Henry doubted it mattered it was actually food, Terriermon was unlikely to pay a glance to it beforehand. Digimon were bottomless pits.

Realmon and Renamon were both far more conservative with their eating; eyeing their fellow Digimon with scorn before the latter vanished with her bowl to who-knows-where.

"Terriermon, eat politely," Henry scolded, Terriermon taking his head out of a now-empty bowl.

"You're worse than Guilmon," Rey added.

"No, Guilmon would've eaten the bowl," Terriermon replied, smiling.

"True."

"Who's Guilmon?" Naoko asked, confused by the random name.

"A living trash disposal," Terriermon answered bluntly, receiving a glare from each of Rey, Henry, and most of all, Realmon. This was her father he was talking about, after all.

"This is coming from someone eating everything on their plate, before it arrives," Rey replied, glaring through into the bunny's eyes.

"I really have no idea what you four are talking about half the time," Naoko sighed, rolling her eyes at her guests. "Still, it's nice to have company," she said contently, a slim smile on her face as she looped her fingers through each other and put her hands on the table.

"Yeah," Rey said with a fake cheeriness, before frowning towards Henry. This was going to be a painful goodbye, no doubt about that. Whether it'd be better to say goodbye or not was another question, but she hoped they'd at least have the choice. If she thought they had died, as grim as it was, maybe it'd be a better escape, one that wouldn't break her heart.

"Pass another rice bowl," Terriermon asked, gesturing across the table to the several bowls of rice on the other side. Naoko smiled, nodding and pushing a bowl along. "Thanks," Terriermon said, beginning to scoff the rice down again.

"Terriermon, slower!" Henry ordered, glaring in annoyance and wondering whether it was a futile task. Digimon didn't exactly seem to catch onto table manners if they didn't have them to start with, like Renamon and Realmon did.

"Fine," Terriermon huffed, mockingly putting a single piece of rice in his mouth at a time at a painfully slow rate. "Slow enough for ya?"

Henry rolled his eyes, looking back to Naoko and ignoring his pig of a partner. Rey, meanwhile, had a look of concern in her eyes as she looked over the several bowls of rice and assorted other breakfast items. "There's a lot of food."

"Yeah," Naoko said, nodding and frowning uncomfortably. "I still collect my parents' rations."

"I always thought it'd be really hard to live on rations, but there's so much food," Henry said, looking in amazement at the amount.

"Yeah, well…I used everything in the kitchen," Naoko said, muttering the last part in embarrassment. Henry and Rey's expressions faltered, before they looked to each other in surprise and anxiety.

"Oh," Henry uttered, frowning. Naoko was using all of her food up, in the hopes she would be able to leave the city that day. While in retrospect it was good wisdom, the food would be destroyed by the bomb in the end anyway, it still concerned him how much she was putting her hopes up.

"When are you two planning to leave?" Naoko asked curiously, looking at her two guests, unknowing of their current apprehension and worry about her actions and emotions.

"As soon as possible," Rey answered, frowning as she carefully observed Naoko's reaction. She felt a huge wave of guilt overwhelm her when she frowned, a disappointed look on her face.

"Oh."

"Sorry," Henry added, knowing his words would do little to make up for the crushing disappointment for this girl.

"I was hoping you would both stay a bit longer. I have enjoyed having company."

Henry felt his heart sink even further, while Terriermon pushed away the overwhelming guilt at leaving this girl alone to die with his usual method: making a joke. "So a voice in your head and a Digimon partner isn't company enough?"

"Terriermon," Henry scolded through his teeth.

"Don't worry, he was only trying to cheer me up," Naoko dismissed, a slim smile on her face.

"Was he?" Rey exclaimed in surprise.

"Was I?" Terriermon did likewise, looking about at his companions, bewildered.

"I think so at least," Naoko sighed, frowning as she ran a hand through her hair. "I suppose you have not had a chance yet to call SLEGNA?"

"No, the device still needs recharging. We'll have to head to Tokyo instead and hope we can do it there," Rey answered, a frown on her face.

"Can I come with?"

"Uh…" Henry mumbled, trying to think of an answer that would be nicer than "no you cannot". "Uh…"

"I see," Naoko sighed, frowning. "Don't worry, I'm sure SLEGNA would not want me anyway…I am not exactly the most stable and logical of people for it."

"Don't say that," Rey interrupted. "We'll contact you once we arrive if we can, okay?"

"But what if you can't?"

"Huh?"

Naoko frowned, biting through a mental block as she expressed some doubts that had manifested in her mind. "We're in a war. I hear bombs drop and planes go over regularly. Just this morning, there was an air raid siren."

"Wait, what?" Henry spluttered, fearful they were too late.

"Yes, there was a siren, but it turned out to be a false alarm. I still can't believe you two slept straight through it."

"We must have been very tired."

"Yes, well, as I was trying to say…we might not survive long enough to contact each other. I know it's a lot to ask, and I know if I cannot join SLEGNA I will have to find my way back home, but I still want to come with you."

Rey and Henry hesitated, neither knowing exactly what they could do in this situation. "I see," Rey finally mumbled, frowning.

"Can we have a chance to talk about it?" Henry asked, looking across to Rey who nodded in agreement. They desperately needed to talk, and things otherwise could get very painful for Naoko. Naoko frowned, nodding in agreement.

"Okay," she replied, looking across to the external doors. "You can talk outside if you want," she said, gesturing across to them.

"Thanks," Rey answered, smiling thankfully and standing up, Henry doing likewise. Naoko and Renamon watched as the four crossed the living room to the door, Rey opening the door and hesitating, feeling the wind touching her shoulders and belly. She nodded in realisation, looking down to her partner by her side. "Realmon, could you get my jacket?"

"I'll get it," Naoko offered, standing up and looking across at Rey with a smile. This, of course, made Rey feel even guiltier about leaving her to die or even just leaving her alone with her broken hopes, something which Naoko noted. As cynical as the thought seemed, it occurred to Rey that this could've been her intention, to make them feel so immoral about leaving her that they had to take her back to SLEGNA, and fulfil her dreams, something she knew they couldn't do, purely because SLEGNA didn't exist. At least, not at this point in history.

"Thanks," Rey replied, the girl continuing to smile as she passed them and headed down the hallway, Renamon vanishing into nothing behind. The four time-travellers subsequently stepped out into the outside, the sun beaming down on them.

"Beautiful day, huh?" Terriermon said with a glum tone to his voice.

"Yeah," Henry agreed, a similar lack of enthusiasm in his voice as he looked up upon the general lack of clouds in the sky above. If the bomb were to be dropped, today would be perfect.

Rey carefully slid the door closed behind her, frowning after she did so. "What do we do?" she asked.

"I was hoping you'd know."

"Ugh," she groaned, stepping forward and running a hand through her hair. This situation was awful, they couldn't do anything without hurting someone, and yet it broke her heart to think of what would happen to Naoko after they left. In fact, leaving was still a question, since they still lacked a power source, but they had instilled so much help into the girl that if they were forced to admit the truth after escaping Nagasaki, she could probably never trust anyone again, and would certainly be heartbroken. She cursed herself for not telling the truth from the start, but she also knew she couldn't have known. "I mean, shit Henry, we can't tell her the truth, but we have to."

"It's going to be painful for her though."

"I think we have to save our own asses first," Terriermon suggested, a point of view not expressed by anyone so far. He was greeted by looks of mild shock at his suggestion, although it had crossed everyone's minds.

"Yeah, but even that could be difficult," Realmon noted, frowning. "We don't know this area. Naoko could be our only chance to get out of here."

"I don't feel right just using her like that though," Rey complained, the prospect of dumping Naoko behind once they had found their way out something she didn't want to have to contemplate. Sure, they would have brought her out of harm's way, but what happened then? She was left alone, without a family, without money, and, thanks to the bomb, without a house.

"Me neither. She's just so…lonely…" Henry agreed, frowning and sighing. "I think she demonstrated that to me best," he added, the memory of their (according to Henry) incident, (according to Naoko) near-kiss and (according to Terriermon) full on smooch from the previous day never ceasing to dominate his thoughts. "But, can we physically save her?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, the implications of having one extra person in the world must be huge. What if she has children, or accidentally kills someone, or bumps into one of our grandparents and prevents them meeting the other? Or what if Harmony being her prevents Rika being Harmony? Or what if she lives long enough to meet Rika as Harmony? We're dealing with godly powers here, we have no idea what could happen."

"I know what you mean but…maybe we have to take that risk."

"Can we take that risk though?"

"Maybe not, but I just can't leave her."

"Rey, I…I know how much this must hurt you, and it hurts me too but…she is probably one of the victims of the bomb."

"But we don't know that!"

"She lives so close to the centre of the city though, and the bomb would've blown up so much. But…if we help her survive, we're changing history."

"So? Henry, I have done that so many times now it's become meaningless. I haven't faded, I haven't ceased to exist, and I'm not stuck in a paradox. Maybe time finds its own way round things, or maybe…wait…" she paused, a thought rushing through her mind that made her blink, bewildered at the prospect. Maybe that was the case, maybe they were subject to that factor, but it was far too complex and difficult to even begin to explain to Henry, particularly considering she still doubted that was the case. "Uh…yeah, maybe…or maybe this was always meant to happen?!"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe we were _always_ meant to travel back in time and do this?"

"Rey, I think you're fishing for answers where there are none," Realmon suggested, a frown on her face.

"But…"

"Rey…I need to ask you something that I know you won't like."

"What is it Realmon?" Rey replied, concern in her eyes.

"You can monitor Destiny, can't you?"

Rey's expression faltered into a deep frown as she shook her head, instantly dismissing the prospect as Henry and Terriermon watched the pair curiously. "No, no way Realmon, I have done a lot of things but I always draw the line at that. I could learn too much."

"I think you've already done it," Realmon added, a frown on her face as she contemplated the possibility. Rey looked surprised at first, before a guilty and worried frown materialised on her face. "I'm sorry Rey, but I think you already know that Naoko is going to die."

"But…she can't!" Rey insisted, fearful of the inevitable. Knowing Destiny, and being able to look at it and measure it when she wanted, was not a blessing, not even in the slightest. It was the worst of curses. She could see how the future would unfold.

"What are you two talking about?" Terriermon interrupted, he and his Tamer both bewildered by the private conversation they were having.

"As part of my abilities, I can measure the Threads of Destiny for each person and…well…her thread…its short…very short…" she added, a deep grimace on her face.

"So there's nothing we can do then," Henry asked, confirming his newfound speculation.

"I hope there is, but…no…probably not."

"Then we have to get out of here," Terriermon decided, looking over to the hillsides in the distance from the top of Henry's head and gesturing in their direction. "I say we digivolve and go now."

"No."

"Rey, please," Realmon echoed Terriermon's sentiment. "There is nothing we can do."

"We can grant a dying girl's wish," Henry said, contradicting his partner. "Even if she is going to die, we can at least keep her company for just a little while longer," he elaborated, looking across to Rey and nodding in determination.

Rey smiled and nodded in agreement, thankful for Henry's support in the matter. "Right, finally someone talks sense."

"Even an extra hour would be cherished by her, I can tell that. And, I feel I have a debt to repay after breaking her heart yesterday."

"I can't tell whether Jeri would kiss you or kill you for how you're acting lately," Terriermon quipped.

"Ah, kiss of death maybe," Rey suggested humorously. Henry nodded in amusement, turning to face the screen door and sliding it back open. The four stepped back into the home, half expecting Naoko to be standing there with her arms crossed having heard everything. Thankfully, she hadn't, and she was surprisingly trusting that their talk wouldn't be sinister. Nonetheless, she had her hands together where she sat in the armchair. She quickly stood up, rushing towards them and holding out the jacket to Rey.

"So? Can I come?!" she said, barely containing her eagerness.

"Thanks for the jacket." _"Oh damn, we never decided on what to say," _Rey cursed herself, taking the jacket to give her a chance to think about her response. "Uh…well…first of all, we want to keep you company," she changed the subject, looking across to Henry to back her up.

"Yeah, we didn't think it was right to leave so early, so we'll be staying for an extra hour or so," he boy agreed.

"Oh, okay," Naoko said, nodding and faking a smile as her mind contemplated what she knew the reality was. _"They aren't taking me with them."_

"_**I'm sorry but…I know you knew this could be coming."**_

"_Yeah, but…I just want so much to follow them, to have friends and all…is that too much to ask?"_

"So, we're yours for the next hour or so then," Henry said enthusiastically.

"What should we do first?" Rey said cheerily, clasping her hands together and eagerly contemplating what Naoko would want to do with them.

* * *

_**09:39 JST**_

"THIS IS NOT FUN!" Terriermon complained, a rain of diamond storms hailing down on him as he raced around the garden, horror and betrayal in his eyes.

Naoko smiled from where she sat, leaning against the wall. A feeling of bliss swept over her as all three humans appreciated the sheer sense of peace which had descended on the garden, even as the city awoke and prepared for that day's business. Planes occasionally flew overhead, interrupting their peace with the constant fear of being bombed.

"Wasn't Naoko's idea, don't blame her," Realmon replied, grin on her face as Renamon came to a stop, pleased with the fear and terror she had extracted from someone who had bugged her a lot since they had first met.

"Okay, that's enough," she decided, calmly turning and walking back to her Tamer. Terriermon stopped, horrified and bewildered as he watched his attacker leave.

"What?!" he spluttered.

Renamon didn't even bother turning, instead speaking with her back to him. "As fun as it is to attack you, I have faced far more interesting and difficult opponents," she answered, returning to her Tamers side and crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall.

"Oh, thanks," Terriermon pouted, not sure whether to be happy that she had stopped or annoyed that she had simply brushed him aside like that.

"So, Henry, how did your parents meet?" Naoko asked curiously, continuing their conversation once their comic relief was over.

"Hmm," Henry replied, pondering the question himself. "I'm not sure, I've never really asked."

"You have to admit though, people like you are rare. Not often you get that much "sleeping with the enemy", particularly in such a literal sense."

"Lovely way of putting it," Rey laughed, amused.

"So what about you then Rey, how did your parents meet?"

"Uh…" Rey mumbled, the question catching her off-guard. _"Where to start…" _she thought, contemplating the long and complex history of her parents' relationship, and the unusual way by which they met, or rather, by which Takato first saw Rika. "Well, you see, it all started with a dream. My father has always had his head in the clouds, but he never had a dream quite as weird as when he…well…as unbelievable and illogical as it sounds, dreamt of Rika before they even met."

Naoko's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, I still don't completely understand it myself. Their relationship didn't get off to the best of starts, I'll put it that way, but eventually things worked out between them."

"So how old are they now then?"

"Thirty-two."

"Oh, okay…wait…hold on, how is that possible? How old are you again?"

"Sixteen," Rey sighed, feeling guilty about her own creation and the accidental circumstances of it.

"So Rika was pregnant at…sixteen."

"Yeah…" Rey mumbled, frowning.

"**Well, I've heard of younger," **Harmony said, simply brushing aside the prospect as if it were a day to day occurrence. **"And, I may have been younger…in a previous life…I mean…I could have…they're so hard to remember. Still, I wouldn't be stupid enough to get pregnant in this day and age."**

"Even so Harmony, you can never remember anything! What is the point of being a reincarnation if you can't remember anything?" Naoko complained.

"**Simple, it lets you blow up stuff."**

"Touché!" Terriermon chuckled.

"What does that mean?" Naoko asked, confused by the random word.

"Never mind," Henry said, dismissing the question. "It's just some weird thing he does."

"**Sounds like French to me, but even with the translation I still don't get it. What does having touched something have to do with this?"**

"Never mind," Terriermon said, echoing his partner as he dismissed the question.

* * *

_**10:15 JST**_

Naoko smiled, calmly chatting to Realmon in the middle of the beautiful garden and giving Henry and Rey their first chance to talk alone in a while. "Rey, I think I'm getting a bit concerned about how long we've been here."

"I know what you mean," she whispered back, both still leaning against the wall.

"Do you want to ask to leave then?"

At that moment, as if she intended to time it that way, Naoko stood up, smiling eagerly and holding up her index finger. "I have an idea," she said cheerily, clearly enjoying greatly her guest's extended stay. "How about we all go for a walk around the city? I'd love to show you this place, and I'll take you through the quieter streets so no-one notices Henry or the Digimon."

"Sounds…great," Rey replied, less than enthusiastic about the idea of going right into the middle of a city that was about to become nothing.

"But…uh…" Henry began, trying to think of a way to justify them saying no.

Thankfully, they didn't have to, instead the phone inside the house carrying out that role perfectly for them.

**BRIIIING! BRIIIING!**

Naoko stood up, surprised by the phone ringing so randomly when she hadn't been contacted in a long while. She wandered into the house, excusing herself on the way. Rather inevitably, of course, her guests followed her in, looking over to where she picked up the phone from where it sat on the kitchen counter.

"Hello, Tamiko Residence," she said, a mix of cheer and curiosity in her voice.

"**Hello Harmony."**

Naoko almost dropped the phone out of horror, looks of surprise materialising on the faces of her companions as they wondered what could possibly be so bad for her to do so. They were quickly answered when Harmony spat a single word from her lips.

"**Chaos."**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

Right, I'll try to get the next chapter done as soon as possible, since there's a point coming up I really want to get to before I go on vacation.

Until next time…

B.C.


	57. The Trick To Revelations

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 51**

_The Trick to Revelations_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**11:29 JST**_

"Rika, you don't have to do this!" Takato pleaded, desperate to avoid a costly battle. He couldn't fight Rika, he just couldn't. It wasn't just because he was afraid of hurting her; he had a lot more at stake here than the other boyfriends did. Rika was carrying his child, and that made things a hundred times more risky.

"Takato, be quiet," Rika said, preparing her D-Vice by her side. "I will do what I want, and right now, I want to kill you, so just die!" she added, looking across to her partner who looked back, anticipating her command.

"Now?" Renamon asked.

"Now. Biomerge Digivolution Activate!"

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Renamon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

**Sakuyamon!**

The priestess stood tall, staff in hand as she looked across to her opponent, the boy taking a step back in fear as he looked over the normal mode of Sakuyamon, a surprise since he was expecting her to use her higher, Amethyst mode, but evidently something was wrong.

"_**I think we're only able to use our higher modes if our hearts are really in it, and Rika is simply being possessed right now. Either that, or she fears that her higher mode will harm the baby."**_

"_Hmm…" _Takato mumbled, looking carefully over the shaman warrior and noticing an odd lack of any noticeable bump. _"Uh…"_

"_**Takato, she's data, and data can be altered and compressed."**_

"_But what if doing so harms Rey?!"_

"_**I have no idea, and that's why we have to stop her," **_Chaos decided, reaching across to their own D-Vice and preparing to use it. Their body froze, Takato conflicting with Chaos.

"_Wait! We can't biomerge, we'll hurt her!"_

"_**If we don't, she'll kill us!**__** I can't let Harmony win!"**_

"_But…I…ugh, I don't know what to do."_

"Takato, what do we do?!" Guilmon panicked, Sakuyamon pressing the bottom end of her staff into the ground and beginning to chant. Everything was going to hell, and Takato wished that everything was just back to normal. No fighting, homicide attempts, just…normality. Was it too much to ask?

"_**Takato, think fast!"**_

"_Uh…"_ Takato hesitated, the rings on Sakuyamon's staff moving and leaving him with little chance to decide. "Ugh, I don't think we have a choice."

"SPIRIT STRIKE!"

"Biomerge Digivolution Activate!" Takato called, throwing his arm across his chest as his D-Vice burst into red light.

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Guilmon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

**Gallantmon!**

**M-O-D-E**

**C-H-A-N-G-E**

**Gallantmon, Mode Change to…**

**Gallantmon Crimson Mode!**

The four fox spirits converged on the Knight, his rouge armour still shining as he held up his staff. His wings swept back, the Knight shooting up into the air and away from his controlled and combined girlfriend. The spirits crashed into the ground below, now too late to change their course and follow him up.

"Come back here!" Sakuyamon roared, biting her lip and quickly taking flight after him.

"_Takato, what can we do?" _Guilmon asked his Tamer, fear and panic laden in his voice at how Renamon and Rika were now attacking them together.

"_We can't attack them and we don't even have a shield," _Takato replied, as fearful as his partner about the endless assault that he could be victim to, without being able to return any of it. Sakuyamon may have been weaker, but right now she probably had the upper hand tactically against an already weakened Takato, Chaos and Guilmon.

"_**Oh yes we do!" **_Chaos insisted, still with a grip on the situation unlike those he was sharing the body of Gallantmon with. He quickly began action as Gallantmon flew upwards, energy swirling around his arm and suddenly forming into a large and familiar shield, one that Takato had only used before in his normal Gallantmon mode. _**"Ever met my friend, the Aegis?"**_

"_Wow!" _Guilmon gulped.

"_But…how?" _Takato spluttered. _"That's Gallantmon's shield!"_

"_**You're a Digimon, and a God. What the hell did you expect? Sakuyamon's not the only one who can do magic tricks."**_

"_This is perfect."_

"_**Yeah, just don't break it. We're weak enough already, and that took a lot of energy to generate. And God you have a bad memory, I swear we've done this before."**_

"_We probably have. I'll try not to break it," _Takato agreed, nodding within his sphere as Gallantmon tightly gripped the shield.

"SPIRIT STRIKE!" yelled a dual voice from below, the roaring sound of flame dragons screeching through the air towards them. Gallantmon swept his wings over, holding his shield down as the four blasts collided with them and fizzled.

"_This isn't going to be easy," _Takato thought, frowning as Sakuyamon growled at him.

* * *

"Ugh, where the hell did DarkRenamon go to?" Mari asked the air, looking down at her D-Vice and groaning as it failed to do anything other than spin the compass wildly. Was she masking herself or something?

"Any luck?" Jeri asked curiously, as explosions and clashes of metal crashed through the air over their heads, making her look nervously up in fear. Elecmon still stuck to her head, knowing that the only way he had even a remote hope of saving her was by staying by her side, even if it meant being silent right now.

Mari frowned, shaking her head with her mouth a thin line of irritation. "No, not yet."

"Mari, when she arrives, you better not hurt her," Jeri threatened, already horrified by the girl's original actions in dealing with her partner.

"I won't," Mari insisted, feeling a wave of guilt sweep over her at her prior actions.

"_Let's hope she sticks to that," _Elecmon thought grimly.

* * *

"CRIMSON FIRE!"

The stream of fire flowed towards the dragon from the mouth of the huge digital bird, only to be evaded as the former flew up into the air, narrowly avoiding the fast and wide blast. Not pausing in between, WarGreymon began to spin, before metamorphosing into a huge sweeping orange vortex that swirled across towards the bird.

"GREAT TORNADO!"

"_Sorry," _Tai thought, before the dragon collided with the bird's wing. Phoenixmon cried in pain, pulling in that wing before growling in annoyance and preparing to attack once again.

"LIFE FORCE!" the bird cried, her wings waving and releasing a series of rays of light. They filled the air like bright sunlight through a window, WarGreymon desperately trying to avoid the attack by flying all over the scene.

"Sora, stop!" Biyomon cried, but was completely ignored by her hell-bent Tamer. This situation was getting truly alarming, and the end seemed nigh unless she managed to regain control of her own body.

"_I never expected to be on this end of the attacks," _Agumon thought, before both he and Tai groaned in pain upon flying in the path of one of the rays. They suddenly felt so weak, the light ray intensifying as it sucked their physical strength.

WarGreymon groaned in pain, gradually breaking free of the beam before flying up out of harms' way. Nonetheless, the attack had taken its toll, and he doubted he had the strength to withstand many more of that sort of move.

"_But what can we do?"_ Tai wondered.

* * *

The bug warrior and the bird warrior had stopped to glare each other down, blades sharpened and ready for action as soon as someone made the first move. The former looked anxious, however, the prospect of fighting a dear friend and girlfriend a terrifying one, a reservation that the other did not have.

"LASER…" Valkyrimon began, a white flash of light forming into an explosive javelin in her hand. "…JAVELIN!" She flung it forward, shooting towards the virus type who quickly made a move to destroy it before it could injure her.

"GRAN KILLER!" GrandisKuwagamon roared, slashing his claws through the air and creating black slash marks in it. From them, a beam of black energy burst, shooting forward and smashing into the javelin in mid-air. The Javelin exploded in a large blast, both warriors digging their feet into the ground.

Taking a different tact, Valkyrimon shot across the arena, sword ready to freeze her foe. "FERAL SWORD!" she cried.

GrandisKuwagamon used what little time he had to block the attack with one of his own. "GRANDIS SCISSORS!" he screamed, both parties struggling and groaning in pain as they tried to overcome the other. Ultimately, the black bug warrior's pair of blades won through, pushing together and throwing Valkyrimon back across the ground.

Ken winced as he heard her form crash into the ground, the reality of the situation all too clear to see.

"_I can't do this!" _he thought as the bird returned to her feet, embittered and ready to continue their brawl.

* * *

"SEFIROT CRYSTALS!"

"POSITRON LASER!"

Screams resounded from both of the mega levels as they were thrown back through the air. The positron laser attack had fired straight through the middle, leaving the crystals to fly around it and impact the far larger form of the dragon warrior.

"_What the hell am I doing? This is Kari here, I can't…"_

"_Davis, look out!"_

"EDEN'S JAVELIN!" Ophanimon cried, using Imperialdramon's pause for doubts to fire her own attack, clenching her teeth bitterly. Her Javelin glowed, launching forth a sharp strike of holy energy at the vast warrior and striking the centre of his form.

Davis and Veemon screamed together, the concentrated blast not ceasing until they slumped back towards the ground, form smoking from the sheer power that had been put into the attack. Ophanimon paused to gather her breath, energy and strength, a moment that Gatomon used to try to convince her Tamer to stop with.

"_Kari, please stop this!"_

"_Why Gatomon?"_

"_If you keep attacking you're going to kill him!"_

"_Yeah, so?"_

"_Why are you doing this Kari?"_

"_I have to Gatomon."_

Gatomon sighed. This definitely wasn't Kari, that much was clear. Kari would've wrenched at the thought of attacking any of her friends, or indeed, anyone even remotely on their side, and she would've thought twice about attacking others too. Something else was overriding her, forcing away so much of her personality, and she had no way to stop it.

"_Davis, we can't take much more of this!" _Veemon told his partner, vast feet landing on the ground below to rest and crushing a number of trees in the process. Leaves were scattered by the wind from the wings, and Imperialdramon breathed deeply to gather his breath.

"_I know, but we haven't got a lot of other attacks! It's those crystals; they are spread about too much. We can't hit them!"_

"_We're going to have to try Davis!" _Veemon replied, the skull-mouth on the front of Imperialdramon dropping open as a cannon revealed itself and began to gather energy.

"_For Kari!"_

"_For Kari!"_

"GIGA CRUSHER!" they roared together, Imperialdramon and Davis' fists clenched as the cannon fired multiple spheres of energy at the small target. They kept them small, knowing that anything else could be devastating, and that meant they were far quicker to charge than the normal version of the attack. Helping that fact, Ophanimon was too late to dodge, so she instead quickly grabbed her javelin, smashing it into the attacks and sending them into the ground below.

The earth shook as they smashed not far from Chiyo, a look of fear on her face as she contemplated what would've happened if they had been any closer. The dust spread, the girl coughing from it as it swarmed into her lungs.

"Chiyo, are you okay?!" DarkBiyomon asked as explosions continued to roar overhead.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, breathing deeply still to overcome the shock. "I think we should move back."

"Chiyo, are you alright?!" cried another voice, fast approaching from nearby. The bird and her Tamer's heads span around to face a rapidly approaching flying horse, a hatless blonde on it with a worried yet determined expression on his face. Pegasusmon landed, Takeru leaping down by the girl's side.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Chiyo huffed, irritated by how everyone seemed to now be thinking she couldn't withstand anything. "What happened to your hat?" she added, gesturing to his head.

"We went swimming," Pegasusmon said grimly, an explosion taking their attention away from their conversation to look at the skies above.

"What's going on?!" Takeru exclaimed.

Chiyo shrugged, frowning. "I don't know, but all the girlfriends have started attacking their boyfriends."

"Just like Davis and Kari were," Pegasusmon added.

Takeru frowned, nodding with his eyes still widened from the shock. "But why are they doing this? Any idea?"

"Not a clue," Chiyo answered, shaking her head.

"Can we stop them?" Takeru asked, looking over the growing battlefield.

"I wouldn't want to be the one to try," Chiyo replied, a smaller-than-usual terra force ball smashing into the trees below aptly proving her point. "I can't even go mega, unfortunately." There was a tinge of bitterness in her voice at her partner below.

"So what do we do then?" Takeru panicked.

"Beats me," Chiyo replied, Takeru mentally pondering the complete lack of worry in her voice any more. She seemed to have taken on a neutral, almost bored expression at the events around her.

"_But why?"_

* * *

The radio cackled into life in the bird's hand, Falcomon looking down to it curiously and listening intently to what it had to say.

"**Falcomon, status report!"**

"The Tamers are currently fighting each other mostly at the mega level, but Ryder has disappeared along with DarkRenamon."

"**Like I care about that. How is Chiyo doing?"**

"They have yet to work out that she is responsible for this."

"**Tell me when they do, because things might just get interesting."**

* * *

**9****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Tamiko Residence, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**10:18 JST**_

"**Why are you calling?!" **Harmony growled, a bitter irritation in her voice at how her arch-nemesis had managed to contact her.

"**Oh, just thought I'd check up on an old friend."**

"**How did you get this number?"**

"**I have my sources. It took me a while to figure it out though; I originally speculated you could've been in Kokura."**

"**Yeah, well go to hell Chaos if you think I'm having anything to do with you this time round."**

"**You don't have to have anything to do with me Harmony, but I just thought I'd tell you that I'll be sending a little present for you very soon."**

"**What?! What do you mean?"**

"**Nagasaki must be such a nice place, mustn't it?"**

"**What are you going to do to this city?"**

Henry and Rey's mouths dropped, looking to each other in horror as they suddenly realised so much about this day, and its significance, and how important it was that an incarnation of Harmony was here.

"**Well, first of all Harmony, I'd like to say that you haven't a hope in hell of escaping this time round. I am currently employed in a high level capacity for the Americans, and I just happen to have under my control one of the most powerful weapons ever envisaged by these pathetic creatures. Oh, and I plan to aim it squarely at, hmm, let's see…you!"**

"**What kind of weapon?" **Harmony asked, used to Chaos having fired such weapons at them.

"**A weapon that has the potential to destroy entire countries, but, alas, a city will have to do this time round."**

"**Chaos, this is despicable."**

"**And yet, I know you would do the same if you had the opportunity."**

"**Yeah, well, I can escape easily by flying away."**

"**Oh, but can you, Harmony? Can you?"**

There was a loud thumping at the door, Chaos barely stifling a chuckle on the other end of the phone as the six beings in the room looked across fearfully to the front door, a large shadow on the other side.

"OPEN UP!"

"**Oh, that'd be the Japanese Army. Silly me, I know Wars are meant to be a two-sided affair but I just couldn't help but leak information to the other side. All part of the war effort, heh?"**

"**Chaos, stop this right now!"**

"**Why should I?"**

"**Because…because**** I am a little girl right now. Just a naïve, innocent, little girl, and how could you be so heartless as to kill someone like that?"**

Chaos growled, annoyance and bitter memories dominating his mind. **"Because Harmony, so many times I have been a child, watching as you literally tore my heart out. This game was never fair Harmony, you know that most of all."**

"**But…you'll kill thousands!"**

"**To kill you, I'd go for billions, and I assure you that you would do the same."**

"Please Chaos, stop!"

"**What is your name?"**

"Naoko, Naoko Tamiko."

"**I apologise then, Naoko, but this must be done. Harmony must die."**

"Please, stop!"

"**Goodbye Naoko, good riddance Harmony."**

"**Wait, stop…" **Harmony began, but it was too late. The phone had gone dead, the long endless tone like a death knell for both her and the child she was incarnated as. She weakly put the phone down, shaking as she did so before looking over to her guests.

"I…I'm sorry…we're dead…"

"Sorry?" Rey asked, confused by how this girl possibly thought she was responsible."

"I'm sorry, I kept you here. Without me…you would be well away by now, you could survive," she cried, a look of intense sadness on her face as she contemplated what she had done.

"But…we wanted to stay," Henry interjected.

"If it weren't for me, you'd have escaped by now."

"**I have no idea what Chaos' secret weapon is, but he said it could destroy an entire city."**

"All those people dead," Naoko sighed, frowning deeply and screwing up her eyebrows. "We have to save them!" she decided, clenching a fist.

"**I know, but the problem is, where on earth do we start?"**

Naoko looked curiously up, turning to face her two companions and pondering whether they would know anything about this. "Does SLEGNA know anything about this?"

Rey and Henry frowned, looking at each other as they pondered which route the two answers they had would take them down. Rey finally shook her head, frowning. Revealing the truth right now, as much as it could help, was also something Rey was worried about, particularly after her previous chat with Henry about the implications of such a move. Was she right to play it safe? "No, sorry."

"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!" bellowed a voice through the door, Naoko shaking in fear as she contemplated the number of soldiers who could be lurking behind it. "ON THE COUNT OF THREE, ONE, TWO, THREE," the soldier stormed, Henry, Naoko and Rey all taking an uneasy step back towards the rear exit as their partners braced themselves.

Rey crossed her fingers, dearly hoping they wouldn't come in all guns blazing. That could mean she would have to use her powers to protect herself, and that could only bring ill in the aftermath. She cautiously did up her jacket, before tensing up in fear.

The sounds of gunfire filled the air, the lock on the door exploding and the door rapidly thrown aside to reveal a squad of soldiers, all determined to arrest or kill them. Guns rose to face them, the familiar situation of being on the end of a rifle repeating itself for Rey and Henry.

"RAISE YOUR PALMS IN THE AIR AND DO NOT MOVE."

The six beings complied quickly with the order, putting paws and hands in the air as best they could. The soldiers briefly faltered upon seeing their Digimon, before a look of hatred crossed the face of the chief.

"You have been revealed to be enemies of the Empire of Japan," the chief soldier bellowed, his voice commanding and deep. "You are under arrest, and we will shoot if necessary."

"Why?!" Rey stuttered, wondering why all of a sudden they were under arrest. What had Chaos told these people?

"We have been informed that you are dangerous criminals, and by the looks of these disgusting mutants and that thing there, our information was correct," the soldier spat, gesturing across at the Digimon and Henry.

"Please, we mean no ill," Naoko protested, fearful. "Listen, this city is about to be destroyed, and we have to stop that happening."

The soldier simply looked at them with even more hatred, a disgusted look on his face. "Why? What have you terrorists done?!"

"**Nothing, nothing, but we have learnt of something terrible…something we're not even sure of ourselves."**

"What happened to your voice?"

"Uh…nothing."

"I heard it! It changed! You're a freak, just like those guys!"

"No, I'm not!" Naoko protested, stepping forward and desperately trying to plead her case to the soldiers. Unfortunately, they took this as a threat.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" the chief bellowed, Naoko freezing up in fear as guns all aimed towards her. Rey looked on in horror, the prospect of Naoko being killed before the bomb never occurring to her. But what could she do?

Naoko closed her eyes, the horror of the present situation never leaving her mind. However, when her eyes reopened again, there was a slight blue tinge to them. **"A freak, am I?"**

"Yes, you are a disgusting freak."

"**Then I shall fulfil your definition," **Harmony decided, clutching her palms in the air as they glowed bright blue, her wings exploding out to either side as some of the soldiers recoiled in horror. Rey and Henry simply stood, mouths widened in horror at such a familiar yet so different sight.

"FIRE!" the chief ordered, hands returning to guns and bullets screeching through the air towards their unfortunate targets.

"**ARC OF PROTECTION,"** Naoko and Harmony cried together, her arms sweeping out from above her head to be stretched out either side of her body, palms opening as a shield materialised in front of her, protecting her and all those behind her wings. The shield subsequently began to flutter and flash, warning shots shooting out across the room and colliding near the soldiers, destroying several of their guns. "RUN!" Naoko yelled, turning to face them with an alarmed look on her face. Rey and Henry didn't need to be told twice, the three Tamers and their Digimon quickly darting out the back door into the garden.

"Fire!" came a voice from behind, Henry swinging the door closed behind him and hearing his heart pound as a series of bullets slammed into the frame. He quickly recomposed himself, turning and rushing across the garden to where Renamon was kicking down a back gate.

The wooden frame crashed off its hinges, smashing to the ground behind and opening a path into a street which ran behind the Tamiko Residence. They heard the soldiers swing the door open behind them, and raced through and out into the side road, a brief moment of confusion resulting as the time travellers realised they had no idea which way to go.

"This way!" Naoko called, breaking their trance and running away to the left along the street, a good choice as a squad of soldiers barrelled around the other corner, guns primed and soldiers scared, something which gave Henry a perfect chance to act.

"Terriermon, ready!"

"Right!" the bunny cheered, the pair turning to face the soldiers a long way along the street and the Digimon leaping to the ground in front of the boy. Naoko and Rey stopped, turning on their heels to see the boy preparing to hold them off.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Digivolution Activate!"

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Terriermon, Digivolve to…**

**Gargomon!**

The pants-wearing bunny landed on the ground, cannons primed and soldiers looking on in a mix of amazement and horror. "Gargomon, don't hurt them!" Henry ordered.

"Okay, okay, not like they are going to live much longer otherwise," he grumbled, taking aim. "GARGO LASERS!"

The soldiers staggered back in fear, making a rather disorganised retreat as the blasts crashed all around them, smashing into walls and the ground and kicking up a ton of dust in the process.

"Bullseye, baby!" Gargomon cheered, wide grin on his face. Henry didn't share his enthusiasm, instead turning around to face the others.

"Let's keep running," he suggested desperately, no objections arising from his companions as they began to pound the ground once again, feet carrying them away from the house as fast as they could. Naoko briefly contemplated that she could be leaving home for good, but decided right now wasn't the best time for such thoughts.

"If I had a Yen for every time I had been forced to run," Rey mumbled, rolling her eyes before they turned a corner, coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of a main street.

"Oh, now come on, that is just overkill!" Terriermon groaned, upon seeing the large trio of tanks which stood in their way, ready to fire.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Rey complained, while the others simply stared on with gaped mouths at the mechanical beasts. This was definitely becoming a contender for the worst day of her life so far, but it had a lot of competition for that. Her partner summed up the situation in rather simple terms.

"This is gonna get messy."

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**11:40 JST**_

The rain had finally begun to let up in its downpour as DarkRenamon burst back into existence, Ryder grabbing onto her chest for dear life as he contemplated what would happen otherwise. What on earth would falling out of a perception filter look like to others around you?

He instantly realised the pointlessness of those thoughts as he was let go, dropping to his knees in the middle of the plaza that he had only recently escaped from. Hearing DarkRenamon's deep breathing behind him, everything seemed to slow down as he looked upwards at the chaos erupting around him.

Laser blasts burst at friends. Scissors clashed with swords. Balls of energy flew every which way, against the backdrop of the dark clouds overhead.

"Ryder, are you…" DarkRenamon began, before being interrupted by a louder and more energised voice.

"RYDER!" cheered Donmon, rushing over from where he was trying to stay out of harms' way, a difficult feat given that both the Digimon in the skies above and Mari and Jeri were all possible threats. Unfortunately, his enthusiastic cry drew the attention of those around him, particularly those who were less than beneficial. The battle halted as Donmon grabbed Ryder gleefully, being careful not to injure him as he engaged in a bear hug.

"Donmon, I'm so glad to see you," the boy replied, ignoring the slight tinges of pain running along his arm and legs from the embrace.

"Ryder," hissed Mari, her target now back and her gun quickly primed as she strode towards him, determination and exasperation wearing into her face. "Finally," she added, frowning grimly.

"Mari, just, wait a second, please!" Ryder pleaded, aching his way to his feet with the help of DarkRenamon, Donmon and his crutches.

Mari barely batted an eyelid, used to his attempts to survive by now. He had been so annoyingly difficult that she couldn't be bothered to listen to anything he said anymore. Jeri watched, a concerned anticipation in her eyes as she watched her friend walk towards the target.

"Mari, you have to stop," DarkRenamon agreed, Mari waving the gun towards her.

"Quiet," she spat, Jeri taking on a look of concern at the girl's actions. Ryder gritted his teeth, Chiyo had them completely under her spell. He had to stop her right now before anything else happened.

Summoning up the courage to look away from the girl now stopped and aiming at him, he looked across the battlefield to Chiyo, standing near Takeru. His voice took on a tone of hatred as he shouted at the top of his voice. "CHIYO!"

Chiyo looked on in surprise across the battlefield, Mari faltering in her actions as she wondered about the motivations for Ryder's seemingly random actions. What was he playing at? Even those above seemed to mirror her confusion, forgetting their present battle completely.

"What?" Chiyo asked back, failing to make her voice as convincing as normal as she fought the urge to pull out her gun and shoot the boy there and then. _"I mean, come on, how flipping difficult is it for Mari to kill him?"_ she thought, frustrated by how long this was taking now.

Donmon cocked his head at his partner, as confused by the boy's odd actions as everyone but DarkRenamon, Chiyo and DarkBiyomon were.

"It's you! You're doing this!" Ryder yelled, clenching a fist as a sound of further confusion went up amongst the group. Chiyo simply gritted her teeth, doing her best to look surprised and innocent.

"What?!" she gasped.

"You've been controlling them all along!"

"What on earth are you talking about?!"

"Chiyo, stop playing dumb," Ryder said, smirking darkly as he replayed his thoughts in his mind. "Your first fatal error, pardon the pun, was making absolutely no effort to help us when we needed it, and then, you failed to use seduction on Mari. Why?"

"Because you were possessed all along," DarkRenamon backed him up.

Takeru's eyes widened especially, turning to the girl he had only just been talking to about what was going on and wondering how on earth she could've pulled this off. Was it true? Was she really controlling them?

"But…I'm on your side!" Chiyo protested.

"Which means you had this planned all along," Ryder continued, a tone of utter hatred in his voice as he clenched his hand around his crutches. "You befriended us because you _knew_ we would fall for it. You earned our trust, and how do you repay us?! By betraying us and trying to kill us all!"

Chiyo growled, preparing to argue back but deciding that she couldn't be bothered with this charade any more. "Yeah, so what?!"

"I knew it!" Ryder yelled, his eyes widening and a glare of realisation appearing on his face as he stared at her. It was true. She really was to blame!

A collective gasp went up throughout the group as Ryder's suspicions were confirmed, and Chiyo began to glare around at the group, clenching her fists angrily.

"Stop what you are doing, all of you, and listen, while I make this painfully clear to you!" she ordered, even those who were controlled turning to face her. They would certainly not ignore their current master, even if other tasks were more pressing and easier. "I hate all of you. You pathetic, idiotic, moronic bastards! Every day I have to live through pain just so you can exist! You pretend to be all high and mighty but you've never had anyone put you to rights, and it's about time since I'm going to make a prediction for you, one that doesn't need a time machine for me to work out. One day, you guys are going to have to decide which is better, your ideals, or your own lives, and I intend that day to be today. Prepare to be killed by the ones you love."

"Let them go now Chiyo! LET THEM GO!" Ryder bellowed, hesitating beforehand as he heard her words.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is the First Angel not liking what he hears? I apologise, but I'm not letting my toys go. You'll just have to kill them I'm afraid. Or die yourselves."

"Chiyo, this is your last chance. You have betrayed us, hurt us and split us in so many ways, but if you let them go, I will let you live, and otherwise, I am not responsible for what happens," he said coolly, but his words were spoken with a harsh undertone that certainly didn't show his internal feelings of fear and concern about his words. He knew he had to get a grip on the conversation. Losing control of his emotions and concentration could only bring ill, and he cursed himself for faltering by doing so earlier. The upper hand went to the calmest voice, so to speak. Unfortunately, this was a doomed strategy.

"Ha! Such crap coming from you, deciding who can live or die when even you yourself won't live by those rules. And I'm sorry, but acting all high and mighty and deciding that you have a right to decide on when my life ends while telling me that I may not do the same with your girlfriends is not a game I'm going to let you play any more Ryder."

She reached under her skirt, drawing forth the gun she had kept hidden for all the time since she had received it from Rayleigh back in Hypnos. Now would prove a perfect time to use it.

Mari in particular gasped at the sight, thinking she was the only one with such a weapon in their group. Her mind was split between killing a vulnerable Ryder now and seeing how this conversation would end.

The decision was made for her, however, as a pair of arms looped round her, a large black and white-tipped fluffy tail held over the barrel and her arm forced down to her side. She gripped fast onto the gun, DarkRenamon having no success in relieving her of it.

"And besides, I don't think you could kill me anyway, after your hissy fit when you killed Taiki," Chiyo said, preparing the gun in her hands, the clicking sound of it being cocked making her threat all too clear.

Ryder glanced nervously to the gun, before beginning to speak, his lips running completely dry. "Chiyo, I'm warning you…"

"Could you really do it, Ryder? Could you really kill someone you are friends with? Killing me, with this gun I would gladly lend to you to end this pain?" she interrupted, waving the gun in the direction of her head. "You may not be Kari, but I know you still hate killing as much as the rest of you pathetic elitist arseholes," she spat, looking about at the group which watched her every move nervously. "I am giving you the chance here, so will you? Will you, or will you be so weak, so pathetic and so obsessed with your morals that you let your own friends die by your hands? Is that who you are? Is that what you would do? Make your choice, Ryder Stevens," she asked, holding the gun out in front of her as if all he had to do was walk up and take it.

Ryder went to talk, but hesitated, fear in his eyes as the whole area fell silent, the city waiting on his response but his words becoming tangled in his throat. Chiyo held a slim frown as she reached for her back pocket, a card flashing into life before flashing into a different colour just as quickly. Takeru looked on in horror, not sure whether to try to stop Chiyo and risk his own life or stay out of harm's way.

"Then what happens from now on is _your_ fault," she declared, returning the gun to its holster. "Enjoy!" she added sadistically, smiling as the card swept through her D-Vice, the device bursting into purple light. "DIGI-MODIFY…Matrix Digivolution Activate!"

**M-A-T-R-I-X**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**DarkBiyomon, Matrix Digivolve to…**

**DarkGarudamon!**

The huge black and purple bird materialised in front of the Demon, staying faithful to her Tamer regardless of what she had done. Ryder looked uneasily on at the beast, knowing that despite being an ultimate in a battle of megas the Garudamon species had showed itself to be very powerful.

"Attack!" Chiyo called, pointing forwards at Ryder as the bird swooped into the air, wings glowing brightly with purple light as she launched a flaming Phoenix up and across the battlefield, streaking towards Ryder.

"Crap!" Ryder cursed, shielding his eyes fearfully and waiting for the end.

Which, like a lot of times recently, never came.

He heard something slam against the ground hard, before rebounding and hitting it again.

"Patamon!" Takeru cried, running across the terrace to retrieve his fallen and injured partner, Pegasusmon having flown in the path of the attack to protect the boy. Chiyo growled angrily as she watched him scoop the Digimon up in his arms, the sight disgusting her.

"_Why do they have to keep foiling my plans?!" _she thought, looking skywards to the array of girls still under her power, and who would stay under her power. She was not about to be broken by a simple revelation, this spell would not be broken. "ATTACK!" she yelled.

Ryder heard calamity break out as attacks began to fly, hitting unprepared boyfriends and blowing further trees to smithereens. It all seemed so distant, his mind set on the sight of Takeru nursing Patamon, a mix of pride and worry in the blonde's eyes.

"_They saved me."_

"Patamon, are you alright?"

"I've been better Takeru."

"Aw."

Ryder clenched a fist, doing the same to his teeth in determination. His eyes burned with fire, as he pressed himself upright with his crutches.

"_I have to fight to protect my friends_," he decided, glaring across the battlefield at an unhearing Chiyo. She was absorbed by the battle erupting around her, a smirk growing larger on her face as she looked down to the bewildered and lost Jeri, wondering what she could do without her partner to back her up. Such pain they were experiencing, such difficulty.

Ryder turned, looking across to Mari who continued to struggle against her partner, a struggle DarkRenamon was doomed to lose thanks to her fatigue and lack of a partner to heal her.

"_I have to fight to save Mari."_

He looked downwards, to his damaged legs, crutches and the makeshift bloody bandage on his arm. He frowned, explosions ringing out above and showing how dangerous it was.

"_Even if it means pain for me."_

"Ryder?" Donmon asked, watching as his Tamer ran through a number of facial expressions.

"Donmon, we have to fight!" Ryder replied, throwing aside his crutches which clattered to the ground. Instantly his body begged him to reel in pain, and Donmon began to panic at his actions, but Ryder shook his head. "Even if it hurts me!" he added, biting his lip against the pain and looking to his D-Vice as his legs shook. "Biomerge Digivolution Activate!"

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Donmon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

**BlazeDonnermon!**

The dragon warrior stood tall, legs uninjured as he returned to the fray from a long period of inaction. Within his sphere, Ryder felt so alive, even with the fact that he still experienced pain from his injured legs and his arm still with a bullet hole in it. The bleeding had stopped, thankfully, and the pain was lighter than before, but Ryder knew that it would return in full force afterwards.

It would be a worthy sacrifice.

"Chiyo, now this ends!" he declared in the dual voices of Donmon and Ryder, pointing a claw across the battlefield. Chiyo smirked in response, DarkGarudamon moving in front of her.

"Bring it on."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, this is all still to play for, as you can tell, so expect a lot more surprises to come in upcoming chapters.

If I manage to finish it, Chapter 52 will be published before I go on holiday (Monday), but I may not so this either is or isn't your cliff-hanger. I do hope to complete Chapter 52 though, since it'll give an even more annoying cliff-hanger to keep you in suspense for a week and a bit.

Oh, and just in case, Chapter 52 is called "The Trick to Death". Aren't I evil?

Until next time…

B.C.


	58. The Trick To Death

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 52**

_The Trick to Death_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Prefecture**_

_**11:52 JST**_

"SHADOW WING!" DarkGarudamon cried, shooting up once again with her blazing Phoenix attack. BlazeDonnermon smirked, leaping into the air and flying straight towards it, setting himself on a collision course. He put his hands out in front of him, planning a very drastic move.

"DRAGON….FORCE!" he strained, generating the huge ball of energy in front of him. Rather than tossing it at his foe, however, he held it in front and flew it straight towards the phoenix streaking towards him, letting go at the latest possible opportunity.

The attacks collided, the energy ball exploding and BlazeDonnermon flying back as quickly as he could from the searing heat which stretched out to burn DarkGarudamon severely. The bird fell to the ground below the fireball as it rescinded, whilst BlazeDonnermon was thrown back to the ground by the shockwave.

"_Note to self, never do that again," _Ryder noted, before grinning. _"I have to say though; it's good to be back."_

"DarkGarudamon, attack again!" Chiyo called as her partner returned to her feet, looking weakened by the attack.

"I need…recharge…"

Chiyo groaned, before deciding that her partner would need all the help she could get against a mega. "Coming right up," she said, pulling a trio of cards from her deck. "Hope you can handle this…DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate…Power Activate…Speed Activate!"

DarkGarudamon turned to her partner, a look of deep happiness in her eyes. "Thank you," she said, glad that her partner still cared about her even in a situation right when she hated practically everything else.

"You have to win!"

DarkGarudamon nodded, looking for BlazeDonnermon before flapping her wings, flying forth towards him. This was going to be one tough battle.

The silver, orange and red dragon warrior braced himself, ready to deal with whatever DarkGarudamon was about to throw at him. This was going to be one tough battle.

* * *

"DarkRenamon, let me go!" Mari strained, finally breaking free of her partner's grasp, gun still in hand. DarkRenamon looked horrified as Mari swung around, clicking the gun into the right fire mode before sending a bullet sailing straight into the Digimon's stomach.

"Mari!" Jeri yelled, horrified as DarkRenamon fell to her knees and collapsed to the ground, frail. Electricity coursed over her form and she twitched in pain whilst Mari looked on, her mind split between healing her partner and pursuing her target.

"Sorry," she mumbled to her partner, before Jeri ran over and grabbed her on the arm, deeply angered at her actions after having already told her that she couldn't attack her partner or any others in the pursuit of Ryder.

"You said you wouldn't!" she cried, before tensing up as the gun was put to her head. She froze completely, the situation refusing to register as real in her mind.

She desperately looked up into her friend's eyes, a bitter yet resentful look dominating them as she took deep breaths. She looked horrified herself, actually, but nowhere near as horrified as Elecmon and Jeri.

"Mari, what are you doing?!" she panicked. Elecmon, terrified, looked down at the black barrel of the gun from his place on his Tamer's head.

Would she fire? What was going to happen? Weren't they friends? Weren't they allies?!

Mari restrained herself from the easy option of filling Jeri's head with lead and keeping her down for look. "Stay out of my way!" she spat instead, shoving the girl away from her before sharply kicking out into Jeri's stomach with the bottom of her foot. The shocked girl and her partner were thrown to the ground, grazing across the surface before coming to a stop. Mari didn't pause, readying the gun again.

**Click.**

Jeri groaned in pain, her back hurting and her mind thrown completely. Why was Mari attacking her? Both of them wanted Ryder dead, didn't they?

She sat up, to find herself staring down the barrel of the gun. Would Mari fire?

"Stay down and out of my way, okay Jeri?" Mari asked harshly, glaring down at the girl before turning and walking away, heading towards Chiyo who looked to her curiously.

"Mari?" she mumbled, a look of worry in her eyes at what the other gun-wielding girl would do. As a precaution, she moved her hand under her skirt, placing her hand on the metal handle of the gun and being ready to use it if necessary.

"Bring Ryder down here and I'll do the rest," Mari ordered, readying her gun for firing again. Chiyo smirked, nodding in agreement.

"Will do."

* * *

"Takeru, what do we do?" Patamon asked weakly from his partner's arms. Takeru frowned, looking down with worry in his eyes.

"I don't know…we have to stop them…I don't want to hurt anyone, but…" he trailed off, contemplating what they could do.

"Takeru, what are you thinking about?"

"No one will be expecting us to attack. Maybe we can surprise them and bring this battle to a safe end."

"Hopefully."

"You ready to fight Patamon?" Takeru asked, gently putting Patamon on his head before reaching back for his D-Arc and a card.

"Yeah!"

"DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!" Takeru called, Patamon breathing a sigh of relief as energy flowed into him and healed his wounds. "Biomerge Activate!" he called, throwing his D-Arc into his chest.

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Patamon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

**Seraphimon!**

The holy Angel once again rose high into the air, eager to change things in what currently was a losing battle. He looked about at who was most desperately needing help, but everyone around looked in so much pain and in so much trouble he couldn't even begin to prioritise targets.

"_Look out!" _Patamon shrieked as the pair were forced to drop down, narrowly avoiding a positron laser that had missed its target. Takeru breathed deeply, turning to face the duel from which the attack had originated.

"Crap! Sorry Takeru!" Davis exclaimed, Seraphimon quickly making his way towards the battle between Ophanimon and Imperialdramon.

"Davis, you almost hit Takeru! Now just stay still and die!" Kari complained, Ophanimon's javelin charging once again with holy energy. "EDEN'S JAVELIN!" she cried, the energy beginning to burst from it in a stream towards Davis.

Everything moved slowly for Takeru as he watched the blast fly across the battlefield. This was his chance. It would mean hurting Kari, the one thing he never expected to have to do, but it could be his chance to take her down when she wasn't expecting it. Seraphimon turned, beginning to move his hands in a familiar pattern as seven orbs materialised in front of him.

"STRIKE OF THE SEVEN ST…" he began, but was stopped in his tracks as Ophanimon raised her free hand in his direction.

"SEFIROT CRYSTALS!" she cast, ten crystals appearing around her free hand before rocketing towards Seraphimon. He fired his attack, but far too late, and as the crystals and orbs collided the explosion and shockwave ripped through him, casting him back through the air much like Imperialdramon.

Takeru groaned, now with an almighty headache, rather fitting for a celestial being. _"She would never do that normally…it'd waste too much energy, but Chiyo doesn't care. She'll make them work themselves to death if she has to."_

"Davis, we have to restrain her!" Takeru called across the battlefield to the dragon warrior, slowly returning to flight.

"I've tried that! I've tried everything, and she just slips free!" Davis yelled back.

"Then we'll have to work together to stop her," Takeru ordered, flying over towards Imperialdramon so they could come up with a new plan.

"You saw what happened just now though. She crammed us!"

"It's not like you to give up Davis."

"Yeah, but it's Kari! I don't want to hurt her."

"_He's right, Imperialdramon could blow her to smithereens if he wanted to but he's having to hold back," _Takeru said to Patamon, scanning across the battlefield to Ophanimon who was watching their discussion and listening intently with a grim frown on her face.

"_Yeah, and Ophanimon is putting everything she has into it thanks to Chiyo. This is awful."_

"_Yeah but…I don't want to hurt her either."_

"Every attempt we've made she simply parries away from," Veemon said, looking up carefully at their Angelic opponent and anticipating her next move.

"Hmm…" Seraphimon pondered, confronted with a harrowing dilemma. How could they stop Kari without getting hurt themselves? Imperialdramon already looked tired, and even Ophanimon was showing signs of wear, but he knew that Ophanimon would keep on fighting with all the power she had. He knew Davis would do the same, but he wouldn't go to the extent that Chiyo was making Kari do so. The attack she had used to take down him and Patamon earlier at the Rainbow Bridge had made that painfully clear to Takeru.

"_But still, we have to do something," _Takeru thought, looking down where he stood in the sphere.

"EDEN'S JAVELIN!" Ophanimon finally called, using their silence as a cue to attack. It was clear her opponents had no plans that would catch her by surprise, and so she was free to do what she wanted.

"Seraphimon, move!" Imperialdramon called, pushing the far smaller Angel aside before taking the bunt of the attack on his already worn armour. He groaned in pain, the holy energy ricocheting across his form as Seraphimon looked on, horrified.

"Davis, you okay?" Takeru asked as the blinding light finally subsided.

"Ugh…"

"_Imperialdramon could take them back to Kari and Gatomon if only he could get an easy shot in," _Takeru continued to ponder, before a plan finally came to him. Seraphimon looked down, a sword materialising out of his right arm's armour.

"EXCALIBUR!" he called, the legendary blade shining in the light that broke through the clouds.

"Davis, get ready!" Takeru called down to Imperialdramon as the warrior found his feet, or rather, wings, once again. Imperialdramon looked confused briefly, before catching onto what the plan was. Seraphimon was going to keep Ophanimon occupied so that Imperialdramon could hit her back to Kari and Gatomon. Then, not only would Kari be easier to restrain, but Seraphimon would be there to catch them before they fell.

Davis and Imperialdramon nodded, newfound determination in his eyes within the sphere as he decided there was still some hope. _"Heh, and look who it took to show me that fact."_

Seraphimon spun round, flying quickly towards his fellow angel with his sword ready to strike. Ophanimon braced herself, gripping the Javelin tightly in her hand.

"_Davis better be ready for this!"_ Takeru thought, as he swung his blade at Ophanimon. She swung her blade back, holy metal meeting holy metal with a crash. She spun it over, before pushing the other end of the blade towards him. He flew back, Ophanimon dithering forward and allowing him to regroup and swing the blade again.

"_Kari, please stop!" _Gatomon once again pleaded, newfound hope in her heart as she saw Takeru and Davis both trying to stop her and Kari.

"_I can't."_

The blades once again clashed, both sides putting as much as they could into preventing the other from succeeding. _"Come on Davis, now's your chance,"_ Takeru thought, glancing over her shoulder towards the dragon warrior below. Unfortunately, it was this glance that gave the game away to Kari.

"_Oh no you don't!" _she thought, planning her own strategy.

"Now Veemon!" Davis called to his partner, seeing as Seraphimon turned Ophanimon around gradually to leave her back open to attack. This was there chance.

"Right!" Veemon agreed, Imperialdramon putting out the cannon on his arm and aiming it at the target above as blue energy swirled into its chamber.

"POSITRON LASER!" he cried.

Seraphimon, hearing the voice, prepared to move, but he was too late. Ophanimon had stopped using her blade to actively hold him off, and had pushed the pair of their blades into a position where the point of hers was aiming at his chest. The blade was glowing brightly, and with a rush of energy it burst forth a beam of light. "EDEN'S JAVELIN!"

Seraphimon screamed in pain as he was thrown back across the sky, the blast having hit him on at close range. However, it was not to be the only pain he experienced, Imperialdramon wincing in advance as he saw that Ophanimon had put the crashing angel on a collision course with his own attack.

Takeru screamed as the pain he was experiencing thanks to the front wound was exacerbated by the laser blast hitting him from behind, both powerful and intended to take the opponent down. He fell from midair, Seraphimon groaning and trying to hold himself together as he landed in the trees below.

"Seraphimon!" Imperialdramon cried, looking down to the fallen angel as he found himself back alone again to fight Kari. _"This isn't good."_

"Takeru, are you okay?" asked Patamon as Takeru opened his eyes carefully, blurry light all he could see at first.

"Did we dedigivolve?" he asked, not sure what was going on any more as he felt pain wrack throughout his body.

"No, we held it together," Patamon replied, Takeru finally realising he was still in his turquoise orb.

"Ugh, it hurts so much."

"Come on Takeru, we can still fight."

"Yeah, but…ugh…that's what I get for getting in the way," Takeru replied as Seraphimon got to his feet, scanning the sky again for the current state of affairs. His armour was cracked in places, and he knew that he certainly couldn't take another shot anywhere near as powerful as that. Flapping his wings, he returned to the sky.

* * *

Gallantmon Crimson Mode landed on the ground again, Aegis shield held up in front of him and ready to hold off the shaman warrior. A hairline crack ran through it, a combination of Sakuyamon's continual attacks and Gallantmon's tiredness contributing to it.

"Sakuyamon, stop!" Gallantmon pleaded in the dual voices of Guilmon and Takato.

"No," she replied in her dual voice, leaping forward and throwing a powerful kick into his shield, pushing his feet back through the ground. She then, whilst in mid-air, stabbed out the bottom end of her staff into the crack, the shield splintering once and for all.

"Aw nuts," Guilmon and Takato said together, the shield shattering in two as they felt even more of a drain on their energy.

"_What do we do now?" _Guilmon asked with Sakuyamon now standing near them, gritting her teeth as she prepared another attack. She rushed forward as Takato desperately tried to think of something to do.

Gallantmon groaned in pain as Sakuyamon smashed a foot into his head and eyes, before following round with her other foot to kick him aside to the ground nearby. _**"Ugh, we're just too tired right now!"**_ Chaos complained, desperately searching his mind for a solution that Takato wouldn't object to.

"Sakuyamon, please stop!" Takato and Guilmon once again pleaded, Chaos getting irritated by now.

"_**If she didn't listen the first bleeding time why do you expect her to do so the next couple hundred times?"**_

Sakuyamon advanced on them again as Gallantmon pushed himself slightly up from the ground on one arm, beginning to get to his knees again only as Sakuyamon kicked him in the face again.

Biting against the urge to fall to the ground and cry in pain, he once again tried to push himself up further while Sakuyamon sent a quick volley of kicks in quick succession into his chest, flipping him over and throwing him backwards. He landed on his knees with his front facing her, before pushing himself up, a chip of his armour cracking and splintering away as he did so. This was painful, a lot more painful than what he knew he could stand, but he couldn't fight back. Takato knew he couldn't, and refused to listen to any arguments to the contrary from his two co-inhabitants of Gallantmon.

"You are really getting on my nerves!" Rika groaned. "Just die already!"

"I have to make you see sense," Takato said, taking a step forward as Sakuyamon put her hand on her hip, bewildered.

"See sense about what?"

"You can't kill me."

"That's what every evil guy says, and we do so regardless."

"But I'm not evil!"

"But I want you dead just as much, so just die!"

"Please, we can talk about this."

"I'm sick to death of your talking! I am not changing my mind, live with it."

The irony of what she had said not leaving his mind, Takato watched as she once again strode towards him. _"Maybe I can restrain her," _he thought, waiting until she got a little bit closer.

"Damn knights and your stupid armour," Rika muttered, thinking how much the metal covering most of Gallantmon's form had delayed her kill. She prepared to attack again, knowing that a few well placed kicks easily took it out, as she had proved with his shield.

She was suddenly caught off guard as Gallantmon lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her in something that in any other situation would've been construed as a hug. She groaned in annoyance, trying to break free of his grasp.

"Get off of me!" she complained, a complaint that only made him grip her more tightly.

"_Come on…please…please let this work," _Takato pleaded.

"_**How on earth is this going to work? You're flipping hugging her! This isn't a long-term strategy."**_

"_Maybe she'll have some memory flash or something and realise what she's doing!"_

"_**From a hug? Christ Takato, I thought you knew Rika."**_

"Get the hell off me!" Rika cursed, going for the ultimate course of action against any male. A sharp knee to the crotch, an already shattered piece of armour.

Gallantmon groaned in pain as he staggered back from the embrace, clutching his crotch painfully and feeling the almighty pain. _"God that hurts!"_

"_**Well, that's new to me, I didn't realise we had anything down there…oh…bloody Terriermon and his stupid patch."**_

"_Takato that hurt bad!" _Guilmon moaned in a babyish tone.

"That was a dirty trick!" Takato complained to Sakuyamon as the pain finally began to go away.

"You started it," Rika replied, hand once again on her hip as she rolled her eyes within her sphere. Inside this sphere, she was still pregnant, but nothing showed on the outside of Sakuyamon's form, particularly since it would've made fighting very difficult. "Geez, you must be a right pervert doing that just to get close to me."

"I was only trying to stop you!"

"Of course that's what you're going to say," Rika replied, Sakuyamon gripping her staff tightly again as it began to glow. "Well, if it's a hug you want, it's a hug you get," she exclaimed, tapping her staff down into the ground as the rings began to move.

"AMETHYST MANDALA!" Rika and Renamon cried together.

Gallantmon gulped fearfully, looking around as a ring of golden energy materialised around him. It floated in mid-air, and slowly to grip around his form. This was all too familiar, and it was just as painful as it looked.

As it gripped him more tightly, the pain multiplying endlessly and a smirk worn on Sakuyamon's face, Takato and Guilmon desperately fought to hold onto their form.

They failed.

Takato and Guilmon fell to the ground, the ring falling in on itself above and collapsing. Everything felt so painful, and the killer headache in his head made Takato simply want to fall asleep. The footsteps of the purple and gold boots approaching sounded twice as loud…

* * *

"SHADOW WING!"

"ANGEL INFERNO!"

The pair of holy fires collided, roaring into a huge inferno in-between the two duelling Digimon. DarkGarudamon touched down on the ground nearby, fatigue beginning to show once again, but BlazeDonnermon instead flew up into the air, preparing to use his trump card.

Turning over in mid-air, he looked down, knowing his target would suffer to deal with this attack. "FIRESTORM!" he roared, his hands bursting with flame balls that soared downwards on the great bird.

The Demon's partner began to fly up in the air towards her target, but her huge form and wings was hit by hundreds of weak fireballs. Whilst insignificant on their own, the sheer number of them meant that she was forced down to the ground.

"_We can win this!" _Ryder thought, new enthusiasm coming into his mind. _"Wait, concentrate, then boast!"_

BlazeDonnermon, so as not to waste too much energy on the draining attack, ceased his blasts. He strained his eyes to see his target in the smoke that had accumulated, before he crossed his claws across himself. He began to fly straight down towards his opponent's head, the bird sorely rising out of the dust.

"SWEPT SLASH!" he roared, his claws sweeping across DarkGarudamon's head. She crashed aside into a crumpled heap on the ground nearby, Chiyo looking on in horror.

"DarkGarudamon, get up!" she ordered, going for her cards again before realising that it wouldn't continue to be that effective. She growled, cursing the dragon warrior, and Mari next to her did likewise, before taking a glance across to her floor bound ally, Jeri.

"Get him down here," Mari hissed, fingering the gun in her hand agitatedly. This was definitely going on for longer than they wanted, and Ryder was, annoyingly, winning, something which took all the fun out of things.

"I will. Just wait a second, will you?" Chiyo grumbled, reaching out for her cards again in readiness to recharge her partner. Just a little bit more.

"Not this time," Donmon exclaimed, BlazeDonnermon raising the cannons on his arms from where he stood facing the fallen bird across the plaza.

"BLAZE BLASTER!"

DarkGarudamon looked up briefly as she regained her awareness, only to see the tiny orbs of concentrated fire sprinting towards her. _"I'm sorry Chiyo," _she thought as the blasts hit her, expanding massively and consuming her form.

"DARKGARUDAMON!" Chiyo cried, both out of love for her partner and hate for how things were going. She could still win, of course, she had their girlfriends under her power, but it would make things all that more unlikely, and Ryder was sure to make some amazing feat happen that would ensure victory for them.

The far smaller black bird fell out of the smoke clouds, DarkBiyomon crashing into the tiles below. Half of Chiyo wanted to go over and save her, but she was beaten by another being.

"Elecmon, what are you doing?" Jeri called, watching as her partner ran across to the bird.

"Stopping things getting worse," he replied, practically leaping on the bird and barrelling her to the ground. "Stay down!" he threatened, the bird too weak to reply as he sat on her.

"Elecmon, stop!" Jeri cried, getting to her knees and preparing to stand up. Elecmon couldn't do this, it would ruin their plans.

"Stay down Jeri, before I fire!" Mari spat, waving the gun in the lighter brunette's direction and knowing she simply couldn't trust the girl any more. Jeri, uneasily, got to the ground again, her life far more important than her partner's in her mind right now.

"That's done, now to help the others," BlazeDonnermon decided, scanning across the battlefield in search of a friend in need. He gritted his teeth as he saw Sakuyamon striding towards a fallen Takato and Guilmon. He flexed a claw before sweeping his wings back and flying towards her.

"It's over Takato," she hissed, preparing to put the boy out of his misery with her staff and being completely unaware of the dragon fast approaching. Normally, her senses would be innate and all-acknowledging, but right now she was far too focused on her eternal foe in front of her.

"Please stop!" Takato pleaded, knowing it could be his last futile act but also knowing anything was worth a try right now.

"No," Sakuyamon answered, preparing to slash forward before suddenly a sharp claw wrapped around her stomach, the blades only inches from her body suit. She froze out of fear, Takato and Guilmon doing exactly the same.

"Stay still or you _know_ what happens," BlazeDonnermon spat, tapping his claw against her belly threateningly. Takato's eyes widened in horror as he contemplated what the dragon was using as his bargaining chip.

"No, don't do it!" he cried, Guilmon's expression mirroring his. BlazeDonnermon looked over to him, a glaring look in his eyes.

"_Geez Takato, trust me on this! I'm not really going to do it, duh, but Sakuyamon doesn't know that, and it's a risk she won't take. Rika and Renamon both know wh__at'd happen if I dug my claw in and that will be enough to stop her."_

Takato stared back, slowly working out what the dragon had in mind, a plan he couldn't help but disagree with. _"What if he hurts her? What if he hurts Rey? He'll never be able to forgive himself."_

"So, Rika, you really think you want to kill Takato?"

"Yes, I do," Rika spat, hating being held hostage like this. BlazeDonnermon chuckled darkly, his act working perfectly. So far, at least.

"And yet there is no reason for you to do so. This boy has cared for you, loved you and is having a child with you, and yet you now want to kill him. Don't you see the hole in reasoning there? You could drive a truck through it, and yet you are so blind. Consider it, Sakuyamon. Don't just ignore our words. Listen."

Rika rolled her eyes, ignoring the pathetic speech that the dragon was trying to do and dearly hoping that someone would put him out of his misery soon. She began to contemplate her options, including doing exactly what she had done to Takato earlier, but she doubted she could do so without damaging her child from the movement.

"We know that Chiyo is behind all this. You have to realise that you aren't in control of yourself right now."

"I am, now get off me."

"Not until you learn."

"Pah, you won't do it," Sakuyamon noted, her voice uncertain as she glanced down to the claw by her stomach. "Stop making up crap."

"You willing to take that risk?"

Takato stared on, the horror of the situation not leaving his mind. He dearly hoped that Sakuyamon would realise what was going on, before the worst happened. And he knew that he couldn't do anything to intervene.

* * *

**9****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Streets of Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**10:35 JST**_

"Naoko, it's time," Renamon decided, crossing her arms as Naoko nodded in agreement. This situation called for desperate measures, even if it meant revealing something incredible that she doubted her companions knew about. This would certainly shock the soldiers.

"Right! Biomerge Digivolution Activate!"

Rey and Henry held their breath, glancing across to the divine entity and anticipating what they knew came next. It would certainly be strange to see her formed of a different person.

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Renamon, Biomerge Digivolve to…**

Naoko, her D-Vice removing her clothes and converting her to data, fell back onto her partner's body and was absorbed into the fox's form, the resultant blast of energy rocketing Renamon through her champion and ultimate forms into her mega form. Renamon and Naoko bound together, they formed upwards into a body tightly suited in black and white. Armour spawned over her, dropping into place before the shaman warrior stood tall, garbed in yellow armour, purple tall boots and long gloves and black skin suit, the human mouth peeking through beneath a yellow facemask.

**Sakuyamon!**

"CRYSTAL SPHERE!" she cried, a magic crystalline barrier materialising around her and putting up a defence against the tank crew. To prove her point, a tank shell exploded on contact, not even a shock wave reaching those within.

"Rey, maybe she can defend us through the nuclear bomb?" Henry whispered to his companion.

Rey frowned, shaking her head. "Not even Harmony could withstand that level of destruction, it's extremely powerful," she replied, sighing. If only things were that simple.

"Henry, it's my turn!" Gargomon exclaimed, racing over to his Tamer.

"But we can't go mega, we'll be an easy target and this sphere isn't big enough!" he answered, looking about at the sphere around him.

"I know, so I want to go ultimate."

"Okay…wait. You can't be planning to attack them, can you?"

"Henry, we need a second line of defence in case Sakuyamon fails."

"But…"

"Just do it!" Rey exclaimed, annoyed by Henry's continual aversion to fighting. "He's right, we do need a backup!"

"Fine," Henry grumbled, reaching for a card which glinted and converted to a blue card. He reached for his D-Arc, raising the pair and sweeping one through the other. "DIGI-MODIFY…Matrix Digivolution Activate!"

**M-A-T-R-I-X**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Gargomon, Matrix Digivolve to…**

**Rapidmon!**

"Hey Henry, I've had an idea!" the green mechanoid exclaimed, further tank shells exploding over the sphere around them. Sakuyamon continued to concentrate on maintaining it.

"What?" Henry called to his partner, the Digimon readied for fighting should the shield be breached around them.

"If we take out the plane before it gets here, we can save thousands of people!"

"No, we can't!" Rey exclaimed, shaking her head sharply in response. "That would change history too much."

"I thought you _wanted_ to change history?" Realmon asked from by her feet.

"Not like this! Saving one person is one thing; saving thousands, maybe even millions if the war continues, is another thing entirely! I only plan to do that once."

"What are you guys talking about?" Naoko called, trying desperately to hear what they were saying despite her need to maintain the shield.

"Nothing, don't worry," Rey called back, Sakuyamon frowning as her guests continued to keep secrets from her. Why didn't they tell her? Didn't they trust her? What were their secrets anyway?

Henry continued the conversation, his voice a harsh whisper. "Rapidmon, do _not_ attack that plane, understand me?"

"Fine," the bipedal mechanoid huffed, crossing his arms angrily. "But I get the feeling things are about to get worse before they get better," he added, observing a number of additional tanks and soldiers arriving around them, all firing at them as much as they could. This was getting worrying.

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Yuuna Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**12:01 JST**_

The water in the bath had turned a slight tone of muddy brown thanks to the dirt slowly floating off the form of the plant monster, who looked just as bewildered as the girl sitting watching her. Both were in a whole new world, albeit only the plant in a literal sense.

"Feeling better now?" Sakura asked, looking down from where she sat on the toilet, the seat down as she stared over at the odd creature that she had brought home. Her parents had been less than warm to the idea, but when Sakura showed the injuries on the creature, and announced her intentions to help the creature heal up at least, if not keep it as a pet (something which Sakura herself doubted was a smart idea), they had been able to sympathise more.

So here she was, bathing a plant in her bathtub. A bathtub that gradually dropped in water level, thanks to the roots of the Floramon.

"Um…yeah."

"You look _really_ disorientated."

"I am."

"Me too."

"Huh?"

"Well, I thought it was going to be a normal day, and then I met that weird kid, and then you. Speaking of which, did that kid say his name or anything?"

Floramon put her stamen-ended hand on her chin, before shaking her head and frowning. "I don't think so. I couldn't hear him most of the time."

"I wonder who he was."

"Is it important then?"

Sakura shrugged, knowing she could just be thinking about a red herring here. Right now it was probably irrelevant anyway. "No idea."

"Hmm…this world is weird."

"What is your world like?"

"It was harsh but beautiful."

"What do you mean?"

"We were always fearful of being killed for our data."

"What?!"

"When one Digimon destroyed another, they absorbed the data in order to become stronger."

"That's horrible."

"Why? It is the way of the world."

"Yeah, but…knowing you could come to an end at any time and only end up as part of another creature."

"Better than it going to waste."

"Hmm…" was all that Sakura could say in reply, silently shocked by the Digimon's lack of care about how she could meet her end. "Why did you come to this world?"

"I don't remember much. I remember being badly hurt, then falling into this world or something."

"Oh…"

"Digimon tend to go missing all the time anyway, and we have always wondered whether they end up here."

"Yeah. Every so often there is a Digimon attack here and the Tamers have to deal with it."

"The Tamers?"

"There's these group of humans, and they all have Digimon partners, and they deal with threats to this world."

"The name did seem to ring a bell. I have heard them mentioned of in the past, but I don't know that much about them. They have been to our world once or twice, and almost managed to destroy it by accident. Zhuqiaomon, one of the Digimon Sovereigns, is known to resent them greatly."

"Why?"

"Humans have always been seen to us as a problematic issue. I don't know the details really though."

"A problematic issue? Strange. I don't think we've done anything particularly bad to your world…but…how did we manage to nearly destroy it?"

"I have no idea."

"Hmm…"

"Sorry about not knowing everything."

"Heh, didn't expect you to. I wouldn't know where to start in explaining this world."

"Oh. I was about to ask what this world was like."

"Well…it's big…and there are all these places, and cities, just like this city. There are billions of people all over the world, in all these different countries, like, kingdoms, and we all speak these different languages."

"Really? Billions?"

"Yeah, all over the world. In this city alone, Tokyo, there are over ten thousand, and in this country, there are over a hundred thousand."

"Wow…that's amazing. Are they all like you?"

"No, we're all really different."

"I want to see it."

"See what?"

"This world of yours."

"Oh."

"Can we go and see it?"

"Well, I don't think I could afford to take you all around the world."

"I don't mind, I'd just like to see a bit."

"Well…there's the other problem. Humans aren't used to you Digimon, a lot of them don't even know you exist. You would have to stay hidden."

"Oh…but…you could help, right?"

"Uh…well…I suppose…"

"Please."

"Well…we'll see," Sakura replied, smiling before playfully splashing a touch of water over the Digimon. "Finish your bath first," she chuckled, standing up as the Digimon laughed in response.

"Okay," the Digimon cheered, much splashing ensuing as she dived into the water and pushed all the bubbles apart. Sakura laughed, turning and wandering over to fetch a towel.

"Don't splash so much, you'll soak the whole room," she warned jokily, turning and holding the cream towel in her hands. "I think that's enough now."

"Okay," Floramon replied, leaping out of the bath and spreading more water about the floor.

"What did I say?" Sakura complained, smiling with her hands on her hips.

"Oops, sorry."

"Come on, let's dry you off," she added, bending down and beginning to rub the towel over the plant. The surreal nature of what she was doing never left her mind: she was drying off a bipedal, friendly, talking plant in her bathroom. And not only that, but the plant seemed to be absorbing the water faster than she was drying it.

"Thanks," Floramon said regardless, smiling to the human who she had only met that day but who had already completely changed her perceptions of humans, and who had been kind without exception. She had taken her home, bathed her - even her injuries and scratches were looking lighter and better now.

"No problem," Sakura replied, smiling widely, something that evidently set off a cord with Destiny.

All of a sudden, floating between the pair, was a bright, blinding ball of light, and yet it was black. The darkness of it seemed to seep outwards, as if it were light, and then, strangely, it flickered to white and back again, endlessly flickering like a broken TV set.

"What's that?" Floramon gasped, cautiously pointing at the ball.

Suddenly, the light (or darkness) ceased, replaced by a perhaps even stranger sight.

"A watch?" Sakura asked, reaching out to grab the grey device as it seemed to become real. It looked a lot like a watch, albeit watches rarely coming in this particular shade of grey. Providing a bit of a contrast to the dull grey, a deep blue circle ran about the small screen, one which didn't seem to have just the time on it.

Curiously looking over it and wondering about its significance, she moved it to her arm and strapped it around her right wrist, the device's screen flashing as she did so.

"What is…" she began, before being silenced as it glinted, before expanding to run along much of her forearm. She gasped in surprise, wondering how on earth it managed such a feat. The screen was now much larger and squarer, but still had a deep blue ring around it. Across the screen, words flashed.

**Owner recognised as intended owner. Owner registered. Searching for partner.**

"Huh?" Sakura mumbled, the screen glowing brighter and brighter and the light almost seeming to burst from the screen before it touched Floramon and instantly retracted back inside the device.

**Digimon found. Identified as Floramon. Partner recognised as intended partner. Partner registered. D-Vice initialisation complete. Shutting down.**

"What? What was that?" Sakura asked, half-expecting an answer from the seemingly intelligent device but receiving none. Instead, it simply retracted back to its watch form, surprising her once again. However, one of the things it had said did resonate in her mind. "D-Vice? Wait…is this a digivice like those Tamers have?"

"A digivice?" Floramon asked, peering over at the device curiously. She had never seen such a strange thing before, and having come from the Digital World, that said a lot.

"It's this thing all the Tamers have. I think it's some kind of link with their Digimon."

"Really? So what does it mean?"

Sakura turned to the flower, a mix of shock and enthusiasm in her eyes as she looked into those of the plant Digimon.

"I think…I think it means that we're…partners."

* * *

**9****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Streets of Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**10:45 JST**_

"_Harmony, it's starting to hurt me!"_

"_**Hold on Naoko, we have to defend until they run out of ammunition."**_

"_This shield is not meant to be held up for this long," _Renamon warned, putting all she could into maintaining the large crystalline shield all around them.

"_**I know, but what else can we do?"**_

"Sakuyamon, are you alright?" Rey asked, walking towards the straining, all-too-familiar shaman with a concerned look in her eyes. Sakuyamon frowned, yet nodded.

"Yeah, this is just taking a lot out of me," Naoko replied. "But I'm not going to give up!"

"Henry, we've got to come up with a new strategy," Rapidmon called down to his partner below, Henry mesmerised by the plinks of the bullets and the booms of the shells as they crashed into the shield around them. There had to be a dozen tanks around them now - they were definitely being seen as a big threat.

"Yeah, but what?"

"We can destroy the tanks!"

"No! We'll kill someone."

"But they're going to die anyway."

"What do you mean?" Naoko asked, her voice strained as she called over Sakuyamon's soldier.

"Uh…" Rapidmon stuttered, realising that he had made a big mistake, and needed a big lie to make up for things. Thankfully, Henry managed to forge one.

"He means that it's either us or them."

"Oh…I see." _"Why do they have to keep lying to me?"_

"_**I wish I knew."**_

"So Henry, should I?" Rapidmon asked, Henry feeling the pressure ramp up on him. Was it right to kill someone if they were due to die anyway? Did it make a difference? It still felt like the wrong thing to do, but the risk right now made it seem essential. All their Tamer lives though, it had been them or us, be it against the Devas, the Royal Knights or just your bog standard bioemergence.

So was it right?

He didn't have a chance to think and choose his answer, as a scream of pain and stress interrupted his thoughts. Rey froze in fear, staring on as Sakuyamon howled in agony, Naoko's scream riding straight to the core of her mind.

"Mum!" she cried, Sakuyamon's shield flashing before dropping entirely. The tank crews, thankfully, stopped their firing in order to see what was going on.

Rey rushed over to Sakuyamon, who breathed deeply as she strained against the sheer weight of her tiredness. Her arms had fallen to her sides, her staff clattering to the floor.

Naoko blinked, glancing up in surprise inside her sphere despite the fatigue as she replayed the cry of Rey in her mind. She raised an eyebrow in bewilderment, Sakuyamon turning to face the redhead on the ground below.

"Mum?" she asked, Rey inwardly cursing herself for blurting out the name. "How am I your mother?"

"You…" Rey began, but was interrupted by a hell storm of catastrophic proportions.

The tanks began firing again, three of them launching their tank shells straight towards Sakuyamon. She screamed in pain as they collided, Realmon leaping and pushing Rey to the floor as the explosion ripped through the air above their heads. Smoke began to swell through the area and scorch the ground as Rey felt the sheer heat behind her back. The noise was so loud it just sounded like a constant roar, drowning out Sakuyamon's screams over it.

"YOU BASTARDS!" Rapidmon screamed, forgetting whatever Henry had said shooting forward towards one of the tanks responsible for the blast and holding out his missile-loaded arms. "RAPID FIRE!"

Rey barely heard the tanks explode and the subsequent screams of the crew. Her mind was concentrated and fixated simply on the pair of bodies which had fallen in front of her, one of them with her data flickering. She reached out a hand, touching the limp hand of Naoko and feeling a heartbeat, but even that didn't relieve her from the crushing fear and horror she now felt.

"No…" she mumbled, her voice weak and horrified as the dust above her head finally cleared. She felt Realmon's tails brush against her, as the Digimon came to inspect her own mother's form.

Rey barely noticed. She was transfixed by the sight and the overwhelming roar of emotions over her, barely hearing as Rapidmon turned two more tanks into blazing shells of metal. She barely heard Henry's gasps and didn't even see his look of horror that transitioned to one of thought. She didn't even hear the scream of tank shells over her head, crashing past Rapidmon and thankfully barely missing him as he desperately dodged, knowing one quick move could send him straight into the path of a shell.

All she felt was horror, sadness and finally, anger.

She gritted her teeth, standing up suddenly as both Henry and his partner stopped and turned to face her. This was Rapidmon's fatal mistake, a tank shell crashing into him. He roared in pain, falling down to the ground and cementing Rey's internal feelings and anger.

"Rapidmon!" Henry cried, rushing over to his ultimate-level partner who shook himself off, bits of cracked armour falling away from his form. "Are you okay?"

"No more," Rey hissed, making both the ultimate and the blue haired boy turn to face the redhead, standing over the fallen forms of Naoko and Renamon with her partner by her side.

In but a single glance, Henry saw so much about Rey. In her eyes, in her pose, in her tightened fists, he saw so many facets of her personality, so many acquired traits.

The anger of Takato.

The determination of Rika.

The power of Chaos.

The thoughtfulness of Harmony.

The grace of Renamon.

The innocence of Guilmon.

Rey simply saw red, her mind quickly deciding on a course of action. "No more being passive, no more standing back and watching people get hurt. Screw history," she growled, reaching behind for a card. "It is time to stop this!"

Realmon nodded in agreement, leaping forward whilst the soldiers waited, trying to figure out what on earth was going on. They were used to their opponents attacking them, not standing still and growling.

But Rey had a plan. A plan that would change the whole course of this battle, and break a rule she had been forced to establish for herself before she began her trips back in history.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Digivolution Activate!"

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**12:19 JST**_

"Get off her!" Chiyo growled, rushing towards Elecmon threateningly with gun in hand, switched to the correct fire mode. Doubting the accuracy of her aim right now with her aggravated state, she decided not to fire, the risk of injuring her floor-bound partner too great.

Elecmon's eyes widened in fear as he staggered back, freeing the bird before running as fast as he could away from the girl. He rushed towards Jeri, still kneeling on the ground and fearing Mari firing at her.

"DarkBiyomon, are you okay?" Chiyo asked, helping her partner to her feet and returning the gun to its holster to free her hands. DarkBiyomon smiled weakly, nodding.

"Yeah," she sighed pessimistically.

"Good," Chiyo said thankfully, nodding and smiling to see her partner still alive, yet gritting her teeth at why she had to worry about this in the first place. This game was going on far too long. It had to be ended.

She reached under her skirt, touching the gun once again and contemplating how she could use it to speed things up a bit.

* * *

"Sakuyamon, dedigivolve. Now!" BlazeDonnermon ordered, Takato still staring on with an expression of horror at the claw so perilously close to where he knew his child's data was held.

"I will not," Sakuyamon swore, clenching a fist in determination.

"Sakuyamon, please! You're possessed, please realise that!" Takato pleaded, Ryder beginning to doubt his plan was working. He had no way of going beyond the claw, except for moving it closer, something that risked any sudden movements causing harsh damage to her. Takato would kill him for doing so.

"He's right," Ryder agreed.

"You have to listen to him!" Donmon added. This was getting unbelievably desperate, and he doubted things could get worse beyond if the claw were to come into contact with Sakuyamon's body.

Of course, he was wrong.

"LET HER GO!"

BlazeDonnermon screamed in pain as something sharp struck his back.

Sakuyamon stumbled forwards, freed as the claw vanished into nothing with little more than a yellow glow. She looked confused as first, before spinning round to face her saviour, Takato gaping in shock.

BlazeDonnermon was gone, replaced with the fallen forms of Ryder and Donmon. Behind, stood a bird warrior, sharp blade held steady from where it had slashed straight downwards through the dragon warrior's back.

"Are you okay Sakuyamon?" Valkyrimon asked. Determination burned in her eyes as she returned her blade to its sheath.

"Yeah," Rika replied, breathing deeply as she got over the surprising escape she had made. Takato stumbled backwards with Guilmon, both weak but hoping they could make a mistake. Sakuyamon turned around, glaring to him. "Don't think you've got away," she hissed, her targets gulping in worry as Takato fell back onto his bottom.

Ryder's eyes blinked open, feeling the fiery pain rushing up and down his body as he wanted to simply scream in pain. And he did. Loudly.

"Arggh…"

He sat up, wincing in pain several times as he did so and seeing a thin trail of dark red blood trickle away from him. He felt a sharp pain across the middle of his back, and sat up, finding no tear in his shirt but feeling as if someone had dug a blade straight through it. His legs were worse than ever, now with the feeling that they were completely broken. His legs felt close to when he was first injured, perhaps worse.

"_Must…get…up…" _he thought, rolling over and dragging his injured body towards where his crutches lay on the ground nearby. Part of him felt like lying down and dying -he had got to the point where his condition was that bad. And yet, he feared so much. Feared that his death would leave Mari alone, a girl who had been alone for so long with no-one to cry on, and yet she was the same girl who had shot him in the arm not long before. That was what spurred him on right now, spurred him to pull his limp and wounded body across the concrete, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. He wondered if anyone cared, if anyone was free from their trance or their fighting enough to even notice him.

Beyond Donmon, of course, but the dragon looked in pain enough that he couldn't help. Still, his pain was significantly less it seemed, the Digimon only rubbing his sore back, and he cursed not having the same kind of scaly skin that would lessen wounds like the dragon's did. Still, he had to set himself on his present, maybe his final ever task.

"_Just a little further."_

* * *

Mari froze up upon seeing the sight of Ryder and Donmon falling from BlazeDonnermon, her mind instantly thrown into conflict at the sight. The boy looked so in pain, and yet he was her target. This was what she had wanted; to have Ryder back in human form and easily taken down, yet it was not. Things had gone so badly recently, and she found herself alone, DarkRenamon nearby only now regaining consciousness. She was far too weak to do anything other than watch, however, and Mari had decided against shooting her down again.

She found herself shaking as she saw the trail of blood streaming from her boyfriend, dragging himself along the concrete. Something she wanted so badly, but yet…something she found she didn't. Something was weakened; something had loosened that grip of the possession and want for his blood on her mind. What was it? What was going on? What made her so different?

She had to help him.

Her feet began to pound against the wet concrete tiles, her mind set on helping Ryder for the first time that day. Her gun was held tightly in her hand regardless, her mind still split between saving him and slaughtering him.

Just as tightly, he gripped onto his crutches, mustering all the strength he still had into pushing himself to his feet. Shock racked through his whole body as he did so, the pain excruciating beyond belief, beyond anything he had ever felt before. Explosions continued to roar overhead, the fighting just as furious as ever. Everything seemed so unbelievably hopeless, so useless.

Mari's mind let out a silent cheer as she got closer and closer to him, her heart begging to comfort him, heal him and get him to someone who could properly help as soon as possible. Everything went so slowly - she could hear her heartbeat, the resonation of explosions, the pounding of her own feet - the desperation of the world around her.

She stopped short in fear as another shape crossed her vision, stopping by Ryder and sticking an all-too-familiar black object to his head. Her lips ran dry, Chiyo growling as she bitterly stood on his foot and pressed down, adding to his pain.

"How does it feel now Ryder? Huh?" she hissed, her arm going round him and sadistically holding him upright. He was going to fall in all senses of the word; she would make sure of that. "Your life near at an end, pain in your mind, your body, your soul…now you know how _I_ feel!"

Ryder could barely reply, weakened and shocked so much all he could do is glance across at the metal barrel by his head.

Mari suddenly conceived a plan, raising her gun and pointing it at Chiyo. "PUT HIM DOWN!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the devastation of the plaza and drawing attention away from the battles above. Once again, the world froze, Chiyo ensuring that her possessed minions would see the downfall of a pain in her backside.

"This is why Ryder, this is why I didn't want to use seduction on her."

"What?" Mari gasped.

"To the bitter end you still continue to foil everything I do. You were meant to be the first to die, hours ago, but now it seems I'll have to intervene."

"I'll do it Chiyo! I'll fire!" Mari threatened, newfound determination in her eyes as she concentrated on the aim. Her hands shook, her hair fallen over her face and her expression leaking desperation.

Chiyo simply smiled darkly. "How good is your aim?" Chiyo hissed, glaring across at her before figuratively glancing to her gun and back again.

"What?"

"Could you hit me and not him, even in your pathetically agitated state? Could you do it? Can you do it before I kill him, huh?"

Mari continued to glare on, knowing that replying would only validate Chiyo's point further. The gun wavered about, unintentionally moving across Chiyo and Ryder so rapidly it was anyone's guess who the bullet would hit.

"Chiyo, don't do it!" Takato cried across the plaza. "We can talk about this!"

"Quiet," Sakuyamon hissed, grabbing both Takato and Guilmon in by the neck. "Or it'll be the last thing you ever say," she added, tightening her hands slightly to prove her point. She wanted them dead, but something in her mind told her to watch the drama unfolding between Chiyo, Mari and Ryder.

"What happens if I use him as a shield? You would kill him, how poignant," Chiyo laughed.

"Then you'd kill yourself too!" Mari yelled over her, desperation and determination mixing in her eyes still.

Chiyo frowned, the reality of the situation unfortunately hitting home thanks to Mari's words. "Hmm…" she mumbled, knowing how precious she considered her own life to be. "I will spare him then if you put your gun down…now!"

Mari's hand shook weakly, the shaking subsiding and her grip fading as she dropped the gun to the ground below, the discarded object clattering away. Part of her wanted to pick it up and kill the boy but the rest of her certainly didn't. Her freedom was coming through, and Chiyo's spell was loosening. She was winning against it.

"Good," Chiyo replied, finally letting go of the boy and pulling the gun back from the side of his head. "Now stand up," she said, helping him back onto his crutches with a smile. "Good."

Mari breathed a sigh of relief, knowing her sentiment was shared by plenty of free-minded individuals around her. It had become so close, so dangerous there, but by talking they had managed to escape without any deaths.

Chiyo turned, smiling as she wandered away, hand going to disable the gun.

"Ryder, thank god you're okay," Mari cheered, a slim smile on Ryder's face as she took a step forward.

Chiyo swung round, the gun not disabled but in fact in a different firing mode.

**BANG!**

The bullet swept through Ryder's right arm, excruciating pain and shock bursting onto the faces of him and Mari respectively as he began to fall off one crutch. Chiyo didn't stop there, the semi-automatic pistol continuing to fire.

**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Left arm, left leg, right leg, twice in the stomach.

Once in the forehead.

Ryder, life giving up on him instantly as the bullet crashed through his skull, fell to the ground, his crutches clattering away from him nearby and his body hitting the ground with a thump.

It all happened in slow motion for Mari. The pain on his face, the shock in his eyes, the falling of the boy like a rag doll only to land on the ground, the crash ending any more chances of survival.

Chiyo laughed darkly, savouring Mari's horror, Ryder's death and the sheer shock of everyone around, as she mentally ticked off her list.

"_One down. Plenty more to go."_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, and as expected, I fail to disappoint with the title. A rather horrific death for Ryder here, a few more bullets than needed perhaps but Chiyo would obviously be rather…dramatic with her plans. Bad news for both Ryder and Mari, of course. Anyhow, I've also got more bad news in that I'm now going on vacation until early September, so the next update is at least a week away, perhaps more if school catches up on me. Apologies in advance.

Until next time…

B.C.


	59. The Trick To Revenge

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. Thanks to s-s-l for being my 400th reviewer, and reviewing practically every chapter so far this story in very quick succession.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 53**

_The Trick to Revenge_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park**_

_**12:29 JST**_

This couldn't be happening. Mari's mind locked up, refusing that it could be the case.

His body, dead on the floor, the sanctity and surety that the good guys always won and survived through anything as dead as he was.

Chiyo, standing with a sadistic smile on her face at her handiwork.

The whole group, holding a tense silence at what had just happened; wanting to deny it was real. Mari clenched her eyes shut; her mind dearly wishing to wake up, escape this brutal reality and learn it was all just a nightmare.

She opened them again, the cold hard nature of reality occurring to her and all colour seemingly gone from the world. She took a footstep forward, and another, and another, before breaking out into a full run towards his body.

"Hmm…should've shot him in the crotch too, that'd have been worth a laugh."

A pounding of footsteps was drowned out by a harsh, bitter growl, golden eyes, the swinging of a finger and the clutching of arms, battle glares at a girl who wore a sadistic smirk on her face. Chiyo continued to look over the body as Mari practically crashed to the ground beside it, desperately looping Ryder's head up in her arms in the dear yet ignorant hope he was still alive.

"You…"

"Bitch?" Chiyo interrupted, a harsh laugh erupting from her lips as she turned from the body and glared up at Imperialdramon, a huge, sharp claw held out threateningly. It glinted in the sun, but her crossed arms and steady pose made it clear to the dragon she felt no fear.

DarkBiyomon, on the other hand, did, moving uneasily in front of her Tamer to protect her from the horrifying situation she had landed herself in, wings outspread in a defensive pose.

"Petty insults aside, I'm sure this demonstrates I mean business."

"Business?! You have an ultimate level partner!" Tai exclaimed from the skies above, bewildered by how this girl thought she could present any threat to them.

Chiyo simply chuckled, her mouth staying closed as she looked to one side, away from her interrogator. "You think?" she asked, grinning.

"CRIMSON FIRE!" Phoenixmon shrieked, as if by Chiyo's command, sending a stream of flame streaking across the sky.

"I have so much power, so much potential for torture," Chiyo said, casually watching the ensuing explosion as WarGreymon crashed into a nearby tree. "I can stop and start the killings at any time, and I have no intention of stopping them. Ryder isn't going to be the only one to die today," she added, further explosions ringing in her ears as a slight smile occurred on her face.

DarkBiyomon unconsciously gripped the girl's leg, fearful for her Tamer's safety, her heart pleading that she would survive this day but her mind worried the opposite was inevitable.

"_Please…"_

* * *

One, however, heard little more than distant bangs, the blazing lights from the roaring fires and blasts doing little to break her from her gaze.

Mari kneeled on the ground, arms wrapped around the dead body of her boyfriend, yet, in her mind he wasn't. He couldn't be.

Her eyes, getting only a brief recess from the tears which blurred them, looked over his body, a dead man's blood streaming from his seven new bullet wounds, and his existing one reopening. Her mind traced at first to those on the legs and arms, the least destructive of the lot, yet only in relative terms. She reached out, grabbing his wrist and pressing two fingers down, squeezing him tightly as she dearly hoped for a pulse.

There was none.

She quaked; her mind overloaded with emotion so much she would've exploded if such was a possibility. This was so familiar.

And yet, unlike now, when she had been able to cradle the corpse of the one she loved, that time before, that time when she had taken a double-hit to her life, she had never seen the bodies.

It was her choice, too.

She had always had a fear, a fear of seeing someone she loved unmoving and comatose. No ability to communicate with them, ever. They weren't…them. She could've asked SDCO if she could see her parents before their funeral, indeed, it was the least they could've done after the complete hash they had made of dealing with the Monochromon, but she didn't want to. At the time, she had attributed it to her fear of seeing the burns they would have sustained, something understandable since no-one liked seeing injuries, be they on the dead or the living. Blood, guts - they were the sort that made one nauseous. But she had always known it was more than that, more than simply seeing injuries. She simply did not want to see the remains, to have that be her last memory.

She cradled the boy closer, her hand running up to the bullet lodged in his skull. The cold metal surface was quickly being matched in temperature by that of his skin. Her hand recoiled, wishing it wasn't so.

She caught a glimpse of red, a new red, a red close to the colour of blood but not so. She glanced up, a tiny part of her wishing that she could comfort Donmon who right now looked over his dead Tamer in despair but the vast majority of her knowing she would never be able to do so, not if her current state was any indication.

Her hand ran down the boy's arm, past the bleeding wound and to the D-Vice, now blank and unchanging. It was dead, completely dead.

She spied a spot of blood on her hand as she began to fiddle to get the device off, a tiny flame of hope in her mind that it was somehow preventing a pulse, but found it fixed to his wrist. Exactly as he had said: the device was irremovable, except by its owner, in life and in death.

All hope lost, she weakly moved her hand away, trembling as she did so and saw his blood on her hands.

The worst thing, the absolute worst thing, was that this was what she had wanted. Her mind only a short while ago revelled in the sight of his blood, his life force pouring from him, but now…now that motivation was gone.

She went to blame herself for what had happened. She could've stopped herself, she could've stopped Chiyo. If she had just fired, if she had just been that brave, then maybe they'd be nursing Chiyo's body right now instead of his.

Failure was what she felt, the crushing blow of failure when it most mattered.

Cautiously, she stole a look at his face, the stream of blood flowing down it and down the side of his cheek. She tried to peel her eyes away, but she couldn't. His eyes hung open, looming at her until she forced herself to gently pull down his eyelids, a stain of blood left behind to remind her of the blood on her hands.

She couldn't bear to look, but she couldn't bear to look away.

"Sorry," she uttered, going forward to kiss his forehead and only making contact with the blood smeared all over, something which reminded her all too badly of the blood all over him.

Red. All red.

And like that red, at that very moment, she saw red. Blood red.

A growl, a primal growl, hissed from her lips as her fists gripped so tight they turned white. Her nails dug into her stained skin, blood beginning to ooze from her palm and mix with the remains of his.

But…it felt so numb, so faraway as to be happening to another person. That was best, else she would look back on those actions as the unleashing of something that was better kept hidden, something better calmly explored with a shrink rather than brutally and harshly unleashed like this.

She had never acted so determinedly in her life, her actions lacking grace but eking violence and sharpness. Her arm swung back, pulling forth a pair of cards and making no hesitation in sweeping the first of them through her D-Vice.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!" she cried, the D-Vice bursting into chaotic flashing blasts of blue light as energy swept through her partner, one that gave her the impetus to push her rapidly healing form to her feet.

Mari looked across to her partner, their link reaching new and dangerous heights as she put the full extent of her emotions into things. The other card glowed, changing its form and heating up slightly in her hand. She paid no attention to what it looked like, her eyes locked into a glare with her partner's, but she didn't need to look. She _knew_ the pattern on the card's face - it was one she had seen in other's hands so often but knew she would be able to cast into existence herself someday.

Not like this, however.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Matrix Digivolution Activate!"

**M-A-T-R-I-X**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**DarkRenamon Matrix Digivolve to…**

DarkRenamon's form leapt into the air, becoming her now all-too familiar form of Youkomon before the nine tailed fox once again leapt into the air, the moon glinting and the light enveloping her form as it changed. A large coat fell over a pale blue fox-like form, red spell sheets fluttering to the ground as a paintbrush materialised in her hands.

…**Doumon!**

Chiyo's smirk faltered, not upon seeing the digivolution - this was one of the Tamer's old tricks, after all - but upon seeing into the blue fox's eyes. Such hatred. Such emotion. Such lust for revenge.

This could get interesting.

"Doumon, attack!" Mari called, her voice harsh and bitter as she continued to cradle Ryder's body in her arms, her emotions split between hatred and sorrow. Donmon watched uneasily, feeling that something was off about this new evolution. Something was very badly wrong, but until Doumon made her move, he couldn't put his claw on it. Mari's D-Vice flickered into life, Donmon mentally reading this new Digimon's data.

**Doumon**

**Data Type**

**Ultimate Level**

**Attacks: Holy Cross, Jugonsatsu, Ki Mon Ton Ku and Demonic Spell**

"As you wish," Doumon replied, nodding as her eyes glinted red periodically. That all too familiar glint of red, so short lasted but making it all-too-clear what Mari had done. The paintbrush gripped in her hands, she swept it calmly through the air, weaving it up and across to resemble a stylistic cross in the air. It glowed navy as she spoke the spell's name. "HOLY CROSS!"

A likewise coloured blast shot forward, but unfortunately, its target was not as expected.

"JERI!" Elecmon cried, eyes widened in horror as the attack crashed into the ground near the girl, throwing her once again across the plaza with a harsh grating sound. Eyes widened in shock, as it suddenly became clear to them what was going on.

Takato watched Jeri coughing up a lot of dust, groaning in pain from the shockwave that had hit her before his eyes coursed across to her attacker, widening in shock as Doumon laughed. "Revenge," she uttered, raising her hands to cast a spell.

"She's out of control!" Rika and Renamon cried together, Sakuyamon rushing forward towards her fellow Kitsune with her staff clutched in hand, Takato and Guilmon tumbling to the ground as they were forgotten about. Oddly, despite the chaotic nature of what was going on, it all gave the boy hope. This was still Rika; she still cared about her friends. Just, evidently, not him.

"**Idiot. She's just worried she's going to be killed, duh? She'll get back to killing you in a moment."**

"_Aw nuts. Thanks for getting rid of all my hope, Chaos."_

"**Your welcome."**

"JUGONSATSU!" Doumon cast, a spell sheet sweeping across and tightly sticking to Sakuyamon. The shaman raised her staff, attempting to attack but finding nothing happened.

"What?!" Rika exclaimed, startled by the odd turn of events. Why couldn't she attack?

"Rika, the spell! It is stopping us from attacking!"

"Then we have to get it off!" Rika replied, Sakuyamon's hand reaching out to grip at the seemingly innocent piece of paper. Renamon was about to stop her, but Rika's actions with their form were so frantic that they were too late to stop. As her hand made contact, Sakuyamon shrieked in pain, recoiling back before sinking to her knees. _"Probably…shouldn't have tried that…"_ Rika thought.

"_Rika, there's no way of stopping this spell, and Doumon is running amok. We can't attack with magic now."_

"Rika, are you okay?!" Takato called, stumbling to his feet with Guilmon in tow as he began to make his way over to the kneeling shaman warrior. She simply hissed in response, turning to face the pair before grabbing them again.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you," Sakuyamon spat, gritting her teeth until a sinister smile graced her lips. "You'll do nicely as a pair of shields."

* * *

Doumon spun around, sending another attack shooting out. "HOLY CROSS!" she cried, Phoenixmon sweeping up into the air to avoid the blast and Doumon simply frowning in reaction before going for a new target.

However, she wasn't entirely sure of exactly what was motivating her to do so. All she could feel was that this was what Mari _wanted_ her to do, to get revenge, but her addled mind wouldn't tell who exactly was meant. No matter, she could simply kill them all.

Surely that was that Mari wanted?

"HOLY CROSS!" she cried, launching a blast at Valkyrimon who leapt back to barely dodge it.

Of course it was.

* * *

Everything about her, however, even her partner attacking her friends, stayed numb to Mari. All she could see, all she could think about, all she could do, was see red. Blood red, both for real and in her mind, and all that could do was spur her haywire partner on.

"_She'll pay."_

"Mari, are you alright?" Donmon asked nervously, reaching out a claw but pausing when he got no answer. "Mari?"

She was too busy, her mind befit with sorrow, despair and hatred, to even hear his words.

* * *

**9****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Streets of Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**10:51 JST**_

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Realmon Digivolve to…**

Realmon leapt into the air, her nine tails balled around her before a swirling red and purple digi-egg materialised around her. She broke down into a wireframe, before being reconfigured with an explosion, her new form landing with a crash. A yellow vaguely fox-like bipedal form stood, red armour covering most her form and with a large blade glowing blue attached to her left arm. In the other, a small blaster sat over the human-like hand, a blaster remarkably similar to one of WarGrowlmon's atomic ones. From her rear, a pair of white-tipped tails protruded, swishing about in an unfelt wind. Her feet were covered in silver metallic boots, and she floated on small jets protruding from them, ready to fight with a determined look on her face.

…**Verdamon!**

Henry quickly pulled up his D-Vice, pleasantly surprised to see the information displayed. "Verdamon, Vaccine Type, Champion Level, attacks are Calamity Fire, Spirit Tails and Dragon Slice."

"Well aren't you a crossbreed?"

"Rapidmon!"

Verdamon barely batted an eyelid at her weakened colleague, instead paying more attention to the rather threatening set of nine tanks surrounding them at the cross junction. "Rey, what should I do?"

"Stop them attacking us," the girl replied, pointing across the area at the currently stunned tank crews. This was certainly going to be a day they would remember for the rest of their lives, as short as those lives would be.

"I needn't have asked," Verdamon laughed, before raising her cannon arm to aim at the first tank she saw. She wore no smile on her face, knowing it was a necessary act to get revenge for what had happened to Naoko and Renamon. "CALAMITY FIRE!" she cried, the blaster firing a blue stream of energy, one that flickered and fumbled about slightly as it rushed through the air, rather like flames would. It nevertheless struck its target, the sound of screams reaching their ears as the tank burst open.

"Rey, what are you doing?!" Henry exclaimed, rushing over to his companion.

"It's them or us Henry," Rey explained coldly, teeth clenched as tightly as her fists.

"Yeah, but…we just have to stop them, we don't have to kill them!"

"Then how'd you suggest we do that, huh?" Rapidmon asked, achingly getting back to his feet.

Henry had little chance to think, as the screaming of tank shells once again rocketed towards them. Verdamon and Rapidmon didn't pause, both launching as quickly as possible into defensive attacks.

"DRAGON SLICE!"

"RAPID FIRE!"

The missiles intercepted some of the tank shells in mid-flight, while the blue electricity-charged blade of Verdamon slashed them in two before she rapidly moved away, only partially affected by the shock wave.

"Ugh, why can't they give us a chance to think?" Rapidmon moped, crossing his arms as the tank crews once again prepared their shots.

"Henry, if you're planning any other kind of strategy, you've got to be quick!" Rey said to the boy, who looked back with a worried expression.

"Yeah, I know but…I have no idea what we can do."

"Ugh, you of all people should be able to come up with some tactics," Rey groaned. "Now hurry up!"

"_She's right. I have to figure out some way out of this mess, it's just not right killing people like this, even if they are due to die anyway. And I'm getting so scared that…wait a minute, that's it!" _"Rapidmon, fire near them to distract them and scare them! Verdamon, while he's doing that, take out their guns and get them out of the tanks!"

Rey looked over to the boy, running through the strategy in her mind before nodding in agreement. "Right," she, Verdamon and Rapidmon agreed, before the latter two darted across the battlefield to a pair of their increasingly worried foes.

"Missed me did ya?!" Rapidmon taunted, grinning as the tanks promptly re-aimed their weapons to face him. "RAPID FIRE!" he cried, the missiles screaming across towards their target but missing only slightly. The tank moved backwards slightly, before Rapidmon spun through the air past a pair of tank shells. "Verdamon, your turn!"

Verdamon nodded, darting forward with her glowing blade once again prepared to attack. "DRAGON SLICE!" she cried, the blade cutting straight through the protruding cannon and causing it to crash to the ground with a clank. Not pausing to look at the nose-less and stunned tank, she darted across and performed the same operation on the other tank, before landing on top of it. "Out!"

Rapidmon did likewise with the other tank, before smirking as a group of terrified soldiers scrambled out, attempting to act heroic by wielding their guns but flailing under the gaze of the Digimon's blasters.

"Next one," Rapidmon said to his companion, both taking to the air again and beginning to dodge more tank shells.

"_We have to hurry up!" _Verdamon thought, knowing that the clock could be up any time soon.

* * *

"Naoko…Naoko…" Rey mumbled, kneeling down by the girl's body with a deep worry in her eyes. She gently lifted her up, thankful for the breathing she could see in the blue haired girl's chest. "I'm sorry."

Henry watched over with a frown, never having seen Rey react in this way before. She had witnessed someone nearly be killed, and that was bad enough, but Henry knew she saw it as far worse. To Rey, this _was_ her mother, even if it wasn't directly so.

The worst thing was that he knew that both they and Naoko were the same right now, and so were the soldiers. All were going to die, sometime soon at least, and Henry knew the bomb could strike at any time. What was going on right now was just a diversion from the matter at hand. They couldn't stop the bomb - that would change history. They couldn't escape - they would be killed before they could. What could they possibly do?

Everything felt so desperate in that moment.

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**12:45 JST**_

Chaotic simply wasn't the word. Nothing could even begin to accurately describe the catastrophic state of affairs in that moment.

Sakuyamon held Takato and Guilmon firmly in her hands, ignoring their choking whilst trying to avoid Doumon, who had proceeded to attack everyone and everything in sight, apart from Mari, of course. Tai, Davis and Ken were swirling around, trying to avoid both the endless attacks from their loved ones and from the haywire Doumon on the ground below, none of which was making their lives remotely simpler.

"GRANDIS…SC…" GrandisKuwagamon began, feeling the effort finally hit him like a ton of bricks. Being attacked for the better part of an hour without any way to fight back for the risk of hurting someone he cared about was the most tiring thing Ken and Wormmon had ever had the misfortune of experiencing. As he felt his legs quake beneath him and gravity threaten to pull him to the ground, he knew it was over.

Valkyrimon simply sped things up.

"LIGHTNING ARROW!" she cried, GrandisKuwagamon clenching his eyes shut as the crossbow fired an arrow straight into his chest. Pain wracked through him, and Ken heard sound return to his ears as he crashed to the ground, alone, seeing Minomon do likewise not far from him.

"_We failed."_

* * *

"_Tai, she's circling around from the right!"_ Agumon cried, the boy nodding within his sphere. The pair turned to face Phoenixmon, who was straining herself and preparing yet another attack on them. Fires blazed in her mouth before launching forth.

"CRIMSON FIRE!"

"_Agumon, we'll fly through the fire again!" _Tai decided, WarGreymon beginning to spin as he rocketed towards the attack. The pair collided, WarGreymon feeling the heat turned up significantly as the flames swarmed around him. _"Come on…we can do this!"_

WarGreymon was thankful he was still holding together, the fires beginning to subside and yet another attack weathered without too much…

**CRASH!**

Phoenixmon interrupted his thoughts by promptly slamming one of her huge wings into him, sending him rocketing towards the ground below before hitting the concrete with a smash.

Tai and Agumon groaned in pain, WarGreymon opening his eyes weakly to see Phoenixmon swooping down to him, claws readied. _"We have to do something!"_

"It's over," Sora said monotonously.

"Stop!" Biyomon cried.

Unfortunately for Biyomon, Phoenixmon actions continued to be at the mercy of Sora, as she crashed the sole of a foot into the warrior, pushing all her weight down on him as he groaned in pain. His armour didn't last, cracking under the strain and the endless attacks. Sure, his shield could probably have defended him, but right now it was on his back, completely in the wrong place, and, indeed, it dug into him.

His armour splintering, WarGreymon split into two, Koromon and Tai being especially thankful as they landed between the toes of the bird. They wouldn't be crushed under her weight, at least, not yet. Phoenixmon looked down to him, scorn and hatred in her eyes.

"Sora," he mumbled. "Please, stop!" he continued, far more astutely as awareness of his new state occurred to him.

Phoenixmon simply growled, tightening her claws around him as he gasped for air.

* * *

Imperialdramon panted as he looked around, seeing his allies go down like flies and gulping in worry. "This doesn't look good Davis."

"You're telling me. I've never felt this much pain, except when I…"

"Davis, no time for talking!" echoed a new voice from nearby, the injured form of Seraphimon rising up alongside him with a morose frown on his face.

"EDEN'S JAVELIN!" Ophanimon cried once again, interrupting their talk as she screamed down from above, lightning striking Imperialdramon in the head and making him scream in pain.

"Davis!" Takeru cried, moving back slightly to avoid the blast. There was no way he could help right now, not in his state. His body smoked from where it had been burnt and pain wracked him all over, so he was forced to watch his friends kill each other.

Davis and Veemon felt woozy, but as Ophanimon lowered herself in front of them, tiredly preparing another Sefirot Crystals attack, they were forced to act.

"POSITRON…" Imperialdramon began raising his cannon arm and beginning to gather a small energy attack, one that would hopefully take Ophanimon back to her constituent weaker forms. Unfortunately, he was interrupted.

"JUGONSATSU!"

Imperialdramon's cannon stopped in mid-shot as the spell paper landed, seemingly harmlessly on his foot. He looked down to the weapon in confusion, wondering why he couldn't seem to fire it anymore.

"Imperialdramon! Doumon used that attack restricting spell on you!" Patamon explained as he worked out what had happened. Doumon's attentions quickly turned elsewhere, Sakuyamon fending off another series of blasts with her makeshift shields and some last minute Chaos shields only just saving Takato and Guilmon from certain death.

"Aw crap," Davis complained, Imperialdramon freezing and looking up to Ophanimon, finally ready to cast her spell.

"SEFIROT CRYSTALS!" she cried, the ten blasts shooting forth and slamming into the dragon warrior's chest. He rapidly shrunk down, becoming only a pair of tiny figures on the ground, namely DemiVeemon and Davis.

Davis felt winded, badly, as he fell back onto his bottom. He heard swooping from above, and knew that Ophanimon was promptly approaching. She could pretty much stab his brains out now, unless she fancied a far more messy death for him.

"Stop Ophanimon!" Seraphimon called, flying towards the other Angel and catching her off guard, her eagerness and excitement about her upcoming kill making her forget his presence. "SEVEN HEAVENS!"

Ophanimon looked up a bit too late, the seven orbs slamming into her rapidly and throwing a ton of smoke into the air around her, smoke which glowed as the bond between her and her partner broke. Seraphimon flew forward, grabbing Kari and Gatomon as they fell before gently putting them down on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Takeru asked, looking out from within his sphere. Kari, awareness that she was no longer biomerged occurring to her, simply growled as she glared at the mega Digimon.

"I nearly had him!"

"Kari, you're possessed by Chiyo," Gatomon tried to explain, hoping that the loss of the biomerge would make things clearer to her.

"No I'm not, I want him dead! Where is he?"

"Kari, I won't let you do something you'll regret," Takeru insisted, Seraphimon reaching out to restrain the girl but being stopped in his tracks by an unexpected attack.

"DEMONIC SPELL!"

Seraphimon froze up, a navy blue haze consuming him as both Takeru and Patamon screamed in horrific pain. Kari paused, looking over the sight worriedly. Even if he was getting in the way, this sight, this pained howl coming from her friend was still something that rocked her to her core. Part of her tried to make the rest of her mind wake up to reality, but failed in its attempt.

All she could do was stand there, frozen, while Doumon looked over her current target with a blank expression, neither flinching nor rejoicing in his pain.

Davis watched from afar, the sight chilling and deeply worrying. Seraphimon couldn't even move, since doubtless that would only bring about more pain for him. Jeri felt sickened by the sight, and even Sakuyamon and Phoenixmon paused in their assassination attempts to look at the source of the scream. Chiyo simply smiled, amused by how the heroic attempt of Mari for revenge was backfiring so badly.

Only one person failed to hear, the one person who could make a difference right now. Mari.

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24TH**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Wimbledon, London**_

_**12:29 BST**_

"Mmm…" he groaned, his head feeling like someone was hanging a set of weights from it. He clenched his eyelids, the idea of awaking not appealing to him right now. In fact, that world of dreams seemed like a paradise compared to the groggy reality he had awoken to.

Still, the pillow was comfortable, if a bit warm. Was it a really hot day or something?

Despite his curiosity about the weather, however, he kept his eyes closed. It didn't matter really, he'd find out sooner or later anyway. Better to just enjoy those peaceful moments before fully waking than wondering about where he was.

It occurred to him that he had something else on the edge of his mind that was a bit more important than sleeping, but he was too groggy to wonder what it was. He simply yawned, before a giggle interrupted his presumably private moment.

"Huh?" he mumbled, fighting himself over opening his eyes or not.

"You have a habit for this."

"A habit for what?"

"Creating the most uncomfortable situations going."

That was it - he had to open his eyes. That voice, that tone, that innocent and kind voice was just too…familiar.

Once he opened his eyes, his mind froze. He looked up to a golden haired girl, her locks flowing freely down her shoulders. She looked happy despite her words, smiling down at where he had somehow ended up with his head on her lap. The odder thing was, by the looks of things, he had been sleeping on it too. "See what I mean?" she asked, amused as he noticed he was laying along his couch and using her lap as a pillow, so conveniently placed where she sat near the end. Bemused by what was going on, he took a speechless moment to inspect the situation before replying, albeit it was little more than a dry-mouthed mumble.

"Ivy?"

She smiled, looking aside and rolling her eyes slightly. "God, I knew you were having a deep sleep -I got up twice and you didn't notice - but that must be one super deep sleep if you don't even remember me. What on earth did you dream about anyway?"

Ryder looked up properly into her blue eyes, part of him wanting to leap to his feet with widened eyes at a girl he could swear part of his mind told him couldn't possibly be in the same room as him. At the same time, however, another part of his mind seemed to think this was natural, as if waking up in what was presumably another world was a normal thing. And he couldn't for the life of him tell what side to listen to. Still, he seemed to know exactly what to say.

"Mmm…the usual, Digimon, Mari…oh, and a universe where all those guys from the TV show were real."

"Pulling a Takato, are we Dreamer?"

"Heh."

"Well, you are being particularly Goggleheaded after all," Ivy replied, looking aside with a slightly disgruntled expression. "Telling your girlfriend about your imaginary perfect girlfriend, let alone telling her you had dreamt about her, isn't exactly the way to hold down a relationship."

Hearing the word "girlfriend", he paused periodically, raising an eyebrow and looking over Ivy. She wore a pleasant, simple white dress with a black cummerbund about her waist, and her hair left free as ever. She almost looked angelic, but something in his mind curiously said that was his job. He dismissed it, and his curiosity at her words. He was just being stupid, that was all.

"Yeah, guess so," he finally mumbled, yawning and stretching his arms out to ease the grogginess.

"Still, not like I didn't expect any less from you, given you seem to have a habit of making mistakes like that," she chuckled, running her hand through his brown mop. "You need some Goggles to complete your image. Now are you going to stay there or what?" she asked with a fake irritation, looking down to where he had been rather contently sleeping. It had caught her rather by surprise, one moment wide awake and relaxing with her watching some (probably boring) TV show on his couch and the next moment sleeping like an Angel, or, at least, one that snored.

"Aw, but I like using you as a pillow," he pouted, the girl rolling her eyes playfully and uncomfortably running a hand through her hair.

"Nice to know I'm a good cushion, but I think you create enough uncomfortable situations without having your parents walk in on this "sappy" scene."

"Point taken," Ryder chuckled, finally sitting up from the girl's lap and getting a proper look at the room around him. Sure enough, it was his living room, right down to the remotes on the table. Things looked slightly different to how he last remembered it - some things seemed oddly new and changed - but other than that, everything seemed the same as always. He turned himself around, before finding an arm wrap around his shoulder.

"Still, nothing better to do than sleep on your day off, huh?"

"Other than fighting bioemergences, writing reams of my crappy stories and, of course, spending time with you, nope, nothing better," he said, a sappy but sarcastic smile on his face at the last bit. "Still, I can't believe you had the patience to sit there all that time, as cute as I may look in my sleep."

"Nah, it's not that."

"Oh."

"You simply wouldn't wake up."

"Huh?"

"Seriously, if I missed a method to wake you up then please tell me what it was."

"Odd. Wonder why I didn't notice."

"Well, whatever the reason, you sure do sleep like the dead."

"But I wake up."

"Yeah, there's the difference. When you "die", you always wake up."

"Hmm…" Ryder pondered, the words striking an odd chord with his mind but an implacable one at best, his mind not even beginning to ponder why she had said such an odd thing. "Heh, yeah, whatever. Hey, where're Donmon and Lunamon?"

"Donmon's in your fridge, and Lunamon's asleep on the dining room table."

"The usual for a bank holiday then."

"Cynical," Ivy complained, rolling her eyes in faux irritation.

"Beautiful," Ryder replied, mimicking her. She rolled her eyes properly.

"Ugh, you writers sure love your sappy moments, huh?"

"Yep. So?"

"As romantic, peaceful and amazing as this scene probably seems in your weird mind…too many sappy comments like that just get weird and irritating, okay?"

"Uh…yeah, fine, was just trying to be…dunno…"

"Back to mincing your words," she laughed, before the pair calmly turned to a new face at the door, a rather inhuman but all-too-familiar one.

"Ryder, is this edible?" asked Donmon, walking in with an ice pack in his hand.

"The freezer? Already? How much did you eat?"

"Uh…" Donmon laughed nervously. "As much as I need to?"

"Do Digimon even have a limit on hunger?" Ivy pondered, hand on her chin.

"Only the female ones by the looks of it," Ryder suggested.

"Oh no, I beg to differ. Lunamon may act all dainty and shy but when it comes to the kitchen…" Ivy replied, miming a large bite before the pair laughed.

"Oh, really? I _have_ to see that. Although, that does show how boring and tedious things have become if watching a Digimon eat more than their body weight is the most interesting thing we can think of doing on a lazy Sunday."

"Boring? Tedious? You have a Digimon, a life which has a habit of turning upside down in the most ridiculous of ways, and, as you put it, a "beautiful" girlfriend."

"Okay, you have a point. Speaking of my life and how strange it is, where are the others today?"

"Melissa is visiting relatives in Wales and Marvin said he's probably going to be visiting Cambridge today with his granddad, so that just leaves Douglas on bioemergence duty."

"Ugh, never a good sign. No offense to him, but him alone as the protector of this area? The concept worries me, and anyway, what about us? We can help!"

"Aw, but I thought we were having a "moment" that couldn't be interrupted."

Ryder went to open his mouth and speak his mind at that moment, but stopped in the process.

"You just thought of _another_ sappy reply to that didn't you?"

"You know me too well."

"No, you're just really predictable."

"What time is it?"

"Was that an attempt to be unpredictable?"

"No, seriously, what time is it?"

Ivy rolled her eyes, looking down to her silver ringed D-Vice on her right arm and the numbers on its display. "About half past twelve, why?"

"Meh, just wondering."

"You do have one on your arm too, you know. You didn't need to ask me at all."

"I know. I just love the sound of your voic…oh forget it, I just can't pull this whole "sappy boyfriend" thing off, can I?"

"Since you're asking, no. You try pretty hard though."

"That's me. I'd endlessly run headfirst into a brick wall until someone pointed out that wasn't the way to cure a headache."

"…right…okay…you do know I have absolutely no idea what you mean half the time when you say that."

"Neither do I. Hey, do you know what the date is?"

"Oh come on Ryder, you must have another motivation here."

"Huh?"

"Asking the date, asking the time…what's up?"

"Nothing, I just feel a bit out of place. Still feeling a bit groggy. And, well…"

"Well what?"

"Never mind."

"Please…"

"Well…it's only that…something feels weird…about this situation, I mean…"

"_Apart_ from you falling asleep on my lap?"

"Yeah…and…I get the impression that I'm forgetting something."

"Well, if you've forgotten it, it can't be that important."

"Yeah…yeah, I see your point," Ryder replied, smiling to her and nodding. "I wouldn't forget something that important," he agreed, before pulling her in for a quick kiss. She smiled upon pulling away, nodding in agreement.

"Of course not, even if you did forget who I was right now."

"Uh…yeah, sorry about that."

"Doesn't matter, don't even bother apologising."

"God you're more relaxed than me."

"You just get worked up too easily over little, stupid, inconsiderate things."

"What, so you can insult me and I can't?"

"My point proven and yes. Haven't you had a girlfriend before?"

"Uh…"

"Why did you hesitate?"

"Uh…I don't know. I haven't…at least…no."

"Ugh, you make things so confusing. Just _relax_, okay? Everything is fine."

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24TH**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**12:56 JST**_

For Mari, however, nothing at all was fine. At least, she didn't think it was. The past few minutes had been a blur of crying, stolen glances and muffled hearing. Something had probably been going on, but she was far too wrapped up in her own world to hear it.

The body, by now, had fallen cold, his pulse a long lost memory and his bleeding letting up, not for being healed, but simply for a lack of blood to pour from his wounds. All hope had evaporated in the girl - she wasn't stupid enough to think there was still a chance of recovery. He had died, and she was left to cope with the consequences.

The only thing was she didn't think she _could _cope.

She'd had to face the loss of loved ones before in her life, far more so than anyone her age. Some had lost a parent or two, like Jeri's mother and Rika's missing father, but none had lost both parents at once in such a violent manner. Rather than clinging to what remained of her life, she'd vanished without a trace courtesy of SDCO, and had been "cured", except that was a lie. Nothing could ever make her forget those events, nothing.

And nothing would ever make her forget these events either. The violence, the screams, and the feeling of self-responsibility - all so familiar.

Would she have to move on again? Drop her life in Japan, go somewhere else, or maybe only the former.

Emotions endlessly flared in her heart but many were not her own. She couldn't quite place the bursts of anger she kept feeling, and the sadistic joy she felt at an unknown sight. Had she been in a far better mental state, she would've worked out how it was linked to her wayward partner, a growing bond that would be a boon in any other situation. And that bond was taping into her instability, feeding on it and only making Doumon's actions worse.

Mari's eyes cleared upon hearing the end of movement around her, the change in the world bringing her back to reality with a bump. She began to hear screams from behind, swivelling her head around to see a horrible sight.

She froze up, the haze filling her eyes as she looked over the wailing angel.

"What the hell is going on?" she exclaimed, Doumon and the others turning to her before she saw those eyes, those eyes of Doumon. So full of hatred, of emotion, of anger…of revenge!

She took an uneasy step back, her foot pressing against Ryder's body. The grisly reminder made her stop again, her mind linking two and two and working out why exactly Doumon was acting this way, something which made her feel ready to be sick or faint.

"This…this is my fault."

Doumon let up on the spell slightly as the realisation began to be carried through their bond, but it still felt unbearable to her victim. Mari's palms loosened, the helplessness of the situation becoming clear as her hands dropped weakly to her sides.

"Mari, please! Stop her!" Davis called across the battlefield, the words making it clear that what she had worked out was true.

"_How could I do this? I let myself run away with emotions…I let her run out of control…and my friends are paying the price."_

Her fists clenched, her mouth becoming a thin line as she grated her teeth.

"_But Chiyo killed Ryder! She _must_ pay for what she did! SHE HAS TO PAY!"_

Doumon surged onwards, Seraphimon screaming a blood curdling scream that made an escaping Kari stop in her tracks near Davis. She turned back to see the Digimon, data blurring and a digi-core periodically seen inside with Takeru in it. Even in her possessed state, a plaything of the currently smirking Chiyo, she felt horror at that scream. That familiar voice, that old friend, screaming in deadly pain.

"Stop her!" she cried to Mari, her real side periodically breaking through, helped by the fact Takeru wasn't her direct target.

The sound of the girl's voice made Mari jump back to reality again, her urge for revenge fading again. _"No…I needed to do this…but I lost control of Doumon. I have to control my emotions. I _can_ get revenge for Ryder's death, but I can't just let myself run amok, and I can't let Doumon do so either," _she thought, her hand moving into a clench and back again.

She looked down to Ryder's body, knowing that she needed to calm down right now. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she turned back to face Doumon.

"Doumon, stop!"

Doumon stopped suddenly, following orders exactly and looking up to Mari. The spell broke, Seraphimon splitting into Takeru and Tokomon who tumbled to the ground weakly. "Mari?" Doumon asked, the effect of Mari's raging emotions falling away as the girl got back control.

"We have to stop Chiyo."

"As you wish," Doumon replied, nodding in agreement before placing her hands together in front of her, in a praying position. "Mari, come to me," she called, all eyes on Mari as she nodded, wandering across the plaza to her partner. Her eyes were unwavering; she had complete trust in her partner, a trust that seemed odd to the rest given Doumon's murderous streak only moments ago and Mari's murderous streak throughout that morning.

Mari stopped in front of her, Doumon placing her hands on the girl's shoulders and causing her to glow a deep blue as both closed her eyes. She searched out, looking for something amiss. A tiny speck that wasn't meant to be there in Mari's mind, something unnatural, yet powerful.

Mari began to feel uneasy as she felt flushes of hot and cold run through her head, but she told herself to trust Doumon. This was how they could stop Chiyo.

The flushes suddenly stopped, and Mari opened her eyes again curiously. Doumon did likewise, looking out at her Tamer as the pair locked eyes.

"I can feel it. The spell the dark one has cast on you," the Digimon said forebodingly, looking across the plaza to where Chiyo stood. A growing anger manifested in the Demon's eyes at events as she reloaded her gun with bullets, her frantic nature repeatedly delaying her. Doumon could tell that she was getting to the point where, rather than wasting her time playing games with them, she would simply shoot them and get it over and done with. Of course, this would be helped no end by the fact they were all weakened by now and mostly in their human or rookie forms (or below, in Tokomon, Minomon, Koromon and DemiVeemon's cases). "It is such a strong spell. That explains why she has such control over you, but I can feel it, and I can break it."

"Then do it."

"This may hurt," Doumon replied, nodding. Mari nodded in response, before Doumon moved her hands to the sides of Mari's head. "Hold still."

Mari nodded and crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping it wouldn't hurt too much.

Unfortunately, from the biting of her teeth and the staggering backwards, it was evident it did. The sharp crack through her mind quickly gave way to a killer headache and a general feeling of dizziness. "Did it work?" she asked, fighting the pain and looking back to her partner.

"Yes, I have removed her control of you."

"Then use it on the others! Quick!" Mari ordered, knowing it was no time for celebrating her newfound freedom.

"No you won't!" Chiyo shouted, fumbling around with bullets and her gun as she frenetically attempted to fight back, before accidentally dropping the cartridge to the ground with a clatter.

"Chiyo?" DarkBiyomon asked, looking worriedly up to her partner who by now was looking fit to explode as she bent down to pick the object up. Her whole plan was going down the drain, all thanks to the Tamers and Angels. She _had_ to turn things around, and that was what worried the bird.

"Not right now DarkBiyomon, I'm _busy_!"

DarkBiyomon frowned, looking back to the situation and wondering if she would be given any more orders. Chiyo wasn't making her new plans clear, if she had made any that was.

Doumon nodded in response to Mari. "As you wish," she replied, before beginning to levitate up into the air.

"_Grr…come on…reload…now! Oh for god's sake, wrong way round…" _Chiyo thought, watching angrily as events ran away from her. She had to act fast, but had become clumsy as a result of her panic. "STOP HER!" she screeched, Phoenixmon suddenly snapping out of her awed trance and nodding. She swooped forth despite Biyomon's objections.

Once she was a distance above the ground below, Doumon placed her palms together again and made them glow with a blue light as she began to cast the spell. She searched out for all those possessed, their minds, and set them as her targets. She remembered what it had felt like in Mari, and searched for the same impulses, the same possession.

She heard a rush of air and a screeching of a bird as something approached her out of the corner of her eye at a rapid pace. It didn't matter, they would stop once she cast her spell.

"DEMONIC SPELL!" she called, pulling her hands apart and letting a rapid succession of deep blue shockwaves irradiate from the space between them. The waves swept outwards, running through the plaza and striking all, but only affecting those she had chosen. Chiyo was not the only one able to do targeted magic.

The rush of wings towards her stopped as Phoenixmon, like Kari, Sakuyamon, Jeri and Yolei, was given a huge wake-up call, in the form of a killer headache and dizziness. She stopped mid flight, glancing around as she tried to assess what was going on.

"Biyomon? What happened?"

"Sora, don't you remember?"

"Ugh…" Sora groaned, placing her hand on her head within her sphere before the reality hit her like a ton of bricks. "Wait…oh no…no…I tried to kill Tai. What?"

Biyomon sighed. "Chiyo possessed you Sora. She wanted to hurt us, badly."

"But why?"

"I wish I knew."

"Oh…wait…is Tai okay?!" Sora asked, Phoenixmon turning around in the air and looking over to the boy now struggling to his feet with Koromon in hand, groaning as he did so. "Tai!"

Tai took an uneasy step back, the sight of Phoenixmon flying towards him by now having become a cue to run for the hills. She landed in front of him, before splitting back into Sora and Biyomon. The former threw her arms around him and unfortunately pushed Koromon out of his hands, letting the in-training bounce to the ground below, where he landed dizzily.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" she cried. "I'm sorry Tai, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Tai frowned, nodding as he put his hand on her shoulders. "I know Sora."

"Ugh, what about me Tai?!" Koromon complained, fighting the dizziness. "You dropped me on my head!"

"Oh, sorry Koromon," Tai replied, pulling out of his and Sora's embrace with an apologetic expression.

"Aren't you just one big head?" Biyomon asked curiously.

"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!"

* * *

Valkyrimon froze up, stopping in her attempts to strangle Ken to death and widening her eyes in horror. "What…what is going on?"

"Cough…ugh…can't…breathe…"

"Oh, Ken, I'm so sorry!" Yolei cried, putting the boy down on the ground with somewhat of a bump before Valkyrimon split back into Hawkmon and Yolei. Yolei rushed forward, looking over her boyfriend worriedly before her eyes widened once again in alarm. "Wait…I was trying to kill you…what…what is going on?"

Ken spluttered before answering, his neck still sore as he rubbed it. "Chiyo was controlling you and making you try to kill me."

"Yeah…I remember now," Yolei replied, frowning before looking across the battlefield at the devastation they had caused. Not a single paving slab had gone untouched, and trees lay on the ground all around them. In the distance, emergency lights were visible as well as media crews, obviously too scared to get any closer. "What have we done?" she asked rhetorically.

"Ken, you okay?" Minomon asked, bouncing across to his partner.

"Yeah…you dedigivolved to your in-training form, huh?"

"Yeah. That battle used up too much energy."

Ken sighed, picking up his partner with a frown and looking about. This had to be one of the worst days of his life so far, and it had a lot of competition for that award.

* * *

"Jeri, are you alright?" Elecmon asked, looking down into the eyes of his Tamer where she lay on her back on the ground, the attack she had only just survived and the exhaustion of that day taking a lot out of her. Not only that, but she had a throbbing headache too, and her mind was only beginning to remind her of what she had done.

"I think so," she mumbled, frowning as she achingly pushed herself to a sitting position. She put her hand on her head, groaning. "God, what did we do?"

"Jeri, it's not your fault."

"I know but…" Jeri mumbled, looking around at the devastation around them. Those trees would take decades to re-grow, and the plaza would need repaving, and that was just the collateral damage. The worst thing was, this wasn't some battle against a wild Digimon, one where the Digimon caused most of the damage and they simply followed in its wake. This was _their_ fault, a fact they couldn't get away from as much as they hoped.

Worse still, they had lost one of their members, a first. Not only that, but it was a member who had always given her a sense of intrigue, with his actions always slightly off in an indescribable way. But…those secrets had been lost, and they would never learn the truth.

She hunched her head over, staring into the ground as the contemplated how events had a habit of causing deaths like this. Elecmon frowned, looking up to her where she simply stared past him.

"_Worse still, Henry and Rey are stuck in the past, and I think Ryder was our only hope of getting them back."_

* * *

Kari groaned in annoyance, her hand running to the top of her head as if it would cure her now-raging headache. "Ugh…"

Trying to push the throbbing down, she looked out and around, the current situation bewildering her, and yet feeling strangely familiar. Seeing Davis nearest to her, and not yet remembering that was because she had been heading over to kill him, she decided to ask him.

"I get the feeling I'm forgetting something. What happened?"

"What? You don't remember?" Davis stuttered, amazed that she could forget something as dramatic as that. "You tried to kill me."

"What?!"

"Yeah, thanks to Chiyo." Davis frowned at the memories of that day so far, probably one of the worst, if not _the_ worst day of his life.

Kari froze in shock as events flashed through her mind. Was that really her? Could Chiyo have really made her do such a thing? How much pain had she caused?

Davis, seeing the look of shock on Kari's face, nodded to confirm her suspicions. He frowned deeply, before seeing something being move out of the corner of his eye. He glancing over Kari's shoulder to Takeru, the blonde attempting to get to his feet but having little success.

"Takeru!" he shouted, suddenly remembering that his friend had been injured in and amongst all the recent events. Kari turned and gasped, seeing the boy and his partner injured. They rushed across, albeit Davis in a fair bit of pain, before bending down to aid their old friend to his feet.

"You okay?" Kari asked worriedly once they had succeeded. He certainly didn't look okay; in fact, he looked both rather dizzy and rather pained.

"Ugh…" was his initial reply, telling them pretty much all they needed to know.

"Thank god we were Seraphimon," Tokomon mumbled from the floor below. Takeru frowned, nodding and bending down to pick up his partner.

"Where does it hurt?" Kari asked, looking over the boy curiously.

"All over," he complained, looking fit to collapse but being caught quickly by Davis.

"Easy now," he mumbled, frowning as Takeru groaned.

"Sorry," Kari said, tears brimming in her eyes as her mind subjected her to what she had done. So many attacks, so much pain, and not to mention the concept of what could have happened should she have succeeded. Before they could reply, she grabbed both of them in a hug, looping one arm round each of their shoulders before burying her head in the middle, surprising the pair somewhat with her sudden actions.

"It's okay," Davis tried to comfort her.

"Yeah, you didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"I know, but…you two could've been killed! And Ryder…no! Ryder _was _killed!" Kari spluttered, pulling back and turning around to see the body not far away. "This can't be happening."

But her mind told her it was. One of her friends was dead, and she could indirectly have contributed to making it possible. What had she done?!

* * *

Sakuyamon's grip on her two lovers loosened, Takato and Guilmon dropping to the ground with a bump. "Oh, crap, sorry," Rika gasped, looking down to the pair as they looked rather startled. "Takato, what happened?"

"Uh," Takato mumbled, not sure how to explain things to her without worrying her more.

"Wait…I think I remember…I tried to…Christ…no…I couldn't have!"

Takato frowned, nodding. "Yeah…you tried to kill us," he explained, but despite his pessimistic tone, he knew events had finally taking a turn for the better. He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, Rika was safe, and so was the baby, or at least, hopefully they were. And as for the Second Demon, maybe they could restrain Chiyo before she caused any more problems.

His flash of optimism ended when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryder's body, and knew things couldn't be that simple.

The past few hours flashing through her mind in quick succession, Sakuyamon stumbled back in surprise, the concept of them trying to kill those in front of her a horrifying one. "What?! Why?" she spluttered, Rika's eyes widened within her sphere.

"Chiyo was controlling you," Guilmon explained, frown on his face. A look of irritation crossed Sakuyamon's face as she shot a glare over to the girl, before her mind prioritised something else first.

"Takato, Guilmon, are you alright?"

"My head feels funny," Guilmon groaned, rubbing his sore head with his claw.

"Heh, yeah, I guess so…I'm still in one piece," Takato said, brushing aside all the injuries and fatigue that day had brought with it.

"**Oh come on! She hurt you badly!"**

"Oh…sorry," Rika mumbled, putting a hand on his shoulder apologetically. "But…what did I do anyway?" she asked, her memories still remaining fuzzy.

"Never mind that, are you okay?" Takato asked quickly, his concerns not answered yet.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rika asked, it finally occurring to her she was biomerged as Sakuyamon as she noticed her hand was far from human. She quietly gasped, things getting stranger by the second.

"I mean…you…and the baby," Takato replied, frowning deeply.

"Uh…I think so." _"Shit…I really do hope so. What the hell did I do?"_

Sakuyamon growled as she remembered the source of what was going on, her memories continuing to slowly return. She remembered the dead Ryder, the pain her friends had been suffering, what she had done, and most of all, she remembered Chiyo, laughing and rolling in their misery. She turned to look for the girl, intending to tear her to pieces for what she had done.

She stopped in her tracks, however, when she saw exactly where Chiyo was now.

"No-one try anything," Chiyo spat, bringing attention from all to her new position. She had subtly moved to be standing behind Mari, pressing the gun into the middle of the Second Angel's back. She wore a threatening expression on her face as she glared over at the group, her heart and mind raging with a mix of hatred and anger.

Mari felt her lips run dry and the blood rush from her face. Her eyes widened, horrified by how she was suddenly being held hostage. Was she about to die? Would Chiyo hold off? Or would she be joining Ryder sooner than she expected?

She closed her eyes, swallowing a gulp of saliva. She opened her eyes again suddenly, feeling Chiyo push the gun in even further in an attempt to show she certainly wasn't kidding. Doumon, floating above the centre of the plaza looked about to make an attempt to save her, before she realised that would only put her Tamer's life at even more risk. Instead, in an attempt to remain non-hostile and prevent Chiyo from making any quick moves, she slowly descended to the ground, never once looking away from the sight of her panicked Tamer, of the frenetic Demon and of the hostage situation which had broken out. A collective breath was held, deeper than any before.

"If you guys try anything, she dies, got that?!" Chiyo threatened, her voice panicky as she began to improvise, something which could only make her more dangerous. Both for her, and for her targets, things were going very badly.

And someone was about to pay the price.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Whoa, things have gone from bad to even worse, and it looks like the death count is about to climb one higher. But back in Nagasaki, do they have a chance of escaping? What's going on with Ryder and Ivy? Is he really home, how, and why is Ivy suddenly his girlfriend?

Answers to these questions and more, well, not answers but in fact more questions, coming next time here in Book Six. You don't want to miss it, as this book hits its thrilling conclusion.

Oh, and by the way, I invented two more attacks for Doumon because I found her skill-set rather…limited. Holy Cross is roughly equal to Taomon's Talisman of Light, and Demonic Spell to Taomon's Talisman Spell. Otherwise, she really doesn't have any offensive abilities and no real name to call her general magic by.

Until next time…

B.C.


	60. The Trick To Conclusion

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 54**

_The Trick to Conclusion_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**13:15**__** JST**_

The grey sky turned the roads and the neighbourhood very bleak, looking ready to start pouring again at any moment if it wanted to. Gone was the nice, fantastic day of that morning, and in came a terrible, gloomy day. This particular contrast mirrored Kazu's feelings through that day as it turned from good to bad to worse. He barged his way through worried onlookers, watching what little they could see of the ongoing battle above trees in the park, but there was little to be seen right now.

"Excuse me…excuse me…please move!" _"How did Davis do it?"_

Whilst wracking his mind for what had happened in the movie, he ran straight into someone. He stumbled to a stand, angrily waving a hand.

"Hey, watch where you're going…uh…hey Policeman."

"Excuse me son, but this area is cordoned off for the public's protection," the man replied, giving him an indignant look at being run into like that. Kazu looked completely heartbroken, before his determination returned promptly and his usual grin flashed across his face. Guardromon gently levitated down beside him as he spoke.

"Great, because I'm a Digimon Tamer, and you know how others would only get in the way," he laughed.

"I'm sorry sir, but you and your…Digimon, thing, may not enter."

"Didn't you hear me dude? I'm a Digimon Tamer."

"A Digimon Tamer? Would that be one of the same Digimon Tamers who are currently fighting and killing each other in the centre of this park?"

"What?" Kazu stuttered, genuinely caught short by this change of events. "You can't be serious."

"I am. This situation is very dangerous and I have been instructed to prevent any and all members of the public from passing, so if you will."

"But…"

"If you would please stand aside boy, I am sure you would be able to talk to your friends later."

Kazu looked gobsmacked, fists clenched before Guardromon tapped him on the shoulder. The policeman began to talk to another member of the public, one worried about what could be going on in the centre there.

"Kazu, are you sure it would be productive or just to barge a police officer out of the way?"

"I know what you mean buddy, but my friends are in there. And if they're fighting each other, I want to find out why," he noted, looking down the park path and noticing an eerie silence that had befallen. "Plus, why the hell didn't they try to contact me?" he grumbled, beginning to wander along the line of the police tape. "They have my email address, even if my computer at home isn't all that portable."

"Then maybe it is something simple that has just been blown a tad out of proportion?"

Kazu frowned, pausing and turning to look down the next of the park paths, yet another police officer guarding it. "I don't know about Guardromon, but that looks pretty major to me."

"It did seem rather important on the television."

"Then we have to break into this place," Kazu decided, looking along the cord before he frowned, seeing the number of policemen and the number of onlookers and frowning. "Not that it's going to be easy. Hey, that gives me an idea, I'll just call Yamaki, or Rayleigh, or whoever runs Hypnos now!" he exclaimed, before barging back through the crowd, now in search of a payphone.

He had to get in there. Whatever it took.

* * *

**9****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Streets of Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**11:00 JST**_

"BINGO!" Rapidmon cheered, appearing by his partner's side as the explosions ceased. "They ran like scared kids."

"You sound remarkably pleased for someone who was meant to be doing this simply to fight back," Verdamon noted, arms crossed and an eyebrow risen at her fellow Digimon.

"Fight back, have fun, all the same."

"Ugh," Verdamon complained, rolling her eyes and crossing her eyes while muttering about her companion's tactlessness. The pair quickly shrunk back to their rookie forms, landing near their partners. Terriermon leapt onto Henry's shoulder.

"We won!" he cheered, waving his ears cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah," Henry mumbled, fixated on the sight of Rey agitatedly bending over Naoko and trying to bring her back to consciousness, with no luck.

"Harmony…Naoko…please," she cried, frowning as she cradled the girl's head slightly in her arms. Realmon wandered over to her mother, albeit, a previous incarnation of her mother, sadly looking over the unconscious form.

"Renamon?" she mumbled, brushing her tails across the Kitsune's face. At least she was still intact, a good sign that she wasn't about to die today.

Rey's hand rushed once again to check Naoko's pulse, the girl becoming paranoid that she would just pass away without her noticing. There was little change in its rate, something that implied it wasn't about to deteriorate.

The only question was, what were they to do now?

Henry sighed, looking upwards to the sky above, mostly clear and hence particularly antipathetic to how he felt inside. Everything seemed so calm, eerily calm, in fact. There was usually an American plane, even just a scout, to be seen, but right now he took a while to see even one.

And it wasn't just one. It was two, flying in formation.

"Shit."

Rey looked up promptly, worried about Henry's sudden curse and accelerated agitation. He began to wander about, his mind quickly piecing together what was going on.

"There are two planes up there!" he exclaimed finally, pointing to the sky.

"Yeah, and…err…is that bad?" Rey asked, not aware of its significance. Surely two planes was better than a dozen, it certainly lessened their chances of being hit by bombs. Hopefully.

"No, that isn't bad, not at all. It's catastrophic!" Terriermon exclaimed. "I've read enough of Wikipedia to know that…"

"There were two planes…Enola Gay and something else, and I'm willing to bet…" Henry continued.

"You think those are the two bombers?" Realmon asked, all eyes now on the sky above as Rey stood to her feet for a better view.

"They sure look like bombers to me."

"We're dead, aren't we?" Terriermon asked, sighing and frowning.

"Yeah," Henry sighed, frowning and sighing. As impressive and unexpected as it was to die in 1945 in Nagasaki in a nuclear attack, and as nice an anecdote as it would make in whatever came after the fleeting life he had had, he had been rather holding out for a last minute escape.

"Ugh, stupid bloody time machine, stupid bloody soldiers, stupid bloody world!!" Rey cursed, wandering over and kicking in a fence with a quick flash of gold around her foot. It cascaded downwards, collapsing all over.

"Wow, I'm not getting on your bad side anymore," Terriermon quipped.

"Maybe we can still find power?"

"How, and before you suggest it, I can't use the nuke because it'll destroy this thing too quickly," Rey explained, removing it from her back pocket and sighing at the lack of power.

"Oh come on, we must have something!" Henry insisted, frantically looking around and racking his brain. Rey frowned, shaking her head. "We have one minute before it's all over…isn't there anything we can do?!" Henry asked, his voice alarmed and full of panic at the prospect of certain death, and irritated by her pessimism.

"If there is, I certainly haven't thought of anything."

"If you guys have anything planned, you better think quick!" Terriermon exclaimed. "'cause they just dropped the bomb!" he added.

The group held their breath as the plane, promptly approaching their location, let loose the bomb, the small black object quickly beginning to spiral down, the fates of tens of thousands of people already decided.

"This city is going to hell, and there is nothing we can do!" asserted Henry, clenching his fists angrily as he began to accept his fate, the fists unclenching as all his hope fell away.

"I failed," Rey resigned as she looked at the sky sadly. It was over.

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Wimbledon Common, London**_

_**13:29 JST**_

"God it's quiet."

"Yeah. It's very peaceful."

"Except the cars in the distance."

"Pessimist."

Ryder playfully stuck his tongue out, Ivy responding in kind before both smiled. Ryder began looking about, before putting his hand that wasn't holding Ivy's on his chin. "You know, this place would make a perfect battleground."

"Oh, you just had to go and say that."

"It's true though. Look, fighting here, no-one gets hurt, and the worst damage you can do is digging a trench through the soil."

"So what you're saying is that we should tell all the Digimon to come up here when they bioemerge?"

"Uh…never mind then."

Ivy laughed; rolling her eyes as the four lazily strolled through the park, the sun continuing to beam down on a nice, relaxing, calm day. Here, MiniDonmon and Lunamon could go pretty much completely unnoticed, and their Tamers could get some fresh air rather than being cooped up all day long. As usual, Lunamon sat on Ivy's head, and MiniDonmon on Ryder's, the mundanity of the situation particularly occurring to Ryder.

"_Mundane as it is, I still love things how they are," _he thought, smiling as he looked across to Ivy, both still cheerful and enjoying their random banter as they wandered up to a tree on the top of a slight hill, hand in hand. Still…something seemed odd, something seemed really odd, and try as he might he couldn't for the life of him even begin to work out what it was.

Once again, he dismissed it: why ruin perfection with negative thoughts?

The day certainly did seem perfect, the gentle breeze rolling up the hill and ruffling Ivy's hair and dress, leading to her having to correct it every so often at the risk of blindness or embarrassment.

"Well, that's a first."

"What is?"

"You stayed silent for more than a minute."

"Yeah, well, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About how perfect everything is."

"I thought I said no to the sappiness."

"No, I mean it. Look, it's like a photograph, tree at the top of the hill, a gentle breeze, a couple hand in hand…"

"And two strange monsters."

"Okay, _except_ for that."

"Hey, I'm not strange!" MiniDonmon complained, pouting and crossing his arms as his cheeks looked fit to explode from annoyance.

Ivy rolled her eyes, the pair coming to a stop and falling down on the grass, their partners leaping aside nearby. "Say what you will, but Lunamon would be far more presentable in a pet store," she noted, leaning on her right hand and tilting sideways when seated, lying across the grass slightly.

"Thanks," Lunamon chirped.

"Hey! Hey! Uh…Ryder, defend me here," MiniDonmon pleaded, Ryder glancing back and forth between Ivy and MiniDonmon as the former squeezed his hand, a signal she wanted him to agree. He pulled up his legs slightly, and put his hand on his chin before using both hands to balance himself.

"Uh…well…Lunamon looks more presentable now…but…Donmon, in his rookie form I mean, would be a far cooler pet."

"Woo!" MiniDonmon cheered.

Meanwhile, Lunamon huffed, Ivy mimicking her partner's expression with light pouting. "Oh? Why?" she asked, staring into his eyes.

"Well, imagine a little kid seeing the pair of you. I'm sorry Lunamon, but as soon as he sees the dragon, he's going to forget you and go for the cooler one."

"Unless he shows his teeth," Lunamon added. "Or bad breath," she mumbled.

"Hey, I heard that!" MiniDonmon complained.

"Sorry buddy, but I'm not brushing your teeth to freshen it," Ryder quipped.

Ivy giggled in amusement at the minor argument that had broken out, before stepping in to put a stop to it before Ryder, Lunamon and MiniDonmon could become too competitive. "Okay, come on you three, no fighting."

"Fine," Ryder replied, crossing his arms and exaggerating his movements. "They started it."

"You are just too weird at times," Ivy noted, wondering why on earth she loved this kid but inwardly knowing why, or rather, being in the situation where she knew that she didn't know why.

"Yep. Don't ya just love it?"

"Yeah…speaking of weird…I've been wondering, what exactly happened in your dream?"

"Well…there's a lot to explain…I ended up in a fictional universe, based about the TV show, and I met Mari there."

"Oh…"

"Well, it was only a dream, but…she was American and…she had lost her family three years ago thanks to a Digimon attack, and then I met her in New York. And we moved back to Japan, and she got a partner, and…"

"Wow, how _long_ was this dream?!"

"Well, I do see your point; it was a bit of a long one."

"So what's Mari like then?"

"She's…uh…nice. She's definitely been affected by the loss though."

"Aw, that's so sad," Ivy said, frowning and sighing. "So what was it like between you two?"

"Well, I'm sure you're not surprised to find she became my girlfriend, but…when we first met…she really clung to me. I didn't realise straight away that she was my imagined "perfect girlfriend", but then it slowly dawned on me."

"Yeah…Ryder, I can't help but notice that your perfect girlfriend _isn't_ me."

Ryder chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head like a certain Gogglehead he now knew personally, albeit right now he didn't remember that. "Oh, you noticed that…well…you are my…dream girl…but…well…uh…"

Ivy looked over at him questioningly, raising an eyebrow and staring down into his eyes with a stern expression. "Yes?"

"…I came up with her before we became a couple, so…we did talk about her a bit before we became boyfriend and girlfriend, don't you remember?"

"Oh, right, yeah. So…what is she like then?"

"I said, she's nice."

"Yeah, but so am I. What is she really like?"

"She…is determined, and strong willed, and…" he began, before noticing Ivy's harsh stare.

"Uh-huh…"

"…and jealous, and easily angered at times," Ryder continued, jumping to the bad sides of Mari's personality.

"So she's not entirely perfect then?" Ivy asked, trying to mask her dark happiness about learning the fact.

"Well…now that you mention it…"

"So, how does she compare to me then…in looks?" Ivy asked, fluttering her eyebrows in an attempt to make herself look prettier, and not realising how difficult she was making things for him.

"Well…" he asked, casting a cautious glance over his girlfriend and not knowing how on earth to reply to this problem. "She's got light-ish brown hair, and it runs down behind her shoulders, so I suppose that's a bit like yours. Uh…but it's not so nice and beautiful as yours though?" he asked, hoping he was saying the right words.

"Heh…thanks, but enough with the token compliments. What does she really look like?"

"Well…she's slightly shorter than me, and I suppose taller than you but…"

"Is she bigger or smaller than me?"

Ryder's eyes widened, as he wondered how to answer this question. He then cursed himself for not answering immediately, a strategy that would probably get him off without any problem. "Uh…" he mumbled.

"What, so I'm fatter than her?" she said, glaring him in the eyes in irritation. MiniDonmon and Lunamon watched nervously, this conversation was taking a worrying turn.

"Yes, I mean no…I mean…well…you are…"

Ivy knew that this was the best kind of answer she was going to get out of him, and quickly moved onto her other wonderings. "Is she prettier than me?"

"Yes…no, wait, I mean…no, of course not!"

"And what about her breasts?" she asked, gesturing downwards.

"_Ugh, I swear I've had this conversation before."_ "Uh…hers are smaller…"

"Yeah, sure they are," she replied, rolling her eyes in disbelief.

"No, I mean it…yours are…bigger…" he continued, straining himself to say the words as he knew that every word was just another letter on his headstone.

"So, you've been paying close attention?"

"No, I mean, yes, I mean…I'm not a pervert!"

Ryder had by now tensed up, worried desperately about the run of events, while Ivy glared at him.

"Please…please…I really like you, and I don't mean to...uh…"

Ivy finally let up on her stern expression, breaking into a reassuring smile that threw the boy completely for a loop. She giggled, rolling her eyes. "You're so easy to get like this," she laughed.

"Uh…what?" Ryder replied, feeling the sweat on his brow. _"Has…has this been a game…but…didn't she really want to know that?"_

Ivy smiled normally again, partly amused by throwing Ryder for a loop and partly thankful about learning a few things about his mysterious "perfect girlfriend" Mari. Oddly, she felt reassured, but wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because of Ryder's desperation to avoid losing her; maybe that was giving her reassurance?

"Come here," she said, before pulling him forward into a kiss, one he, stunned, took a while to accept.

"_What on earth is going on?!"_

She smiled in amusement during the kiss, before eventually pulling away and noticing MiniDonmon fake-gagging and Lunamon scolding him. "Uh…thanks…" Ryder mumbled unsurely.

"Any time. Listen, I know that these questions are worrying you, but you have nothing to be worried about."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm not going to blow a fuse, trust me. I know you want to be with me, of course I do, so just relax, okay?" she said, gripping his hand reassuringly and smiling.

"Okay," he replied, swallowing and nodding unsurely. This was certainly confusing him.

"I love you, you know, in case you hadn't noticed?" she said whilst smiling at him and clenching his hand again.

"Heh…I love you too," he replied, albeit still a fair bit confused by the sudden turn in events. She rolled her eyes, before pulling him close for a kiss again, the pair pressing their lips against each other. Ryder was unable to get his mind off the feeling that something was odd about all this, but he just shrugged, putting his arms around her and shrugging before finally pulling away, a grin on her face and a smile on his.

"It's like a boring romantic novel out here," MiniDonmon said, gagging once again before Lunamon slapped him around the head with an ear. "Hey!" he complained, turning round to face her, but she simply smiled innocently and pretended she hadn't done anyone.

"O…kay," Ryder mumbled, wondering when on earth MiniDonmon had read any romantic fiction to start with. Then again, boredom and a whole library of books at the school, or his fanfiction websites while he did his homework - either way, it wasn't a farfetched idea. His mind continued to wander on this tangent before, Ivy caught his attention again.

"Now, maybe let's talk about something a bit less controversial: Fashion-sense," she suggested, gently ripping up bits of grass with her other hand whilst smiling.

"Huh?"

"I mean, what sort of clothes does she wear?" she asked, gesturing down at her dress.

"Oh, well…hmm…she tends to change her outfit pretty regularly, but I guess…well…midriff showing tops and jeans and trainers…what do you call them?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. You don't know the first thing about fashion," she said, smiling and glancing over what he was wearing.

He nodded in agreement, looking down at his green shirt with the slogan "Life's easier when you just don't think", green khaki pants and black trainers. Oddly, as he looked over his clothes, something felt missing. Something familiar, something slightly off. His hand grasped for his neck, but he shrugged when he found nothing. Evidently, he was just going insane, and probably not for the first time.

"Point taken."

"Still, she does sound a bit different in fashion to me then. Are you making a hint?"

"Again, no, I just…happen to have dreamed her that way."

Ivy rolled her eyes, sighing as she turned away to look out on the common and Ryder following her gaze. "I don't know Ryder, you just seem to have the weirdest way of doing things," she commented, the pair looking out on the distant city of London, houses and homes stretching away from them to a distant centre. "Meh, knowing you…" she continued, turning her head to him and grinning as she caught his gaze. "You'll pull a Takato and meet her for real one day."

Those words, however, struck a particular cord with Ryder, his mind tacking onto them and his body freezing up. He gazed off into middle distance, looking through her as he felt a strange sense of familiarity about the idea. She, on the other hand, was completely bewildered by why on earth he was staring at her with glazed eyes.

What was it? What was so important about that idea, the idea of meeting Mari for real? Why, when it seemed like a ridiculous suggestion, did he get the distinct feeling he had already done it?

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, concerned by his prolonged silence and paralysis.

He snapped from his thoughts, his eyes focusing in on hers. "I…never mind."

"Hmm… we _are_ meant to tell each other everything, you know," she said, dropping the reminder but really intending for him to tell her the truth. What had been up with him today?

Ryder felt her clutch his hand more tightly. "Well…maybe it's that dream…but…I get the feeling I _have_ met Mari."

She raised an eyebrow, looking at him as if he had just said he were secretly King of Sweden. "What?"

He quickly dropped the point, deciding it would be far too hard to explain. "Ugh, never mind."

"You know, I do wonder sometimes what goes on in that head of yours."

"What do you mean?"

"You just seem to speak a completely different language to everyone else, if you get what I mean."

"I suppose. Sort of. Maybe. Uh…no, not at all."

"Never mind. Listen, I was wondering if we could go see a film on Friday, or whatever. It's the last day before half term break, after all, and I think that we should…we should…um…what are you doing?"

Ryder looked suddenly in pain, closing his eyes and breathing deeply through his nostrils as his head sagged.

"Ryder? Are you okay?" she asked, pushing herself across to look over him.

"No idea," he mumbled. "But I feel so…so…so…"

"Ill? Hot? Cold? In pain? What?!" she panicked, worried by Ryder's seemingly immediate change in condition. What on earth was going on?

"Tired," he mumbled, before suddenly falling forward onto her.

"Waa!" she cried, surprised by his sudden move as she quickly grabbed him. "Ryder, what the hell?!" she exclaimed, before looking at his eyes. "Ryder? Are you…asleep?"

The only reply she received was a snore.

She pouted, grumbling as she promptly lay his head down on the grass with a huff. "I just don't know what is up with you today," she complained, rolling her eyes as MiniDonmon curiously eyed his partner. What on earth was going on?

* * *

**9****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Streets of Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**11:03 JST**_

"Well, it's been good guys, it really has," Rey said, smiling grimly as she looked about at her comrades, all with dour looks on their faces but all nodding in agreement. "And I have to thank you all for welcoming me even when I wouldn't tell you the truth all the time."

"Yeah, and…well, I'm glad you guys put up with me all the time. If heaven isn't all it's cracked to be and we get a chance to live all this again, I promise to make less annoying jokes."

Realmon's eyes widened at that part, before she spoke her own closing words. "Well, I have to thank you all for protecting Rey throughout her life, even if you never are going to have the chance to now. I am eternally grateful."

Henry finished up with his sentiment. "Yeah, and I'm glad I met you Rey, because even though you managed to confuse us so many times, you are still a great friend, and I'm sure your parents are proud to have you as a daughter and an Angel."

"Yeah…" Rey mumbled, nodding in agreement before frowning and looking up at the bomb, swooping down to them from heaven and…

She froze up, her eyes widening before she looked across to Henry, a rabbit caught in the headlights.

"That's it!" she cheered, grabbing her time device and frantically pulling off the back, pushing it down into her pocket. The back revealed, she moved onto the next part of her plan, rushing over to Naoko and Renamon. "Grab Renamon's hand!" she ordered to Henry, the boy hesitating before realising he didn't have the time to ask questions.

Rey grabbed Naoko's hand and Henry Renamon's, ignoring their previous conversation and just going with what felt right in her heart. Realmon leapt onto her partner's shoulder, mirroring Terriermon's position on his partner.

"What's…" she began, before being quickly interrupted. Time could not be wasted.

"No time to explain!" she exclaimed, turning to Henry. "Grab onto me!" she exclaimed, moving past him so he could grab her arm that was grabbing onto Naoko.

"But what?!" he asked, their eyes catching as Rey grinned, taking one last glance up at the bomb, only a matter of seconds away from hitting the earth.

"Henry, you're the Third Angel!"

"What?!"

**BOOM!**

That boom, however, was not the bomb, at least, not at first. The power suddenly unleashed from Henry was immense, a roaring wind and a bright light blinding all as a white sphere rapidly expanded from his body. The Time Device burst into life, absorbing the energy before Rey slammed her hand into the device.

The white energy collided with the bomb.

And, less than a second later, a large explosion ripped through the city, erasing it from the face of the Earth…

**BOOM!**

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**13:15 JST**_

Mari gulped worriedly, fearfully feeling the barrel digging into her back. She looked across and behind to Ryder's corpse, lying frail near his crutches. Her gun was discarded not far away, so it wasn't about to help her now.

She frowned, looking back to the body. She had not only failed in getting any kind of revenge, but she was stuck in a position with a girl who wouldn't hesitate to kill her for foiling her plans. She didn't even seem to be using DarkBiyomon right now, who hadn't followed her to her new position, which made her wonder if the bird could be her trump card.

"Good, looks like you all hear me loud and clear. Now, dedigivolve. NOW!" she spat, glaring across to Doumon and Sakuyamon. They nervously complied, Rika and Renamon dropping out of their biomerge and landing near Takato with aching limbs and bodies. DarkRenamon fell down upon dedigivolving, landing on her knees and panting in exhaustion before glaring over at Chiyo, still threatening her Tamer. She had to help Mari, but how?

Looking about, she saw DarkBiyomon, standing and watching events with a worried expression, and began to formulate a plan. She frowned, but knew what had to be done.

"Rika, are you okay?" Takato asked, worriedly looking over Rika's body and dearly hoping she hadn't been hurt or damaged by anything he had done. He knew he couldn't live with himself if that were the case.

"I'm fine…I think…" Rika replied, feeling herself, and, in particular, the bump on her belly, over for any problems. "Only aches a bit."

Takato breathed a sigh of relief, pulling Rika into a thankful embrace that she quickly tired of. All this loving and caring business was nice in a way, but not right now. They had far too important things.

"Hello?! One with the gun here," Chiyo called, getting back their attention. She smiled darkly. "Good. Then we'll begin. Say your prayers Mari," she spat, before grinning again. "Not that the Gods will be alive for much longer," she taunted, looking across to Takato and Rika.

"Wait!" Kari cried.

"God, lightie, you better have a convincing explanation else you become the next on my list, got that?" Chiyo spat, glaring across to the holder of the Crest of Light.

"We can talk about things."

"I'm sick of talking. You guys wouldn't listen to any other viewpoints anyway."

"What do you mean?" Davis asked, confused.

"You pretend you're all so altruistic and honourable, but you're just as bad as the rest. Now, die like all those you've killed."

"Chiyo, stop," commanded a voice, DarkRenamon rushing forth and stopping opposite her, DarkBiyomon firmly gripped in her arms. "Or I'll kill her."

"Hmph."

DarkRenamon, unrelenting in her glare, locked eyes with Chiyo as each challenged each other over how many guts they really had. DarkBiyomon squirmed in DarkRenamon's arms, fighting for freedom but getting nowhere thanks to the arms locked around her neck and stomach.

"You must be joking," Chiyo finally said, laughing.

"I'm serious."

"Of course you are. Of course you're going to sink to my level by killing someone."

"If that is what it takes to save Mari, I would."

"Pah. You don't have the guts."

"I would!"

"Then do it!"

DarkRenamon glared onwards, her slight tremble in her limbs telling Chiyo all she needed to know as her stare began to falter.

"Just as I thought. You're all the same, full of empty, pathetic threats, unlike me of course," she said, looking down to her hostage with an amused expression. "With me, you can guarantee I will carry them out. Doesn't that give you peace of mind, eh Mari?" she asked, a mocking cheerful tone.

"Please…don't…I'll do anything…I'll call off my partner."

"No need…she won't do anything anyway."

"_Chiyo…please…help me…" _DarkBiyomon pleaded, unable to speak thanks to her constricted throat.

"Now, let's end this," Chiyo decided, reaching for the trigger.

"Chiyo, you can still stop this!" Mari pleaded, her voice frantic and dry. These could be her last moments, and she could think of about a thousand ways she would've preferred them.

"Of course I can, but I don't want to, duh. Moron."

"Your plan is over though! If you kill me…you'll never escape…they'll arrest you…"

Chiyo hesitated, deciding to use this chance to make her point once and for all. "Pah, forget it. I know someone who can get me out of this with ease, and, besides, casualties are all a big part of your work, aren't they Jeri?" she said coldly, looking across with a sadistic smile to the girl who once lost her partner. Jeri stumbled back, hurt look on her face.

"Hey, that's a cheap shot!" Rika yelled angrily, clutching her fists.

"Rika, there are no cheap shots. So long as it hits its target, it's still a good shot to me, as I have demonstrated to you plenty of times today."

"Chiyo…please…you can resist the Demon side of you! Please!"

"The Demon side of me? Pah."

"Chiyo, it's all over, face it," Tai insisted, taking a step forward into the fray of the conversation.

"Yeah, why not quit now?" Takeru added, dearly hoping he was helping his friend's case.

"Yes, it is all over…for your pathetic ways, that is," Chiyo said, setting up their hopes and then smashing through them once again. "Now shut the hell up so I can finally put an end to this!" she insisted, jabbing the gun further in and feeling her target tremble in terror.

"How?!" Mari asked, summoning up the determination to keep talking when she really wanted to scream bloody murder.

"Duh, with the gun, that's how."

"No, I mean…how could you go from being nice to being horrible?"

"Pah, I was nice? Even when I was pretending to be your friend, I don't ever remember being nice."

"But you were! Sure, you could be a bit rough around the edges and mean at times, but I could tell…I could see you Chiyo, the _real_ Chiyo, not this Demon controlled monster!"

Chiyo growled angrily, a visceral, bitter growl that made Mari shudder in fear. "I _AM_ THE REAL CHIYO!" she spat, deafening Mari as she shouted in her ear.

Mari wanted to collapse in fear into a ball, feeling a cold sweat wipe across her. "You can resist it Chiyo! Please!"

"Listen you…bitch, I _am_ Chiyo, I _am _a Demon, and I'm not some stupid schizophrenic like your friends over there," she growled, gesturing across to the current incarnations of Chaos and Harmony across the plaza, both quickly irritated.

"**Hey, I'm not stupid!"**

"**Yes you are."**

"So before you expect me to turn around, be nice and all hugs and kisses and "are you okay" and all that crap, remember that I am a Demon, I will _always_ be a Demon, and that you haven't got a hope in hell of subduing the forces you are dealing with!" she proclaimed, standing to her feet and moving the gun up to the back of Mari's head, deciding on a far more painful death for the girl.

"Please…"

"NO! Now say goodbye!"

Mari clenched her eyes shut and pressed her hands into her face, fearfully anticipating the end, the feeling of a bullet cruising through her skull and quickly ending her life, and knowing that her friends would be along soon. It was over.

**BANG!**

Mari leant forward, expecting the sound to be the bullet hitting her, but noticing it sounded strangely remote. She heard a cry of pain from behind, before a body thumped to the ground. She gradually removed her hands, feeling a sense of confusion and worry as she turned her head around, finding Chiyo, lying on the ground with a quickly bloodying wound on her chest.

And to the side, Ryder, standing upright on unscratched, trembling legs, Mari's gun dropping from his shaking hand as he stared across in horror.

What had he done?

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Whoa, a high action finale here. The aftermath, of course, comes next, but hasn't it been a rollercoaster ride, huh? Brownie points for whoever can figure out how Rey's plan works.

Until next time…

B.C.


	61. The Trick To Aftermath

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. First of all, I have to give a warning: DO NOT use the way I've illustrated CPR in this chapter. Always follow an official guide, and not a work of fiction.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 55**

_The Trick to Aftermath_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**13:22 JST**_

For the third time that day, blood had been spilled by bullets, and someone was going to pay the price.

A girl lay on the ground, dying, blood pouring from a wound on her chest.

A boy stood, shaking as the gun clattered away to the ground below, the reality of what he had just done hitting him like a ton of bricks.

His girlfriend was the opposite, frozen as reality refused to reach her mind. He was alive again, and the deep breathing of the Demon as she tried to stay alive spat at her from the ground nearby.

A tense, horrified breath was held, silence befalling the area and letting only the distant traffic and wind noise break it.

DarkBiyomon was the first to act, widened eyes replaced with a determination to save her wounded Tamer. She leapt free of a stunned DarkRenamon's grasp and barrelled across the damaged plaza, avoiding cracks in the slabs and skidding to a stop once she reached her Tamer. Chiyo lay on the ground, a trail of blood spilling from a hole in her blood red top and beginning to drain across the ground, seeping into the cracks.

"Chiyo!" DarkBiyomon cried, tears beginning to well in her eyes. Chiyo groaned, opening her eyes and looking across to her partner.

"DarkBiyomon…" she mumbled, the Digimon's worry exacerbated by the pain in the girl's voice. Chiyo saw patches of darkness in her eyes, her eyesight letting up as she painfully moved her hand to the centre of the pain, her chest. _"What happened?" _she thought, the last few moments a blur for her.

Her hand suddenly felt wet, as she placed it on a hole just below her right breast. "What?" she asked, raising her hand in front of her to see the blood on it. "No!" she panicked, gritting her teeth. "This can't!" she insisted, growling as she went to push herself up but promptly fell back to the ground, in even more pain as her flesh pressed into the bullet in her chest. She screamed in pain again, shadows towering over her as she stared up at the sky.

"Chiyo!" cried a voice. "Hang on!"

"Ugh…light…ie…" Chiyo mumbled, distantly recognising the voice and hating herself for her word slur. She had to survive this, what had happened to her so badly?

Her mind flashed back to the sound of a gunshot, ringing through her as something hit her from off to one side. Had she been shot? And who on earth by?

"Who…who…ugh…shot…me?" she slurred, trying to grit her teeth as she felt someone try to inspect the wound. There was a pause in movement, the shadows turning across the plaza.

Chiyo clenched her fists and tried to steady her mind - whoever it was lurked just out of her sight. She had to see, and as she bent her head over backwards, looking back across, she saw the culprit, a blur quickly materialising into a familiar shape, and an impossible one.

"No," she growled, seeing Ryder, still frozen as a speechless Mari tried to both bring him back to consciousness and deal with the fact that somehow he now was healed.

* * *

It was unbelievable for her, and should've been a miracle, but right now…right now she wasn't too sure. Scattered alongside the gun below were bullets, but the rifling marks on them would easily tell that it was not of the same gun. The blood, his blood, splayed over them was another clue, but something about them just didn't add up.

If that was his blood, what happened to his wounds?

Sure enough, all of his wounds had healed up, and he was standing up again with neither crutches nor pain. What was going on? When he had last died, he hadn't healed, at least not fully, and further injuries had probably made things worse.

"You're…alive!" she finally mumbled, but he barely noticed. He was transfixed by a cold glare, the cold glare of a girl judging him from where she lay on her deathbed, her silvery gray eyes weakening by the second.

What had he done? Even if it were to save Mari, he had killed someone. Again.

But this time it was worse. It was someone who was a friend, even if she turned against them.

The worst thing was knowing this wasn't what he had intended to do. He had not only killed someone, but he had done it by accident, only having intended to hit her in the legs or the arm and stop her that way.

He wanted to cry, to apologise, for everything to be reset so he could fix things. But it was too late, things were beyond a retcon. She was dying, and it was his fault.

"_But I have to try to help," _he concluded, clutching a fist in determination. He clutched his eyes closed, racking his brain for something they could do. He hated the sight of blood, and he knew that he was as likely to reel over and puke his guts out at the sight of the dying girl as he was to actually manage to heal her, but he had to try something, even if it were just an act of desperation.

He took a step forward, knowing he had hating eyes focused on him, and from more than one party as well. This wasn't going to be one of his best moments.

* * *

DarkBiyomon stared into her partner's eyes as the humans and Digimon around her continued to pause, both out of continued shock at what was going on and from nausea at the sight. Chiyo looked pale, an arm reaching out for her partner but falling short as the bird looked on, devastated.

"Right, we have to save her!" insisted a new voice, a shadow settling over Chiyo, one she instantly felt scorn at.

"_Ryder…you of all people…"_

"Yeah, but how?" Davis asked, looking back to the girl worriedly from where he bent down around her with the others.

"She's losing blood rapidly," Sora noted, fighting the urge to quiver back at the sight. The trickle of blood coming out was seeping into the pavement cracks, and it was clear that things were pretty desperate.

"I can't let her die!" he insisted, Mari looking at him with even more surprise with the rest as he gritted his teeth. He had killed before, left someone to die, and he wasn't about to let it happen again. "Rika, call an ambulance!" he ordered, looking across to the girl he knew was always carrying her mobile, no doubt thanks to her mother. She nodded, pulling it out and beginning to dial for emergency services before wandering away to make the call. "Chaos, get that bullet out!" he ordered, looking across to Takato who nodded in agreement. He knew that Chaos could do it, and the bandage once around a wound on his arm was testament to that.

"**Right," **the deity replied, moving over and ripping Chiyo's top open more, providing a lot more moving space for operating on her. He bit into his lip, moving his hand down to the wound. **"Hold steady," **he ordered, pushing his finger down until he felt the metal bullet. He frowned, hesitating. **"Ryder…"**

Ryder seemed distracted now by talking to her, looking down into her eyes and dearly hoping she would stay alive. He couldn't let her die. He just couldn't! This was an accident, he never meant to…

"**Ryder!" **Chaos blurted more sternly, Ryder's head darting across.

"What?"

"**I…I don't think I can."**

"You have to!" Tai insisted, amazed by how Chaos could hesitate at an important time like this.

"Please!" Yolei echoed, fear in her eyes at the prospect of losing a friend, even one who had turned against them.

"**It's not that! It's too deep!"**

"What?!" Sora exclaimed, having seen enough of medical shows to get a basic knowledge of what he was talking about. "Even if it is, it's our only hope."

"**No…it's so close to her heart…I'm worried that if I destroy it, she's just going to bleed to death even faster. Right now, I'm getting the feeling that bullet is the only thing preventing her from dying and stemming the flow****, and even trying to mess around with it would kill her."**

"But…but…we have to…you did it to me!" Ryder spluttered, a sense of anger accumulating in his voice at the boy which he promptly cursed himself for. Chaos had to have become experienced with these sorts of things - he'd had long enough to be so.

"**Hey, don't shout! I'm doing the best I bloody can!"**

"But…"

"**It would've helped if you didn't flipping shoot her in the first bloody place."**

"I meant to shoot her…"

"**In the legs, of course I know. By now, you think I'd have guessed that, huh? I have seen plenty of people shoot guns, and I just have to ask: Where the hell did you learn to aim a gun?"**

"I…"

"**Pathetic. So before you criticise me for even attempting to help her, why don't you remember that this is your entire bloody fault in the first place!"**

Ryder shrunk back, freezing up at Chaos' harsh words as they shook him to his very core. He stumbled backwards, Mari worriedly looking up into his eyes.

"**Unless you're about to lend your fantastic immortal powers, stay the hell out of the way!"**

"_Chaos, that's a bit harsh."_

"_**I don't care. You'd all raise hell if I killed anyone, so I'm certainly not letting anyone else get away without for the same crime. "**_

"Ugh, the _one_ time we need Joe or Kenta!" Takeru complained, biting his teeth about the misfortune of the current turn of events as he punched the floor. There was a girl dying here and they didn't have a way to even begin saving her. The harsh glares by DarkBiyomon, Chaos and even Chiyo herself at Ryder weren't helping.

"I just thought there'd be a way," he mumbled, looking worriedly down at the ground.

"So…cold…" Chiyo mumbled, her hand loosely clenching and unclenching by her side.

"Just hold on, please," Jeri pleaded, kneeling down by her head now opposite DarkBiyomon. "We're doing all we can."

"We have to stem the bleeding at least," Ken insisted, recalling all he knew about medical care, and first aid.

"The ambulance will be here soon," Rika told them, returning to the group and putting her phone away.

"Chiyo, did you hear that? Everything is going to be okay," Jeri said into the girl's ear, before looking about to Rika with a questioning expression.

Rika frowned, shaking her head. Even she, with her limited medical knowledge, could tell that the ambulance was going to be too late to help. Whatever they did, they had to do now.

* * *

"Sir, Chiyo has been shot and is rather promptly bleeding to death."

"**Excellent. Exactly as I expected. I presume the Mari girl pulled the trigger?"**

"Negative, it was, in fact, Ryder."

"**Didn't you just report his death?"**

"True, but he has inexplicably returned to life. He also seems fully healed."

"…"

"Sir?"

"…**hmm…"**

"Sir, what is causing you to pause?"

"**Falcomon, this just makes things very interesting."**

"Yes, the ability to avoid death is not one any human has possessed before, at least that was the indication you gave me."

"**Which all means I will need to develop other plans for dealing with the First. A shame, no doubt, it'd be far easier to dispatch him if he were mortal, but, nonetheless, I have the makings of an idea."**

"Which is?"

"**Something torturous for our friend, and one I will discuss with you later, Falcomon. Right now, continue monitoring them, and do not become involved. Inevitably, I will be forced to visit this scene soon enough, so stay out of sight."**

"Of course sir, that course of action was already apparent."

"**I needn't doubt your intelligence Falcomon. I will contact you again when the time occurs. Over and out."**

* * *

**9****TH**** AUGUST 1945**

* * *

_**Hills outside Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture**_

_**11:03 JST**_

The air burst with light, six figures falling from the air and crashing to the grass atop the hill. Groans and moans of pain were heard as they recovered from the sheer shock of travelling in space, let alone time.

"Ugh…I really don't want to do that again," Henry groaned, dizzily pushing himself up and looking about. The scenery was beautiful, traditional, and simple. They sat on what appeared to be a large hill, looking out upon the nearby valley and the city of Nagasaki in the distance.

And then, it was gone.

**BOOM!**

Henry, Naoko and Rey sat up with a start, their partners doing likewise as they looked out on the scene, a mushroom cloud rushing up into the air before a vicious shockwave rushed through the air, roaring past their ears. The cloud expanded, damage sweeping through the whole area before stopping, thankfully a few kilometres away from them. The sight horrified all, but one most of all.

"What…what…was that?!" Naoko exclaimed, horrified by the sight she had awoken to. The spiralling column, the shockwave…was it a bomb? Was this…like…Hiroshima?

Rey stood, an almost completely calm pose and expression, as she stared out at the sight. "That is the city of Nagasaki, reduced to nothing by an atomic bomb."

Naoko's eyes widened, the girl and incarnation of Harmony glancing about worriedly, just like her partner. "What?!"

"About eighty thousand people die now, and many more will die from its after effects. Radiation poisoning, cancer; the toll will last until all those who were here have long passed," Henry added.

"But…that is…horrible!" Naoko cried, the concept just shocking her, and her mind too stunned to even consider asking how they knew this yet. "How could anyone do such a thing?"

"**Chaos could," **Harmony swore bitterly. **"This is the worst thing he's ever done."**

Rey frowned, shaking her head. "I'm afraid that you'd have done the same if you could Harmony."

"…**n…No, I wouldn't I…I…"**

"Harmony?" Naoko asked, Harmony genuinely hesitating for the first time, and a new side of her blown open for the girl to see. Harmony wasn't some amazing, benevolent God. She was a God with a personality, bent on revenge against Chaos. Rey frowned, able to tell exactly what the girl was realising.

"All those lives, lost," Renamon noted, staring out upon the city. "Where we lived, those people we would pass on the street, even those who wanted us dead…they are gone."

"But their deaths are not in vain," Henry added, trying to reassure both Renamon and Naoko. Naoko looked to him curiously, a frown on her face as she still failed to come to terms with her revelation about Harmony, a double blow when tied in with the shock of the destruction of her home. "They're never forgotten, you know."

"It's only six days till this war ends," Terriermon explained, leaping onto Henry's shoulder with a frown on his face. "But this and Hiroshima are what a bunch of history guys think made the Japanese surrender…it may have saved many more who would've been killed if the war had been continued."

"We…lose?" Naoko asked, disbelieving.

"For the benefit of the world, and of you too."

"But…how can we…they all…they always said we were unbeatable!"

"Propaganda, I'm afraid," Henry explained.

"Nagasaki comes back though," Rey said, giving some hope to the girl. "It's not over yet, they rebuild, and Japan rebuilds too, a lot better than it was."

"This is only the beginning of this kind of weapon, it's primitive," Realmon added. "The destruction could've been worse."

"But…the beginning? What happens next? And how do you know? How many more people will die?!"

"None, hopefully," Henry replied, taking a captious glance across to Rey and dearly hoping that the years between them wouldn't bring another nuclear attack on a far grander scale. "And, we know because…because…"

"We are from the future," Rey explained, frowning. "We work for SLEGNA there, and we got lost."

"Are there a lot of people like you in the future then?" Renamon asked. "By which I mean, able to travel in time?"

"No, just me," Rey replied, frowning as she held out the device. "It's broken, but I fixed it and got it recharged just in time."

"So…what is the future like?" Naoko asked, a mix of shock and curiosity on her face at the prospect. Could these people really be from the future?

"I'm afraid that's something we can't tell you."

"Oh…okay."

Rey wandered up to Naoko, the latter now hunched over and looking down at the grass below with teary eyes at all that had happened. She threw her arms around her, frowning as the blue-haired girl buried her head in the redhead's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"All those people."

"That's why you have to spread the word, of what happened here. You have to tell people of peace, and make sure this never happens again," Henry explained.

"But…what do I do? I don't have a home anymore," Naoko asked, pulling away from Rey with a frown. "Where do I go? I'm alone."

"You're not," Rey insisted. "You have Renamon here to protect you, and…one second…" she mumbled, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small notepad and pen.

"You really are Takato's daughter," Terriermon quipped quietly.

"Right, find this person. They may be able to help you, but you can't show them Renamon. I know this family will be kind, or, at least, I hope they will be," she explained as she scribbled down something. _"Thank god to Mari for giving me tips on remembering obscure stuff like this," _she thought, handing the note across. Naoko looked at it, nodding before holding onto it tight.

"Thanks, for everything. I'll find SLEGNA, SLEGNA in this time, and I'll join you guys as soon as I can. Now I understand why you could not tell me where it was - you do not know where it is right now."

Rey and Henry frowned, quickly moving past the subject. They couldn't tell her, they couldn't extinguish this last flame of hope. Henry looked away, out upon the mushroom cloud still hanging in the sky in the distance, while Rey looked at her Time Device, sighing.

"I think we're going to have to leave as soon as possible."

"Oh," Naoko replied, her smiling and determined expression faltering into a saddened one.

"Sorry, but…we can't get stuck here," Henry explained, trying to avoid feeling guilty about leaving this girl all alone with only a talking fox for company.

Naoko smiled bravely, nodding at him. "Yeah, I know. You've got a girlfriend to get back to back home, after all."

Henry nodded, a frown on his face at the reminder of what he had to return to. This was going to take a lot of explaining. "Yeah."

"So, I guess this is goodbye," Rey concluded, a frown on her face.

"Guess so," Naoko added with a similar frown. Parting was such sweet sorrow, and this one was even more sorrowful. She had just had a whole different world opened up to her, and now she was about to lose it all. "Listen, I do not want you to feel responsible for this."

"Huh?"

"I know you have to return, and I am saddened by it, but it is for the best."

"**It would be horrible for you to get stuck here in the past."**

"And I also know I have to live on here, since, I am guessing I cannot come with you."

"Not without this thing breaking again, I'm afraid," Rey apologised.

"And it could really mess up history too," agreed Henry.

Rey looked across into Naoko's eyes, before deciding that she would only have one chance to do this. She leaned forward, giving her mother of the past a kiss. Ignoring Naoko's slightly surprised response, she looked into her eyes after quickly moving away. "Good luck," she wished.

"Thanks," Naoko replied, slightly surprised by the sudden show of affection. Why, she hadn't the faintest clue? Unless…

Rey wandered over to Henry, adjusting the co-ordinates as she went. Realmon leapt onto her shoulder and gripped onto Henry', before Rey finished, taking the boy's hand. They turned back to face Naoko.

"**Goodbye."**

"See ya," Terriermon said, waving an ear.

"Goodbye," Realmon echoed, nodding respectfully and receiving a likewise reply from Renamon.

"Good luck," Henry wished, nodding across to Naoko. She deserved a good life, after all she had been through. He only hoped she got it in the end.

"Bye," Rey said, smiling. "Remember to look up that name. Don't tell them about us, just keep it our secret."

"Don't worry, I won't," Naoko replied. "It's the least I could do."

"Thanks."

"Still, there is one thing I am wondering about," Naoko began, her mind puzzled by something popping up in her memory.

"Huh?"

"Before I fainted, you called me Mum," the blue-haired girl asked, looking across to her divine daughter with a curious and wondering expression. "What did you mean?"

Rey opened her mouth.

Henry knew what she was going to say. She would tell everything, she would play with history, innocently, of course, and that was Rey's main fault. She never knew when to stop helping.

A slim smile on his face at how familiar that seemed, his hand slipping around her wrist, and pressed the button on the time device.

With a flash of light, they were gone.

Naoko frowned, feeling the wind ripple across the ground and through her hair. They were gone, and she knew she would never see them again. She sighed, running a hand through her blue locks before remembering the paper in that hand.

Bringing it out in front of her, she unfolded it and looked curiously at the name.

**Kichiro Hata**

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**13:22 JST**_

The sound of further gunshots had led the people, anxiously watching for a glimpse of what was going on beyond the barrier, to pause in silence before breaking out in frenzied talking.

"What was that?"

"What's going on?"

"What are they fighting?"

"I hope all the people are okay."

"Hey, hey, Digimon Tamer coming through…outta my way!"

"Mommy, that kid pushed me!"

"Hey, it was an accident," Kazu insisted, putting up his palms defensively. "Honest!" he added, getting a glare from the little boy's mother as he held tight to her leg. Kazu sighed, wandering away from the situation as best he could. He had been completely unable to contact Rayleigh, and things seemed set to continue getting worse.

"Kazu, you should be far more careful in these situations. Someone could get hurt, you know?" Guardromon warned, descending near his partner.

"Yeah, but someone could get hurt even more if I don't get in there," Kazu insisted, coming to a clearing in the group where a police barrier was erected around a single entrance to the park, evidently for Hypnos' clean up teams, or the Army if things went awry.

A group of policeman stood on guard, making him lose his hope this was a simple way in. For the umpteenth time that hour, he wished Hypnos had given them some kind of identification.

"_Well, nothing to lose I guess," _he thought, wandering around the barrier and up to the guards, Guardromon in tow. He immediately was stopped by one of the policemen, eyeing him with concern.

"I am sorry boy, but this is a restricted area."

"Yeah, I know _that_, but I thought you guys would let me in, being a Tamer and all," he began, trying to stay calm when his mind was telling him to screw the authorities and just barge his way through. All this diplomacy was annoying.

"I am sorry again, but we have specific instructions not to let anyone in."

"Who from?"

"A high level government agency."

"Hypnos?"

"I didn't receive any notification of where the orders came from."

"But why? Why wouldn't they want me in there?"

"I only take orders, I don't get a justification for them."

"_Ugh, another mindless policeman. Come on, have a bit of common sense!"_

"Now, if you'd step aside sir."

"Excuse me sir, but I think you should let the boy through," interrupted a new voice, Kazu looking up in surprise to see a redheaded woman, who promptly searched her handbag for something. She quickly registered in Kazu's mind as one of Hypnos' employees, and one of Yam…Rayleigh's chief programmers, albeit out of uniform and now wearing a rather simple mute dark blue top and red three-quarter length pants. She found the object, holding it out and displaying it to the officer like it were an FBI badge, and to be honest, it wasn't far from the truth. "Riley Ootori, Hypnos."

The policeman nodded, recalling his orders regarding letting Hypnos personnel pass. "Go straight through ma'am."

Riley glanced to Kazu and Guardromon, beckoning them on before she began to walk into the park. They passed a variety of broken paving slabs and damaged trees as they headed towards the centre.

Kazu couldn't help but look at the damage, even when he had seen it many times before. Riley evidently was concerned about it, but acted far more determined about her true goal here.

"I hate when they call me ma'am, makes me feel old," she commented, breaking the metaphorical ice. "I'm only 29."

"Oh, right," was all that Kazu could think of as a reply. Was he meant to compliment her? "So why were you here anyway?"

"First of all, what brings you here?"

"Like you need to ask. Big battle, all on the news, and I don't even get a Digimon signal. I want to know what the hell's going on."

"Hmm…then our reasons are the same."

Kazu nodded, smiling in agreement. "Yeah. Hey, aren't you normally at work?"

"Not today," Riley replied, holding back the fact that she had been let out of work early today, or rather, forced out of work. Rayleigh had told her he was testing a new program, but what it was she hadn't a clue. She had planned to go straight home and see Yamaki, but he hadn't been there. He was probably storming around town, complaining about his new boss, or at least trying to watch what was going on. Whether he could've entered the battlefield was another matter: knowing his and Rayleigh's rivalry (of sorts), the "prodigy" had probably put a footnote on his orders to ensure that he wasn't admitted. _"I'll have to find him later, right now I have more important things to work out. Without Rayleigh monitoring this properly, things could get really bad. Rayleigh would probably be fired, of course, which I'll admit isn't a bad thing in itself, but the damage caused before that could be really bad."_

"So where do you think they…" Kazu began, pausing as the trio of Digimon and humans turned the corner to see a terrible sight.

Cracked paving slabs littered the plaza, trees had been felled all over, and, right in the middle of it all, a great number of Tamers huddled around something. What it was, he wasn't sure, but it seemed rather foreboding.

"Hey, what's going on?" Kazu called, eyes widened as he rushed across, taking a step back when he saw a figure lying on the ground. "Shit," he cursed, seeing blood trickling away from it, before his mind quickly realised who it was. "Chiyo?" he asked, his voice nervous as he joined the group, looking down with horror at the wound on her.

Jeri frowned, nodding as Chiyo tried to work out who this new figure was. It sounded familiar, very familiar.

"Kazu?" she murmured, her reaction to his arrival unclear. Was she irritated, was she thankful? Their gaze met, Kazu desperately trying to interpret what she meant.

"What the hell happened?" Kazu asked, looking about at the others.

"Ryder shot her," DarkBiyomon spat, pointing the finger of blame squarely at the boy who right now seemed out of it, hunched over and staring down at a paving slab that had begun to be flooded with blood. Mari cast him a cautious gaze, before looking across to Kazu and Chiyo anxiously. This couldn't be good.

"What the hell?!" Kazu exclaimed, following her gaze. Red pooling in his eyes, he stormed towards the boy. "Ryder, what the hell did you do?!" he shouted.

"…"

"Ryder, listen to me!" Kazu yelled, grabbing Ryder's shoulders threateningly and shaking him. This was no joke, and he wanted someone to put things straight right now. What the hell had he missed?

Ryder was shaken back to reality rather literally, as he looked down in alarm at the shorter boy now glaring at him as he screwed his face up in anger. "I didn't mean to," he mumbled, feeling like a school kid caught out for hurting one of Kazu's friends. "I meant to hit her in the legs."

Riley eyed the scene nervously, much like the rest of the group. Tai had taken a step forward, preparing to intervene before Kazu did anything too aggressive. There had been enough seeing red so far that day.

"But why?!" Kazu shouted again. "What the hell happened here?" he asked, letting Ryder go and looking about at the group behind.

"Chiyo took control of the girls and made them try to kill their boyfriends," Agumon promptly explained, Kazu turning and looking back.

"What?" Riley and Kazu exclaimed together.

"It's true," Takeru sighed, frowning as he looked down at Chiyo, trying to judge her reaction to her plan being unveiled. "She killed Ryder too, but he came back."

Riley widened her eyes in surprise, having previously doubted that Ryder survived death back in that hospital. The idea was so far-fetched, but here she was, being told he had done it again.

"But…why…why did you do it?!" Kazu asked, rather less surprised about Ryder's immortality than his older companion.

"I'm the Second Demon, idiot," Chiyo finally interjected, all eyes turning to her. Kazu's eyes widened.

"But…no! I know I thought you were a bitch, but…you're better than that, aren't you?"

Chiyo frowned, attempting to shake her head but failing miserably. "I had to kill you all…this pain…this endless pain…even now I can feel it."

"But…I thought you were our friend! I liked you!" Kazu insisted. "Till you screwed me over, that was."

"All just a façade," Chiyo said, her voice monotonous. "I had to end this pain," she insisted, clenching her hand into a fist. It unclenched, a relaxed look crossing her face. "Looks like I get my way."

"Don't talk that way! We can still save you!" Kari insisted, clutching the girl's hand tightly to reassure her. It felt numbed, and distant, causing Chiyo's expression to turn to a thin line.

"Thanks," she said monotonously again, sighing as she looked up to the grey skies above. She knew that things were bleak. Being shot was the kinda thing that didn't end happily.

Was this how it ended? Her enemies desperately trying to save her, even when they brought about her death. Her partner deeply saddened and angered by her murder. And then, there was her, bitterly hating them but…strangely…pleading they would help her. Had she gone soft?

She wanted to grit her teeth in irritation, but…she couldn't. She physically couldn't, and it felt like a sick joke. She felt so weak, and even speaking had been difficult.

But she couldn't rely on them! She had to find her own way back to health. She just had to, right now.

"DarkBiyomon…please…you have to save me."

"How?" the bird exclaimed, confused by how she could help.

"We have to…biomerge…please."

"But…we can't…we've never been able to…we have to try!"

DarkBiyomon closed her eyes, searching for her bond with Chiyo, tracing it back, so far, so deep, but…it felt blocked. No, that was wrong, it wasn't blocked, but it was incomplete.

"Come on," Chiyo hissed, creasing her eyes and desperately trying to do what she thought she needed to do, but nothing happened. She finally breathed out, her head falling back and her face relaxing. "It didn't work," she said, resigning herself to it.

"I'm sorry," DarkBiyomon replied, frowning and looking at the trail of blood continuing to eek from her, only eased up by the bullet blocking its flow. She felt so disappointed, so guilty, so…depressed. Her hand reached out to Chiyo's, gripped back with a frown, shaking her head as best she could.

"I'm sorry too," she replied, her silvery gray eyes meeting with DarkBiyomon's green ones for what she knew could very well be the last time. "I should've listened," she added, hands gripping tightly into each other, not wanting to let go. "You were right," she added, a tear on her eye. "What have I done? And now…now…I'm going to die…" she cried, finally letting loose with the tears.

"Wait," Rika interrupted, gripping a fist in determination as she watched the scene. Most had stayed speechless, either not wanting to interrupt the moment, wondering whether Chiyo was having regrets on her deathbed, or, in Ryder's case, just being completely out of it and stuck in his own thoughts. "I might have a way."

Chiyo, DarkBiyomon, and everyone but Ryder looked over, the girl turned deity with a wondering look on her face. She nodded to herself, looking down to Chiyo as her hands glowed blue.

"Hold still," she ordered, falling to her knees alongside Chiyo and putting her hands on the girl's other arm, that was, the one not tightly gripped onto that of her partner. Chiyo nodded, wanting to wipe away her tears but failing. She felt her breathing continue to get more difficult, but decided not to tell yet.

Rika closed her eyes, her mind focusing on spreading what energy she had into her hands. She felt exhausted: Chiyo had forced her to attack pretty much continuously without much chance to regroup, but she now had to save this girl, this girl who had tried to kill her. But she wouldn't let the girl die, not after what happened before, not after having seen so many deaths already in her relatively short life.

"**And…heal."**

Chiyo burst into screams, Rika's eyes shooting straight open and her hands returning to their normal pink and jerking away. Her quick reaction was followed gasps of surprise from the group as Chiyo tried to breathe. She grabbed DarkBiyomon's hand tightly, eyes bolted wide open.

"I'm sorry!" Rika gasped, standing back and feeling a harrowing flashback to when she had once tried to heal Takato and had caused him just as much pain.

Chiyo groaned again, her eyes closed, as she gritted her teeth against the sheer pain of it all. The agony was unbelievable, and when she finally reopened her eyes she opened them to a sea of worried eyes. Even the adult there, Riley, had no idea what to do, having finished quickly sending a message on her phone to Hypnos and anxiously hoping an ambulance would arrive.

"Oh god, this is it," Chiyo gasped, feeling breathing become even more difficult and staring up with widened eyes.

"No," DarkBiyomon replied, tears dripping from her eyes as hand held wing so tight that it felt like they could never let go. "You can't!"

"I'm sorry…to all of you…I see now…I guess…I hope I do…sorry," she apologised, looking about at the group around her sadly. DarkBiyomon frowned; this was who she had been searching for all along. The _real_ Chiyo, not the Demon Chiyo.

It had come too late.

"Please don't go!" DarkBiyomon cried.

"I love you DarkBiyomon…so much."

"I love you too. Please, hang on."

"I…" Chiyo began, before being unable to speak no longer. She found herself breathless, and began to struggle with her mouth, gasping for air.

"No!" DarkBiyomon cried, gripping Chiyo's hand tightly. "Please! Don't die! I couldn't live without you."

"Thirty."

"Huh?" a tearful Jeri asked, looking up across to the boy who had randomly exclaimed the number.

"Thirty times," Ryder repeated, desperately checking through his mind that he was correct. Knowing that his hunch from memories was the best he'd get right now, he rushed forward, moving around to Chiyo's side before falling to the floor next to her.

"What are you doing?" DarkBiyomon spat, worried that Ryder was about to put Chiyo out of her misery. She couldn't take that.

"CPR," Ryder replied, gesturing across to where DarkBiyomon was holding Chiyo's hand. "Press your finger…feather, whatever, into the back of her wrist and feel for a pulse. Tell me if it changes," he ordered, before locking a gaze with the bird.

DarkBiyomon stared back, desperately asking him with her eyes whether he was telling the truth.

"Trust me. Please. I _have_ to save her…I have to…I'm sorry…"

"Promise?"

"I hope," Ryder replied, looking down into Chiyo's eyes and briefly noting how this would be the second time he had kissed this girl, although this time it wouldn't exactly be a kiss. Mari certainly wasn't going to get annoyed this time, he knew that for sure. Chiyo, meanwhile, had stopped breathing completely, her eyes closing as she fought to maintain consciousness. _"Okay, just try and remember."_

He moved his hands, tilting her head back and making sure she wasn't breathing. Frowning when he found that was the case, he pinched her nose, something that horrified DarkBiyomon as it looked like he was about to suffocate her. Knowing this would probably be her reaction, he quickly moved down, covering her mouth with his and breathing out, clenching his eyes dearly in the hope it would work.

He glanced up, looking across to her chest before trying again, performing the move and then frowning when it failed to bring back breathing.

Dearly hoping his number of presses was correct, he moved along, putting his hands together and pressing down between her breasts, counting as he did so. A tense air descended, as everyone listened to his words, a desperate countdown.

"One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten…eleven…twelve…thirteen…fourteen…fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…eighteen…nineteen…twenty…twenty-one…twenty-two…twenty-three…twenty-four…twenty-five…twenty-six…twenty-seven…twenty-eight…twenty-nine…thirty."

He looked up and across to DarkBiyomon, the bird shaking her head. He gritted his teeth, moving more quickly now as he went back to her mouth.

Lock lips.

Breathe in.

Look.

Repeat.

Ryder screwed up his face, fraught with worry as he moved back to her chest, it first occurring to him that he could be pressing the bullet further in. But it was her only hope, and he had to try.

"One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten…eleven…twelve…thirteen…fourteen…fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…eighteen…nineteen…twenty…twenty-one…twenty-two…twenty-three…twenty-four…twenty-five…twenty-six…twenty-seven…twenty-eight…twenty-nine…"

"It's stopped," DarkBiyomon interrupted, her voice breathless and horrified.

"What?!" Ryder gasped, a look of worry going up around the group. He shook his head, denying it. "No, this can't!" he insisted, moving back over to her mouth.

Lock lips.

Breathe in.

Look.

Repeat even more quickly.

"One…two…three…"

A hand landed on his shoulder, making him stop in his desperate act and look up into Mari's eyes. Brown locked with brown, one trying to coax the other into realising the harrowing truth. The D-Vice was dead, her pulse had stopped, and she wasn't breathing. Ryder quickly denied what that meant.

"No…no…no…no…no…NO…NO…NO...NO...NO!!" he chanted, rapidly growing into an angered scream as he stood to his feet and ripped his goggles from his head. He threw them sharply aside, the panes cracking as they smashed into the ground.

Eyes watched, none wanting to admit the truth. The girlfriend, seeing her boyfriend at his lowest end as he crouched down, pushing his head into his hands and screaming. The Tamers and their support, watching speechlessly, it being too late to fix anything. And the bird, still gripping onto the hand of her dead Tamer.

"Ryder…" Mari said, crouching down herself and looking into the tearful eyes of the First Angel.

"I killed another one," he blubbed, whilst antipathetically clutching his fists at himself. "I'm sorry," he insisted, looking down at the girl's body, the blood-flow quickly diminishing and her face beginning to pale. He reached out, grasping her dead hand. "I'm so sorry."

"You promised," cried DarkBiyomon. "You promised you'd save her!" she added, tears pouring from her own eyes where she had fallen to the ground. Her tears dripped down onto her Tamer's body, soaking into her blood-soaked top. She growled, seething in rage as her wings gripped into fists. "YOU PROMISED!"

Ryder simply couldn't reply, frozen as he stared into the eyes of the bird. The rage, the anger, the sorrow, he had caused. This had to be the worst day of his life.

"DarkBiyomon," Kari said, bending down and reaching out to comfort the bird. DarkBiyomon took an angered step back, shooting a glare as she slapped Kari's hand aside.

"Don't touch me! I hate you all!"

"But…"

DarkBiyomon leapt aside, promptly and tearfully flying away from them. She couldn't stay here. She had to get away, had to get away from those who had killed her Tamer. She didn't even look back, not wanting to believe that Chiyo was dead.

Kari turned with a glare to Ryder, a deep anger at the boy for what he had done. "You knew this could happen! Why did you fire?!"

"I…"

"You killed someone! Even if it was an accident, you…"

"I did it to save Mari!" Ryder finally yelled, gritting his teeth about how everything had spun so badly against him. "She…she would've died otherwise!"

"You're just as bad as they are. You said you wouldn't do something like this again, you went through so much last time, you…"

"Look, I'm sorry! What on earth else do you want me to do? Kill myself? Turn myself in? Because none of those things could possibly ever make up for what I've done, for what I was _forced_ to do!"

"Murder is never the answer."

"Don't you think I _know_ that?!"

"Then why…"

"Look, what I have done I have done, and I dearly wish I could fix things, but I CAN'T!" he shouted, clenching his eyes up and breathing deeply as the overwhelming emotion overcame him.

"…"

"Sorry," Ryder said voicelessly, anger and despair falling from his face to be replaced with simple depression. He turned, frowning and promptly walking away, wanting to do just what DarkBiyomon had done. Get as far away from had happened, and lay down and die.

"Ryder, wait!"

Ryder frowned, turning to face Mari as she hurried up to him, determined look on her face.

"I am not letting you go through that again," she insisted, reaching out and grabbing his hand tightly. She glared into his eyes: she'd seen before what happened when he ended up hating himself and she wouldn't let him do that again. "At least, not alone."

He breathed out deeply, resting his mouth in his hand as he worriedly looked back at the scene. "Thanks," he said in an agitated manner.

"She looks so peaceful," Sora commented, looking down at where Chiyo's body lay with her eyes closed for good. She frowned, feeling an arm wrap around her shoulder.

"I know Sora," Tai agreed, frowning deeply as no-one really knew what to do. The distant noise of sirens approaching gave them a hint, but things had just turned so bad that it seemed impossible they would recover from this.

It was clear, however, that things would never be the same again.

* * *

_**Guilmon's Hideout, Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**13:29 JST**_

The silence of the park was all-pervading, and even the city around it seemed to remain quiet. With a flash of light, however, the hideout saw its first visitors in hours.

"Ugh…" the four beings groaned, two Digital and two material. Henry sat up, rubbing his sore head whilst his eyes blurred the world.

"Remind me never to travel that way again," Terriermon complained.

"Yeah. Travelling in time is cool and all, but I think I'll leave it up to you Rey," Henry joked, looking across to the redhead with a smile until it dawned on him that she was less than amused.

"What the hell Henry?" she said, her calm voice hiding her inner rage.

"Huh?"

"You interrupted me!" she exploded.

"I know. I couldn't let you damage history."

"But…she had to know. She just had to."

"Rey, don't you think we've messed with history enough?"

"I don't care, I can mess around with Destiny and history all I want. I'm partially outside of it, if you haven't forgotten," she replied, crossing her arms with a stern look on her face.

"Geez, you're as bad as Rika," Terriermon grumbled.

"Terriermon, what was it that you said when we were about to be killed?" Henry asked.

"Uh…I don't remember."

"How convenient," Realmon said, rolling her eyes. "So you're not going to let up on the jokes like you said then?"

"Of course I said that, we were about to die! You all came up with your own nonsense. Momentai!"

"You're never going to change."

"Of course not, I'm fine the way I am."

Henry sighed, frowning and looking about at the sky around them, the clouds covering it making it impossible to work out what time it was. He reached for his belt, intending to check out the time on his D-Arc.

"Huh?!"

"What's up?" Terriermon asked, a look of shock crossing Henry's face as he reached to the opposite side. Nothing.

"My D-Arc! It's…gone."

"It must have been destroyed by that burst of energy you made," Realmon mooted.

"I made?! Wait…now I remember…you said…I'm the Third Angel?!"

"The Third Angel of Knowledge," Rey said, a sly grin on her face.

"But…what…how…why?" Henry stuttered, genuinely stumped by this huge turnaround in events. "And what about my D-Arc?!"

As if to answer his question, a small orb of green light appeared above his right arm. It hovered for a moment, before descending onto his wrist as Henry looked on in awe.

"A D-Vice?!"

"Whoa, that's something you don't see every day," Terriermon exclaimed, as the familiar black device wrapped around Henry's wrist and lit up. On this particular device, the screen ring was green, and as Henry anxiously reached out to touch it, it expanded into its full form. Speechlessly, he looked up at Rey.

"You are the Third Angel of Knowledge, Henry."

"But…how? I thought…Mari and Ryder, they just slowly woke up, didn't they?"

Rey frowned, nodding. "I know, but I had to speed things along in order to save us. The awakening process is a powerful one, and if done too fast it releases a burst of energy. All I had to do was open the Time Device, tell you who you really were and, voila, we were able to escape."

"But…how? How could a device work like that?"

"This thing, if you haven't guessed by now, has a big secret to its inner workings. And, well, it means that it works on energy like that."

"So what does this mean then?" Henry asked, still amazed by this revelation.

"Basically, it means that you have to defend Chaos and Harmony, and the world as well."

"So basically, business as usual then?" Terriermon quipped.

Rey rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and glancing at the time on her own D-Vice. "Whatever. It's half one, the day after we left, so I did pretty well with the coordinates. Anyhow, I think we better go find the others and tell them we're okay, they're probably worried sick about…us…" she suggested, her speed of talking slowing to a halt when she looked about properly for the first time. "What the hell?"

Henry followed her gaze to a collapsed tree, in fact, three collapsed trees. What was going on? He didn't remember them being there before he left, and he would've noticed something like that having been in the Hideout pretty much every day.

In fact, it wasn't the only damaged thing about. Looking down the nearby path, one or two broken paving slabs could be seen. Henry's mouth turned into a thin line.

"I think we have to find out what is going on."

Rey nodded in agreement, the pair setting off in the direction of the broken paving slabs. They didn't have any idea what this day still had to shock them with.

* * *

_**Yuuna Residence**_

_**13:37 JST**_

"**The scene here at Shinjuku Park continues to be a dangerous one. Only just now, a gunshot was heard from the park. We have not yet had any reports of causalities but access has been extremely limited since the police cordon was set up. There has not yet been any official report as to what is going on inside but the internet, and, in particular a website called Digital Watch, has been abuzz with speculation. There are rumours that this is a case of infighting between members of the Tamers, a series of teenagers partnered with Digimon partners, but for what reason is still unclear. One thing is clear however, and that is that the events here are of a serious nature."**

Sakura frowned, watching the television alongside Floramon in her apartment home.

"**Wait, I've just…yes, I have just been informed that an ambulance has entered the police cordon, along with a group of black vans. What this means, I do not yet know, but the potential implications of the ambulance are obvious."**

Sakura raised an eyebrow curiously, watching the news reporter try to cope with what was obviously a complex situation for him, not least because of the lack of news from the inside.

"**For those who have just joined us, I am reporting this special bulletin from Shinjuku Park on a day whose significance is yet to be known. There has been some form of Digimon battle here, causing wide-scale destruction in the park."**

"Sakura? What's worrying you?"

"The Tamers. I don't know what's going on, but I saw one of them rushing past earlier before I met you. Some of those teenagers are in my class…I hope they're okay."

"Oh. Should we go see?"

Sakura paused for a second and glanced to her grey D-Vice, wondering if her new status as a Digimon Tamer meant she had to be there. She finally shook her head, deciding she just wasn't ready to involve herself in something so major. "No, it's too risky, and you still look tired. We'll leave this up to the other Tamers."

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**13:37 JST**_

Every moment brought the sight of more and more destruction, every pace a growing sense of desperation, and every glance about a great worry about their friends' health.

"This is terrible," said Henry, the bleak nature of the scene they had returned to continuing to shock and concern him. The grey sky failed to help.

Rey nodded, the pair turning a corner and stopping in their tracks, the epicentre of the battle bursting into their sights. It was obvious that this was the centre of the battle from but a second's glance, not least because of the gathering of humans and Digimon about the centre. The group seemed to have split, Ryder sitting silently on the ground with his legs pulled up to his chest and Mari sitting alongside him, arm around his back. Donmon and DarkRenamon stood nearby, watching their partners with concerned eyes. Yolei, Ken and Kazu talked about the latter's attempt to break into the park, while Jeri, Kari, Davis and Takeru, with their partners on shoulders or alongside them, several at the in-training level, kneeled around something on the ground, only idle chit-chat between them. Tai and Sora stood, talking to Riley with concerned looks on their faces, and Takato and Rika awaited the ambulance, a tense air between them after what had happened less than an hour ago.

"Dad!" Rey yelled, first seeing a recognisable figure before running towards him with a thankful smile. Takato turned, only to be pulled into a tight bear-hug.

"Rey!" Rika exclaimed, Takato planning to do likewise but being too busy being crushed to death. Rika was silently thankful - given her current size - that Rey wasn't trying to do the same.

"_Dad?" _Riley thought, sitting up and turning around to face the newcomers.

"Henry, you're alive!" Jeri cried, quickly rushing across to grab and embrace the blue-haired boy and forcing Terriermon to leap to the ground before he was thrown to the ground.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Takato said to Rey, the sudden nature of their reappearance completely unexpected to him.

"Yeah, me too," Jeri agreed, looking at a mostly unscathed Henry, although why Rey was wearing his jacket inside out was completely beyond her. "What happened?"

"Forget that, what the hell happened here?" Terriermon interrupted, looking about at the damaged plaza and hearing the approaching ambulance in the distance.

A saddened frown quickly crossed Jeri's face, as she was forced to admit what had transpired in their absence. "Chiyo possessed all of us girls and made us try to kill our boyfriends. But…you weren't here, so I tried to kill Ryder instead."

"So all this damage...was caused by you guys fighting each other?!" Henry exclaimed, disbelief in his voice at the sheer carnage around them. He had simply assumed the Digimon had been destroyed, and like all Digimon left no body to tell of such a fact. "Wait…why Ryder?"

"Because he was our only link to home," Rey explained, a frown on her face where she stood with her parents. "Thanks to the time device being broken, Ryder was our only hope of getting back, being the Angel of Time and all; but...as a result, I guess that it made Ryder a target."

"Kill him and you would all be stuck in the past," Elecmon added, a deep frown on his face.

"Christ…so…how did it end then?" Henry asked, looking about at the destruction and finally seeing a body on the ground near Jeri, Kari, Davis and Takeru. "Oh."

"Wait, so that's Chiyo?!" Terriermon asked, shocked by this even bigger revelation. They had clearly missed a lot, a helluva lot actually, but…if Chiyo was dead… "But who killed her? Why?"

"Chiyo was playing us all along, as the Second Demon," Rika explained, wandering towards them with a bitter look on her face. Rey, oddly, looked far less surprised than Henry, suddenly making things add up in his mind when he noticed it.

"_Wait! That's why she travelled in time! To escape this."_

"I killed her," Ryder explained, a guilty tone to his voice as he stood up and threw Henry and Rey for a loop.

"What?!" Terriermon exclaimed, voicing the thoughts of his speechless fellow time travellers.

"She killed him first, and then I was so angry that DarkRenamon went beserk and attacked everyone as her ultimate form, Doumon. But…when I came back to my senses and she freed them from the spell, Chiyo threatened me with her gun," interjected Mari, trying to defend Ryder when he wouldn't defend himself.

"That's…horri…wait…she killed you?!" Henry exclaimed, the huge turn in events shocking him as he looked across to Ryder with widened eyes.

"Yeah, and it happened again. I…I don't think I can die," Ryder answered, looking at his arm wonderingly. What was happening to him? This just made no sense whatsoever. Death was meant to be total, and…

Ryder froze up, memories flashing through his mind. Memories of kisses, memories of peace, memories of…Ivy. Not just dreams, not just visions, living, solid, _new_ memories. Something…something he had forgotten in the crisis of trying to save Chiyo.

"_What was that?! Did I go home?"_

"Ryder? Ryder?"

"Huh?" the boy murmured, looking up and seeing Mari trying to get his attention. He nodded, knowing she was worried about his sudden fazing-out. He pushed the worry aside right now, continuing with his story. "I…I saw the gun…Mari's discarded gun...when I awoke…and I saw Chiyo getting ready to kill Mari. I meant to hit her in the legs…but…I missed…" he said, closing his eyes and breathing in and out as he recalled that dreadful, horrific moment when he made a huge mistake.

Henry paused, the events he had missed in that span of time shocking him greatly. He stayed calm, knowing that everything was bad enough without him getting worried, angry or visibly shocked. He glanced aside to the body, a frown on his face.

"So she's dead?"

"I tried to save her…we all did but…I failed," Ryder explained, his shoulders hunched in depression. Mari put her arm around him again.

"Oh."

"Hypnos and the ambulance should be here soon, as much help as the latter can do right now," explained Riley, interrupting an awkward silence that had broken out.

"Seems like we missed a lot," contemplated Terriermon.

"I have to ask though, where on earth were you guys?" Rika asked her daughter and Henry.

"Yeah, where in all of space and time did you end up?" echoed Ken.

"Nagasaki, 1945, the day and the day before the bomb wiped it out."

"Christ," Rika exclaimed. "Thank god you're alright!"

"How did you escape? I thought the device was broken," Ryder asked, his curiosity plagued by their remarkable return.

"It was, but…I managed to improvise a fix. It was out of power though, so it was literally a last second save."

"How'd you do it then?" asked Sora.

"Simple. I told Henry he's the Third Angel."

"Wait…what?!" Jeri exclaimed, turning about with widened eyes to face her boyfriend who nodded unsurely, still in disbelief himself. The idea seemed preposterous, the suggestion that all his life he had somehow been this divine being without ever realising it.

"Yeah, and the burst of energy released from such a quick awakening was the perfect recharge to take us back home, even if I do still need to fix the device," Rey continued, a slim smile on her face at the shock experienced by the whole group at yet another revelation.

"Forget that! You're the Third?" Ryder asked, looking curiously across to his newfound fellow Angel.

"Yeah, guess so," Henry replied, nodding and frowning. "It's still a surprise for me too."

"Geez, and I thought you were the brain box here."

"Terriermon," Henry sighed, exasperation in his voice. Right now just wasn't the time.

"Momentai!"

"Even so, how did you guys survive back then?" Kari asked, amazement in her eyes at the prospect.

"Yeah, what was it like?" Yolei added.

"We were almost killed, several times."

"I got to fight a tank or twelve!" Terriermon added, punching the air.

"Yeah, well our hybrid here, no offense Henry, made us a constant target," Rey explained. "And, as you can see, we had to switch clothes to make us as inconspicuous as possible."

"Yeah, I was going to ask about that," mumbled Jeri, looking over the boy carefully.

"It's definitely something I wouldn't want to live through ever again," Henry said, breathing a deep sigh of relief before being the target of another thankful hug.

"I'm just glad you're safe," said Jeri, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

Kazu stared on, eyes widened in surprise, something that a bewildered Yolei noticed.

"What's up Kazu?"

"I just don't believe it. All these things happening so fast. First Chiyo dying, then them coming back from the past, now Henry's an Angel, and…"

"Aw, can't your poor mind take it all?" Rika mocked, rolling her eyes at the boy.

"Hey, it's not exactly your normal day!"

"Except for if you're in a soap opera," Riley quipped.

"Or a television show," Davis added, noting the irony of how a lot of his past adventures had, in fact, been a television show.

"Speaking of which, here's the Men in Black!" Terriermon laughed, the ambulance and the black vans drawing up towards them. They came to a stop, doors opening and a mix of agents, hospital personnel and Rayleigh leaping out. Rayleigh immediately crossed over to the ambulance, holding out a badge.

"Rayleigh Thompson, Hypnos, and I order that you leave now. This is our responsibility."

"We got an emergency call that someone had been shot and…"

"The call was false. Leave. Now."

The driver and the doctors looked ready to object, but Rayleigh's stern gaze and the worrying sight of several rather large monsters convinced them otherwise. They promptly returned to the vehicle which sped away from the scene as Rayleigh walked over to the Tamers, waving on a portion of his staff to begin establishing various measures about the scene.

"What the hell was that about?" Rika spat when he arrived.

"Excuse me?"

"I called for that ambulance and you just sent it away."

"Need I remind you of the sensitive nature of affairs here?"

"But…she was bleeding to death…we needed that ambulance," Takato complained, only receiving a cold look from Rayleigh in response.

"Exactly, she _was_, but I am not so naïve as to expect her to have survived this long. I am sorry, but the less witnesses, the better. Isn't that right, Riley?"

Riley looked about to object, before nodding with a frown. "Yes sir. If this were to get out, our situation would be severely compromised, and the media view of Digimon could be severely affected."

"This event has already damaged our reputation."

"What do you mean?" asked Tai.

"Dude, haven't you realised? The whole city is surprised by all of this - it's in the news and everything. No-one has the slightest clue what's been going on, and I didn't even get a digivice signal," explained Kazu.

"Odd. I couldn't contact you all by email either," Ryder added.

"_Hmm…that's odd…" _Riley thought, casting a cautious eye at Rayleigh as a suspicion popped up in his head.

"So, Riley, I need a full situation report," commanded Rayleigh, looking at his subordinate. "And then you will all leave, including you Riley. You are past working hours and I will have this situation under control."

"What? You're ordering us to leave?" Yolei asked, surprised by the man's tone.

"Yes. Must I remind you again that if you want this event covered up, you will have to follow my orders to the letter?"

"But…that's blackmail!" Takeru cried, fists clenching at the prospect.

"Who are you going to call? The police? Hypnos is a high level government agency, we have immunity. Unofficial, of course, but in this line of work responsibility would make our job impossible."

"I don't care; you can't just order us around like that!" Rika argued.

"I'm afraid he's right," Riley sighed. "Hypnos covers up more than you think. It has kept your pregnancy out of the media, kept a lot of your battles out of the public eye and has actively been manipulating Digital Watch since it was founded."

"Wait? You've been ensuring it's out of the media?!" Takato exclaimed, the idea shocking him.

"Even if it is abuse of our powers, being in a paramilitary government organisation gives us a lot of clout to do what we wish so long as it fulfils our mission objectives," Riley explained with a clear reluctance in her voice to the methods they used.

"That's pretty corrupt," Henry noted, the idea concerning him. Was this the darker side of the Japanese government?

"**I like your style," **Chaos laughed.

Rayleigh gave a slim smile, before turning to his subordinate again. "Now, a _full_ situation report, Riley."

"As far as I can gather sir, Chiyo, actually the Second Demon…like Taiki…"

"I know what a Demon is, thank you very much."

"Yes, well…she somehow possessed the girls and made them try to kill their boyfriends along with anyone in the way. They fought in this park, causing an unknown amount of damage. Chiyo killed Ryder, and the anger and despair caused Mari to digivolve DarkRenamon to an uncontrollable Doumon. She attacked the others, before Mari got a hold of herself, made Doumon break the spell on them, and then ended up being threatened by Chiyo with a gun. At this point Ryder came back to life, saw Mari threatened, took Mari's discarded gun, attempted to shoot Chiyo in the legs and inadvertently missed, hitting her in the chest and causing her to bleed to death, in spite of CPR from him."

"Hmm…I see. It appears you have added another problem to your list, Ryder. Didn't you learn from last time?" he asked, turning to face the boy.

"Look, I just want to lie down and die, so can I just go. Please," he replied, Mari frowning when Ryder announced his suicidal intentions, even if in the light of things they were an empty threat.

"Yes, of course. In fact, I insist you all go, right now," Rayleigh ordered, looking about at the group. "I will deal with the body; the funeral will be arranged for later this week. I suggest you stay out of the public eye for now."

"Going to be a bit difficult with half the city around this place, isn't it?" Takeru asked.

"Fair point," Rayleigh replied, putting a hand on his earpiece. "Begin crowd clearance. I want the main exit of the cordon and its environs completely OOB, now."

He smiled at the reply, taking his hand away and nodding. He looked across to one of his operatives, waving him over to join them.

"They should have it done by the time you get there. Follow the lorry on your way out, then get the hell out of our sight, okay?"

"Well, you're a lovely person, aren't you?" Terriermon complained.

"I don't care for how Yamaki bubble wrapped you, but under my control this group will need to be very careful, understand?"

Rika glared into Rayleigh's eyes, a tense moment held in the air before Rayleigh dismissed her, turning to face his subordinate.

"Now, Riley, take the children with you and make sure the press keep away from them, and then go home to see that pathetic boyfriend of yours, understand?"

Riley wanted to complain, but simply gave a blank expression and nodded. Now was not the time for objections, even if her boss was a fair bit younger than her and a lot more arrogant. "Yes sir."

"Listen, do you guys want to come back to my house?" Rika asked, frowning as she looked about at the Tamers.

Jeri nodded. "Yeah."

"Yeah, we have a lot to talk about," Henry agreed.

"And you guys still have a lot to explain," Kazu added.

"Ugh, I forgot about you," Rika groaned.

"Well, you better forget about me too. I just want to go home and lie down," Ryder said, frowning as he dismissed the idea. "Sorry," he apologised, Mari nodding in agreement.

"I'll follow and make sure he doesn't do anything he'd regret."

"Yeah, you'll have to count us guys out too," Tai noted, frowning.

"Yeah, our parents are probably worried sick, and we're going to take a while to get back home if we have to go under the radar," nodded Ken.

"Oh, okay," Takato replied, frowning.

"Are you done with this mother's meeting? Good, now go," he ordered, looking at his operative, Riley and the Tamers. Grumbling, the latter complied, following the operative and Riley towards the vehicle. The operative jumped in, followed by Riley through the other door. The engine started up, the van beginning to move at a slow near-walking pace.

"Great…following a vehicle…not like they could give us a lift or anything," Terriermon complained as they began to pursue.

"Terriermon."

"Momentai!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Once again, DO NOT use the way I've illustrated CPR in this chapter. Always follow an official guide, and not a work of fiction. It's an important skill I hope personally to learn one day.

And so finally, our two current story arcs come to an end. A sad ending for both, but nonetheless there are still a fair few loose ends to be tied up. Expect a few more surprises as this Book draws to a close. I still have a few cards left to play, and Takato's hand still to crush when Rika gives birth. How fun!

Until next time…

B.C.


	62. The Trick To Goodbye

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 56**

_The Trick to Goodbye_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

**JAPAN NEWS.JP**

**MAJOR BATTLE IN SHINJUKU PARK**

**24****th**** October 2010**

**Shinjuku Park has been seriously damaged in a major battle involving the Digimon Tamers, protectors of the city from Digimon threats. There are currently no reported casualties.**

In the past few hours, there was a battle between the Tamers and an unknown party that severely damaged the city. Sightings have been reported of both Phoenixmon and Imperialdramon, apparently on the side of the Digimon Tamers. The opposing side is currently unknown, although there is speculation on various monitoring websites that it was infighting between multiple Tamers. The government has yet to give any statements on the battle, which appears to have subsided by now, and no interviews have been made.

There are concerns that the sighting of both a series of black vans and an ambulance, one which promptly left soon after, suggests that there was a casualty alongside involvement from a government agency. The Chief Cabinet Secretary, Eiichi Nakazawa has not been available for comment. The opposition has complained about the lack of leadership from the PM.

Civilians are currently being advised by the police to take caution and inform relatives of where they are going before they leave their homes. More news will be reported by JAPAN NEWS when it breaks.

* * *

_**Streets of Shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**13:50 JST**_

"Where are we going?"

"For the hundredth time ya walkin' talkin' cream puff…Ai and Mako's mum was watching a news report about a battle in the park and I wanna get to the bottom of things."

"Oh. Can't we eat first?"

"Unless ya got some food in those cheek's of yours…no."

"I have food," Calumon replied, munching on a small biscuit treat that he had got out of nowhere. Impmon sweatdropped.

"Hey, where did ya get that?"

"It's a really funny story," Calumon laughed.

"Was it on a shelf in the street?"

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"Ugh… you mean you stole it."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh come on! You have been in this world for _three_ years! How do you not get this yet, bub?"

"Three years. Wow, that's long."

"Ugh, why am I always stuck with you?"

"Yay, birdie!"

"Geez, you've got a shorter attention span than Guilmon."

"No, birdie! Big black birdie!"

"Huh?"

Impmon turned around to face what Calumon was pointing at, seeing a stationary black figure at the ledge of the building they had leapt on top of. It was a familiar figure too, and DarkBiyomon seemed to be reflecting, staring out sadly upon the city over the distance. She was literally stationary, caught so far in her own thoughts that almost nothing could get her attention. Almost.

"Hey, you…Chiyo's partner, aren't you?" Impmon called out, the bird shuddering before turning as she was brought back to reality with a sharp kick. She paused, recognising the pair, before frowning, dismissing them and flapping away.

"Aw," Calumon moaned. "She didn't want to talk at all."

"Hey, you, come back here!" Impmon called. "You call that friendly!"

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**14:00 JST**_

"Useless."

No reply.

"Regardless of how good you think you are, you all end the same way. You just get impatient and greedy. To think, your plan could've worked."

No reply.

"Still, you did prove rather useful to me. Your predecessor was worse than useless, Digimon have done worse damage but you…you landed a pretty heavy blow on them. Consider that an advance payment on your funeral and a tiny ounce of respect from me to you."

No reply.

Rayleigh let a sadistic smile burst onto his lips, glancing up and about at his various agents, toiling under the grim sky overhead. Some dealt with analysing the effect on the local area of the digital nature of the conflict, and others assessed the damage. A few took photographs, while some kept watch, ensuring those in the press wanting a scoop didn't get their hands on one.

One thing that had taken the particular interest of a select team, however, was the bullets. Upon finding out about this, Rayleigh had ordered that the bullets be sealed and returned to Hypnos. As for the firearm, once a part of Mari's inventory, it would be returned to her at the first opportunity. As strategically moronic as it seemed, it served a double purpose. For starters, it would act as a painful emotional blow to them, being returned the weapon of their downfall. Far more strategically and to the point, if Mari required a weapon of that sort, she would merely contact her old bosses in New York.

Rayleigh disliked the idea of that connection being re-established. This was his game, and the last thing he wanted was the Yanks getting onto the fact that things weren't entirely running well in Japan. It would be far simpler to keep Mari under his control, with a weapon that would by now be out of date by any means.

She wasn't going to use it anyway. Not after this.

As for the other firearm involved in the incident, one that had fallen near the body...that one would be better off in his personal inventory. Falcomon wouldn't always be close enough to defend him, and it was better to be safe than sorry were he to be found out.

"So, this brings an end to the Suzume family, a rather suicidal one methinks. You knew what you were getting into, and you have no one to blame but yourself."

No reply.

"As for your bird, don't worry. I'm sure she'll find someone to take care of her. Not that you really cared about her to begin with, else you would've stayed with the Angels rather than bringing about your own fate."

No reply.

Rayleigh looked down to the body again, dried blood over her clothes and the bullet wound. No line was drawn about her body - this incident was to be kept under wraps. Not for the Tamers' sake, of course, at least not directly. It would be perfect blackmail, and, indeed, a perfect way to oust them for what they really were.

The pictures would be of the highest quality, a "security blanket", so to speak.

A frown graced his face as he looked over the body, at the girl's closed eyes and slim line for a face. "I wonder where you are now," he mumbled, checking about once again to ensure there were no subordinates of his to call him insane. That was the last thing he wanted.

No reply.

"What's it like? Heaven with its holy gates? Hell with its burning pits of fire? Maybe another life as a worm?" he mused, before shivering as a thought occurred to him, one that struck him to his core. "But maybe it's just darkness. Endless, pervading, nothingness, for all eternity. Hmm…" he mumbled, his usual confidence and charisma vanishing from his voice as he stared on, his eyes locked on her head.

A moment passed, a moment of worry, a moment of contemplation, and a moment during which Rayleigh, for perhaps the same time since childhood, displayed true fear. He promptly turned, making a step away from an uncomfortable situation, only pausing to glance back with a slim frown.

"Goodbye Second. Goodbye, Chiyo Suzume."

* * *

_**Yuuna Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**14:15 JST**_

"These are Digimon cards. Well, not real Digimon cards, but I don't have any to show you."

"Huh? Why not?"

Sakura frowned, swivelling away on her chair from the computer screen, which she had been showing a large picture of a Digivolution card on, to face her partner on the floor below. "I've never been that interested before. When I was younger, before we all thought Digimon were real, I always thought it was a game for the boys, and then, before I met you, I thought it was a bit of a kid's game. But, now, I have a reason to get them. Tell you what; I'll get a pack before school tomorrow, okay?"

"Neat. What do they do?"

"Uh…well, I guess they…uh…" Sakura began, looking curiously over the grey surface of her expanded D-Vice as she scratched the back of her head. "They use them somehow," she mumbled, cursing herself for not paying enough attention. Then again, she hadn't exactly known them for that long, and hadn't properly seen them in battle yet. She turned back to her computer, beginning to type and navigate the browser to a different page. "Okay, one second."

_**DIGITAL WATCH**_

**MAIN HUB**

**Quick Summary**

**Digital Watch**

**Data**** file**

**Forum**

**Log In**

"Ugh, this place changes so often…okay…um…Quick Summary I guess."

"What is it?"

"Well, Digital Watch is this website that sort of observes those Tamers I was telling you about."

_**DIGITAL WATCH**_

**SUMMARY**

**Digimon**

**Tamers**

**Government Organisations**

**Digital Watch**

"Tamers."

**The Tamers are a number of humans, all presently children, who tame, in other words, look after, a Digimon each, their partner. They use the Digimon to fight in battles against dangerous Digimon, protecting the city, as well as a general companion, rather like a pet or a friend. They each possess a small device called a digivice, which presumably links them to their Digimon. It also allows them to swipe a number of Digimon cards, which are the same cards as those available at many stores across Japan and the world, in order to improve the abilities of their Digimon beyond their natural level, and prompt Digivolution.**

"Oh, right, I get it."

"Huh?"

Sakura turned around again, holding out her D-Vice on her wrist in its expanded form. "This slot here is where I put one of those cards through, in order to make you stronger or faster or even Digivolve."

"Really?! Digivolve?"

"Yeah, sounds like it."

"It all sounds so easy."

"I hope it is. I really want to figure this whole Digimon thing out. It sounds fun, but I'm also a bit worried."

"Why?"

Sakura closed her eyes, images of that huge amorphous blob, the D-Reaper, stuck in it. The destruction caused by Vikaralamon three years ago. The human attacking several buildings only this year, and by the huge crystal and the strange Knight Digimon that attacked even earlier on in that year. It seemed like such a dangerous life.

"I've seen what can happen when it goes wrong."

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**14:20 JST**_

The door to the Nonaka residence opened out of the blue, Kristy being the first to look up and see the rather large group at the entrance, albeit far smaller than had been there the night before.

"Rika?"

Hearing this, Rumiko very quickly turned from where she was agitatedly standing by their table, rushing across to her daughter and giving her a tight bear hug.

"Rika, you're home!"

"Ugh. Mum, I'm pregnant! Stop squeezing so hard!"

"Oh, sorry Rika, but I was so worried about you! It's been all over the news," replied Rumiko, stepping back from her daughter with an extremely relieved look on her face. "Whatever happened?" she asked, looking about at her daughter's companions: her fiancé, her daughter, and two of their Tamer friends, Henry and Jeri. Not exactly the normal friendship circle for a sixteen year-old girl, but the whole group had pretty much given up normality three years prior.

Rika hesitated, frowning as she glanced across to Takato. That question was the last one she wanted to answer right now. Jeri looked just as uncomfortable - in fact, the only ones looking normal-ish were Henry and Rey, having been a fair old way away from the battlefield when all hell had broken out. Then again, they hadn't exactly had a relaxing time either.

"Henry, Rey, you're home again," Seiko said, breathing a sigh of relief as she stood up from her chair in surprise. "Thank goodness you're both safe."

Rumiko widened her eyes, finally noticing that her granddaughter, thought lost (perhaps for good), had turned up again, safe and well. "Rey, Henry, I'm so relieved to see you both again."

Rey gripped her grandma promptly in a hug, dearly holding tight to a world she thought she had lost for good. Rumiko simply smiled and looked slightly surprised.

"_Rey looks really relieved to be home," _Rika thought, a slim smile on her face.

"_**Yeah. Coming back to our time is one thing, but I'm sure that the danger of 1945 was far too much for her. It's a miracle she survived really, that thing was lethal."**_

"_Were you there?"_

"_**Um…I can't remember, but as you know…"**_

"_Yeah, yeah, you can't remember much at all."_

"Mrs Hata, may I please use your phone," asked Henry, giving a slight bow out of respect. "I need to tell my parents I'm okay, they must be worried sick."

"Please, go right ahead," Seiko replied, gesturing to the handset in a docking station in the kitchen. He nodded, quickly crossing to the phone and uttering his thanks on the way. Jeri watched him with a frown; he had been concerned about his parents the whole way here. Why had he simply not gone home? Of course he was concerned for his friends, and for her, given the hardship they had all gone through in his absence, but the first thing she knew she would want to see after such an ordeal would be her family, and then her friends straight afterwards. Henry had a complete and extremely close-knit family too, so it evidently wasn't just because they had different families. Something wasn't right here, something didn't quite add up.

Terriermon leapt to the table as she watched Henry lift the handset, pausing before dialling in a number that should've been familiar to him. He seemed elsewhere, his mind caught up in something else entirely. Maybe he was still surprised about his Angelhood?

Putting the handset to his ear, he glanced across to her, prompting her to look away and curse herself for being so intrusive.

"So, where'd you guys go to anyway?" Kristy asked, looking at Rey first of all.

Rey frowned, standing alongside her grandmother. She glanced across to Henry, the adventure they had both gone through still remaining clear as day in her mind. She would never forget it, and that was pretty significant given how many similarly dramatic and dangerous things had happened in her life so far.

"Far away," she mumbled. "Very far away, 1945 to be precise, and in the worst possible place."

"We ended up in Nagasaki just before the bomb dropped," Realmon explained, leaping onto the kitchen counter.

"Really?!" Kristy asked, the idea amazing her and yet seeming as unbelievably impossible as she wandered over to her niece.

"That sounds horrible," Rumiko added, Seiko nodding in agreement.

Rey nodded again, sighing. "It couldn't be more dangerous - my time device was broken so I had no way home. And, to make things worse they all wanted Henry dead because he's half-Chinese. We had to mix up and damage our clothes just to go under the radar, which means I need new shoes. Or a sewing kit."

"Great, shoe shopping, we'll go out tomorrow and…"

"Rumiko; let her continue."

"Oh, sorry. Let myself get carried away a bit there."

"Ugh, mom…" Kristy and Rika both groaned - the timing of their mother's flight of fancy less than appropriate.

"How did you escape?" asked Seiko.

"Well…I managed to fix the device, and we made a last minute escape when I told Henry…" she began, pausing as she wondered whether she could tell them about her fellow time traveller's newfound discovery. She shrugged off the merits of keeping things secret, knowing they'd come out in the open anyway. "…when I told Henry that he was the Third Angel," she finished, her voice quietened as if the secret was not to be heard by him at all costs.

"Do you mean like your friends, Mari and Ryder?" Rumiko asked. Takato nodded, fielding the question.

"Yeah. We're slowly figuring out who they are when they awaken."

"Do they have a specific characteristic that connects them?" Kudamon asked, speaking from his partner's head after he scurried up her back.

"**No idea," **Harmony replied, shrugging.

"Until they awake, they could be anyone. Well, not anyone, I sort of know who they are but…well…I'm not going to tell who," added Rey.

"Understandable, the risks concerned in terms of time would be immense," agreed Seiko, nodding.

"Not just that. Every time one is awoken like that, straight from being asleep to being wide awake, they release a huge burst of energy. It's how I recharged my device, but I have no idea what harm that energy could do. Back then, it was quickly overpowered by the nuclear bomb."

"I see," Kudamon answered, nodding. "So we will have to wait and see."

"Ugh, that sucks. Why can't things ever be simple?!" Kristy groaned, finally breaking her silence to express her annoyance. Rey raised an eyebrow, she still hadn't realised her Angelhood yet. This was strange, particularly strange, and something worth checking out. Of course, she would eventually work it out, but it was odd how oblivious she had been. Unless, of course, she maybe knew more than she let on. Children of that age tended to be as readable as a blank book when they wanted to be.

Jeri laughed. "I wish."

"Yeah, seems our lives have a habit of being difficult," said Takato.

Henry stepped back into the conversation, a relieved look on his face as he had finally managed to tell his parents of his whereabouts. Still, Jeri noted a hint of that worry and concern remaining, and she knew that something else was up. Something far more…critical than a simple phone call.

"What did they say?" Seiko asked calmly, not yet knowing of the true nature of what had conspired in that day.

Henry let loose a slim smile. "They're just glad I'm alive."

"You should go home and see them really," suggested Rumiko.

Henry frowned, glancing across to Jeri subtly, so subtly that few noticed the move who didn't know its significance. "I know, but I still have something else I need to do first."

"Like what?" Kristy asked, not understanding or even comprehending that Henry was uncomfortable about talking about whatever it was.

"Uh…"

"He just wants to talk to us about everything, there's still a lot to catch up on," Jeri interrupted, saving Henry from a difficult questioning.

"Oh, okay. Can I know later?"

"If he's okay with that, sure."

"Great."

Outwardly, Jeri smiled and nodded, but inside, she was completely confused and terribly concerned to boot. What had that glance been about? What would be so important that Henry would forego seeing his family to talk about? Henry was definitely someone who valued seeing his family greatly? But, the thing that bugged her most of all…what did it have to do with her? Would Rey know, given they took the trip to the past together?

"_Or, is Rey the cause of it?" _Jeri's mind suggested, despite her wishes that it didn't. The girl did seem to be an enigma - maybe something pretty major had happened back in the past. What had they seen? Or, maybe even, who? _"Maybe it was one of my ancestors. But why would that make them act that way, and, more confusingly, why wouldn't they have mentioned it yet? This just doesn't make any sense."_

"Listen, can I stay here tonight?" asked Rey, stifling a yawn. It was still a long time until she would manage to go to sleep again, and it had been a tiring morning for all of them.

"Of course dear, you're family," Seiko replied, nodding.

"Thanks."

"Still, you've had a busy morning, one which I wish to hear about, but you must all be starving, and we can't talk about this on empty stomachs, can we? How about I make you all some snacks?"

"Sounds great," Takato said with a smile, nodding.

"Yes, thank you. That would be lovely," Henry said, far more politely than his goggled friend.

"Can I have a rice bun dipped in whipped cream and butter?" Rika asked, a surprisingly casual expression on her face.

"**I hate your cravings," **Harmony grumbled.

"Isn't the butter solid anyway?" Kristy asked, confused.

"Then melt it," Rika insisted.

"**And you call me insane," **Chaos complained.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

So, things calm down a lot now, but a lot of tense underlying plotlines still need tying up. Rayleigh and Chiyo's scene is definitely one of the most depressing scenes I've written. At least, it depressed me. I really liked Chiyo as a character. Naoko too, for that matter. Anyhow, must move on, onwards and upwards and all that.

Until next time…

B.C.


	63. The Trick To Reflection

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated). Oh, and I don't own the (rather obscure if you haven't seen it) Mary Poppins reference either. Or the Hitchhiker's reference.

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 57**

_The Trick to Reflection_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Mitsuo Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**14:21 JST**_

"_I still don't get exactly what is going on here."_

With a tap of the button, the lift doors clattered to a close, the outside world and any latecomers now locked out.

"_Ugh, so much seems to be happening recently. First all this Demon business starts, then Rayleigh replaces Yamaki and now, he's been fired. And to top that all off, why on earth did that Rey girl call Takato "Dad"? Am I missing something here?"_

The lift accelerated upwards, the redhead taking an idle look at the numbers as they slowly increased. Not too long now, she just had to hope he hadn't done anything stupid yet. Knowing him and his anger, he had probably broken something. Either that, or descended into a deep depressed silence, rather uncharacteristic for him but something she had seen once before after the destruction of Hypnos by Vikaralamon. Back then, it'd simply been all about sharing a flat to save on rent, plus as work colleagues it would mean they would far more easily keep in touch.

A slim smile came to her face as she knew that it had become far more than that.

"_Ugh, and that Rayleigh…" _she thought, clenching her hand into a fist. _"He seems bent on destroying the Tamers. He obviously hates them, and I don't think they think much of him either. But I wonder why, and also, who on earth would take this job if they hated the Tamers? And why replace Yamaki?"_

The doors opened, the light of the corridor bursting in as Riley stepped out of the lift. She frowned, glancing along the all-too-familiar corridor, a dose of familiarity now seemingly alien.

"_For a day with so many crises in it, it's been really quiet for Hypnos. With Rayleigh shutting down the systems for whatever his reason was, it's not like I've had much work either. This is when Hypnos really should've intervened too."_

She smiled to a lady passing, pushing a pram in front of her as she headed for the lift. She turned back to look along the hallway, freezing up as the truth hit her like a ton of bricks.

"_Wait__…hmm…"_

She stared at the pram, the mother looking in at their baby with a smile as they disappeared into the lift, transporting the pair away to some distant place. Downstairs probably.

"_Hmm…that is a weird thought…but…it makes sense I suppose."_

She paused, pondering as she stared at the dull cream walls of the hallway, knowing that if she waited for too long she'd be taken as some kind of nut.

"_If Rik__a's pregnant with Takato's baby, then that means, in the future…if they have time travel, the child could come back. Which means in all likelihood, given Rey's from the future…then…this means that Rey is their daughter!"_

She steadied herself, the position she had stopped in rather unstable.

"_If that's true, a lot of stuff makes a lot more__ sense now, but…if she is a time traveller and is their daughter…why is she here then? I thought all that time travel stuff was very risky, it's in just about every science fiction series. If she wasn't careful…god knows what she could've changed. I hope she knows what she's doing."_

She sighed, wondering why she was never told these things and why she had failed to work them out so far. Prioritising, she decided that her contemplation of her surprising conclusion could come later: she had something else to attend to now.

Continuing her pace, she arrived at the front door, and began fumbling about in her handbag for the keys. Eventually finding them beneath a hat stand and a chest of drawers, she went to the lock, turning it and letting the door open itself.

She frowned as it swung open, the apartment as quiet as she expected. Still, the fact it hadn't been locked on both locks made it clear that Yamaki was home, and given the position of the sofa relative to the door, she had a pretty big inkling that he was on it.

"Yamaki," she sighed, wandering across the room and looking over the sofa back, down at the man laying along it with a deep frown on his face and a powered down laptop alongside his shades on the coffee table.

"Hello Riley."

"Ugh, I knew you'd take it this bad."

"All that I am taking badly is that a bastard like Rayleigh could ever get into a position to fire me. I thought our government was smarter than that."

"But that's not everything, is it? Come on Yamaki, every day with both of you was like a warzone. The pair of you were stuck in your little game too much, and now he's gone and carried out the punishment he's threatened you with all along."

"So he didn't play fair then. Or maybe this is more than a little childish game. I am an adult, lest you forget Riley."

"You both sure didn't act like adults. Both of you playing your egos, it's a wonder we got any work done at all."

"So that place is doing better now I have left, is that what you mean?"

"Completely the opposite, actually."

Yamaki sat up, bewildered look on his face as he was genuinely surprised. "What do you mean?" he asked, turning around as Riley sat alongside him on the sofa.

"Rayleigh, once you'd left, powered down the whole Hypnos system."

"What?! Why?! The danger that…"

"He didn't say any more than that he was testing something."

"Doesn't he realise how much he is compromising the security of this city? That man is insane."

"It gets worse."

"How can it possibly get worse? This entire city is at threat; Hypnos has to be restarted, now!"

Riley frowned, shaking her head before removing a PDA from her pocket, less advanced than Yamaki's but far more useful given that it was still connected to Hypnos. She looked over the data glumly, having inspected it beforehand and being surprised by its readings. "The systems are back online. Whatever he was doing, he's done."

"But what could he have been doing? And what does it have to do with all the news reports of the Tamers having a battle? What bioemerged?"

"Nothing did."

"What do you mean?"

"Absolutely nothing has passed through the network. I can tell that just from the monitoring feeds right now. There's always a level of disturbance, as you know, left behind that slowly decreases after a bioemergence, the effect of the world restabilising itself after a Digital Field. The only areas of any disruption are a tiny blip in the south eastern corner of Shinjuku, and that's fading fast. I'd wager a bet it was a rookie level Digimon."

"So, in short…"

"Harmless, and it's a significant distance away from the Tamers incident. The incident also started before when I managed to track back the real world disruption to, so the events are unrelated."

"So, we have a rookie level Digimon on the loose as well as this Tamers incident? And for that matter, what _was_ this incident? What could they possibly have been fighting?"

"Each other, Yamaki."

"Excuse me?"

"Yamaki, you know that Chiyo girl. Well…she had a hidden agenda all along, and she was simply earning the Tamers' trust until she took action. She possessed several of the girls, made them try to kill their boyfriends, and anyone who got in the way. She even killed Ryder."

"What?! One of the Tamers, murdered? Has this Chiyo girl been arrested or captured?"

Riley frowned, shaking her head. "No, at least, not Ryder. Ryder pulled off his stunt again, and came back to life, but when he saw that Mari was being threatened by Chiyo with a gun, he quickly used Mari's discarded weapon to shoot Chiyo. He meant to disable her, but he ended up killing her."

"What? Not another one."

"He looked pretty shaken about it too. Hypnos is going to cover it up, but…Rayleigh's using all of these things as bargaining power. He gave the Tamers a pretty clear warning today, and I get the impression that something bad is going to happen."

"That isn't simply woman's intuition, anyone with half a brain could tell that Rayleigh is doing something here. The only question is…what?" Yamaki wondered, pulling his hand on his chin as he pondered the case.

"Hmm…"

"Also, something else is bugging me."

"Which is?"

"Just now, you mentioned two weapons in your description. I know of Mari's weapon, but where did the other one come from?"

"No idea. I was told to leave the scene by Rayleigh; I haven't had so much as a look at it all."

"Then we have to get there and figure out what is going on before he manages to carry out whatever sick plan he has in store," Yamaki insisted, standing up and grabbing his jacket from the armrest.

"But, you don't work for Hypnos any more. How are you going to get in?"

"Call it civic duty Riley. I cannot let this continue," Yamaki declared, putting on his shades. He was going to get to the bottom of this, once and for all.

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**14:25 JST**_

"Yeah, I'll be back soon Dad, I promise. Tell Mum that everything's okay now, I just need to talk to my friends a bit about what happened. I'm sorry for worrying you all. Love you, bye."

Jeri hung the phone up, a slim frown on her face as she turned to look about at the room. Henry sat, still oddly anxious, on the sofa, not making much conversation with anyone. Rey watched him, a frown on her face as she contemplated what could be going through the boy's mind. Rika was currently entertaining her cravings with her rice bun à la whipped cream and butter, whilst her sister, Kristy, watched with a look of disdain. Takato, meanwhile, approached Jeri, a slim, pessimistic smile on the girl's face.

"Your turn," she said. Takato nodded, heading to pick up the handset while Jeri headed back to sit down alongside Henry on the sofa. However, to her surprise, Henry stood up when she arrived, looking into her eyes with a concerned expression.

"Jeri…can we talk?"

Even Rika froze up when hearing those cursed words, known from a thousand sitcoms to be the forerunner of such a wide range of bad situations from "I'm breaking up with you" and "I'm pregnant" to "I'm not actually from Guilford, I'm from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse."

"Uh…" Jeri mumbled, glancing about at the concerned eyes of the group around them. She frowned, nodding. "Okay," she replied, not sure what she was getting herself into. Henry frowned, nodding before turning and heading out towards the hallway.

"_Hmm…this can't be good," _Rey thought, pondering what she could do.

* * *

A tense silence befell upon the pair as they walked out into the wind-chilled garden, a tense silence which also befell on their two companions, Elecmon and Terriermon. Henry dearly hoped the latter wouldn't make things more difficult. The situation was bad as it was, and he couldn't help but feel like crap. It'd been a very long, fatiguing day and now he had to deal with the consequences before they snowballed into anything bigger.

Perhaps it was too late for that. It was not like Jeri would've ever found out about Naoko's attempt - unless Harmony suddenly remembered, of course - but Henry had, as a result of that event, begun thinking, and he didn't like what he'd thought about. Not even remotely.

"Jeri…"

Jeri hesitated, not sure whether she wanted to join in with what was about to transpire. She was so fearful that it was something terrible; all the signs seemed to point that way.

She swallowed, nodding and replying. There was only one way she was going to find out.

"…yes?"

Henry glanced over Jeri's shoulder, checking the door was closed. He was about to tell her something they hadn't even told Harmony herself yet, so as few witnesses as possible was key. He hoped Renamon wasn't nearby - she could wreck everything unless she realised the severity of the situation. He swallowed, before looking back and realising she had noticed his glance.

"I have to admit something."

"_Huh?" _Jeri thought, beginning to wonder what on earth could've happened. She'd been taken by surprise by his unexpected words. "Oh."

"Back in Nagasaki, something…something bad happened."

"What do you mean?"

Henry glanced over her shoulder again, dearly wishing that Rika wouldn't show up and make his life hell. This would still require some more explanation. "Well, you know how Rika's got all these past lives…as Harmony?"

"Yeah…wait, you met one of them?!" Jeri asked, surprised by the idea but not yet sure why she was meant to be shocked. Wasn't this an amazing thing?

"A bit more than that."

"Terriermon."

"Sorry…bad timing?"

"Just a bit."

"Momentai."

"Ugh."

"What does he mean?" Jeri asked curiously, tilting her head at her boyfriend. Terriermon did tend to make a lot of jokes, but surprisingly often they were grounded in reality.

Henry, for a moment, felt like Takato as his hand went to involuntarily scratch the back of his head, before being restrained by his willpower. Now was not the time to be nervous and blabber, as attractive as the idea was. "Well…her name was Naoko and…she, well, we kissed."

"…what?" Jeri asked, her smile at the idea of a prior incarnation of her best female friend dropping quickly.

"_Here comes a Takato-esque level of blubbing," _Terriermon thought, crossing his arms and frowning.

"Well, you see…she was really lonely and she thought I was single and then she pushed towards me and…"

"You kissed?!"

"Yeah…kinda."

"What do you mean, kinda? You kissed, didn't you?"

"Well, that relies on the definition of a kiss…"

"Ugh…Henry, I can't believe this is you of all people finding it difficult to explain things," interrupted a new voice from behind, the door closed promptly as Rey gave a wary smile, Realmon following by her side.

"Rey?"

"I walked in on them lip-touching, and I have to say, if that counts as a kiss, it's a surprise Mari didn't kill Ryder over his mistakes."

"Huh?" Jeri mumbled.

"Huh?" Henry echoed, both turning to face the girl.

"Hey, how'd you get out here so quietly?" Elecmon asked, confused about the enigma that was Rey Matsuki.

"Experience," Realmon said with a smile.

"Yeah, I walked in on both of them. I don't think Henry was exactly putting his all into it, something to work on methinks," Rey joked, her enthusiastic tone not entirely unintentional. The best thing right now was to avoid an argument, and lifting the mood was essential for that. "I'm sure Jeri would give you plenty of practice."

"I'm still not sure what you both mean," Jeri mumbled, the strange turn of events not properly explained to her yet.

"Jeri, Naoko…Naoko was an orphan, all her family had been killed in the bombings," Henry explained, looking into Jeri's eyes as he desperately hoped she'd understand without blowing a fit.

"Aw…poor girl."

"At first, she thought Henry and I were a couple," explained Rey.

"Yeah, not long after I corrected her on that, she, uh...tried to kiss me."

"So why didn't you stop her?!" Jeri asked, this double act between Henry and Rey now beginning to irritate her. She needed a straight answer before she could think things over, and, as much as Rika's daughter was trying to help, she was failing miserably with anything other than confusing her further.

"I was too surprised. I was kissing Harmony, which basically means…I was kissing Rika."

"Oh. I hadn't considered it like that yet."

"I'm sure if I hadn't interrupted, they would've realised anyway," added Rey.

"Rika is going to kill you," warned Elecmon. "Even _if_ it wasn't your fault."

"I'm sure she wouldn't do something _that_ harsh, but still…this is so much of a surprise," Jeri groaned, putting her hand on her head.

"I know, and I'm sorry," apologised Henry, taking a step forward to put a hand on her shoulder before pausing. He nervously put his hand down, Jeri looking up with a frown as they looked into each other's eyes. "Sorry."

Jeri let out a light smile, nodding. "I know…just…please…don't let this happen again. And…could you tell me sooner next time?"

"And without all the drama. I thought you were about to say you wanted to break up," Elecmon added.

"I will. I promise."

"Psst…Henry…she just signed a blank cheque for there _to be_ a next time," Terriermon whispered from below. Henry sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh, and Jeri…" Rey interrupted, clasping her hands together. "_Please_ don't tell Rika yet. I still don't know how to explain this to her and what'll happen once she remembers. Naoko would've been traumatised by events, and I don't want a repercussion in Rika until we can explain things in full."

"Don't worry, I'll keep it secret," Jeri answered, nodding and smiling. This had come as a surprise to her, but once explained, she could understand a bit more of what had happened. Naoko had tried to kiss Henry thanks to loneliness and thinking he was single, it was understandable. She had been to similar extremes of depression before.

"Thanks," Rey replied, nodding before turning on her feet. "Come on, we'd better head back in before mum and dad think I've started taking everyone on time travelling holidays."

Henry reached out to grab Jeri's hand, the nodding as she clasped his in return. Rey smiled, beginning to head back towards the house, Realmon in tow.

"_God, I have to say, that went a lot better than I expected."_

"_Yeah, nothing at all like Mari," _Realmon replied over their link.

"_I don't blame Mari for how she reacts though…she's not had the easiest of lives."_

"_Neither has Jeri."_

"_True. At least she doesn't have an ex knocking on the walls of reality."_

"_Well, it's better than a boring life I…guess…uh…isn't it a bit…quiet?" _

It was only now that she noticed her companions weren't following her as she reached the door. She turned back to face them, Henry looking curiously at a static Jeri as she held him back, uncomfortable frown on her face.

"Listen…I need to talk to Henry about something, could you leave us for a moment?"

"Uh…" Rey replied, glancing nervously to Realmon and then back to the pair. "Uh…sure."

"Thanks," Jeri said, clenching Henry's hand agitatedly before Rey vanished through the door once again. She swallowed, looking back to Henry, wanting to get this question out with. She dropped his hand, looking nervously into his eyes. "How did we get together?"

"Huh?" Henry answered, confused. This was extremely random. What did she mean? _"Wait…she couldn't be thinking the same thing…"_

Jeri suddenly began to feel that voicing something which had been bugging her like this was a mistake. She shied away at first, beginning to mumble her words. "It's just kinda that…did you see this coming at all?"

"Do you mean the kiss?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

Jeri hesitated, nervously twitching with her hands. This felt like such a huge mistake.

"I really wish I hadn't now, but I got to thinking…what made us get together in the first place? I hate thinking like this, but…do you ever get the feeling our lives are just completely…random?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you getting sent back in time, and getting away from trying to kill me."

"Yeah, I suppose so. But that sounds a bit too convenient you know, as if things aren't random."

"There are so many things in my life that just seem to happen in an odd way though. I mean, like us getting together. It took so long for either of us to get any feelings for each other, and then suddenly…um…"

"I got really annoyed and made you get moving with them?"

"Yeah. It did come as a surprise to discover that we both had the same feelings though."

"You mean, it's another one of those convenient things?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"I see what you mean," added Henry. "But…we do love each other, don't we?"

"Yeah, of course we do Henry," Jeri insisted, smiling to her boyfriend before settling back into a frown. The pair had notably began to wander, and, finding themselves over by the step of the house, both decided to sit down before continuing their conversation. "It's just…today has made me think about a lot of things, and…well…do you ever get the feeling that something odd is going on?"

"Something odd?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm…I think so."

"Stuff like this happens, and, well, I guess we just accept it without question, but…maybe…"

"Isn't that just life?"

"Ugh…you know what, it was a stupid thought, forget it."

"No, it isn't Jeri, it's interesting," Henry said, taking her hand again. "Do you mean that you think that our entire world is too…convenient, too often?"

"No, it's not that."

"Huh?"

"What do you think of Destiny?"

"Do you mean, do I believe in it?"

"Yeah."

"Well…I have thought about it a bit, and I'm not really sure. Sometimes I get the feeling that we're all part of some big plan, but at other times…sometimes bad things happen, and sometimes just random things that make me doubt it."

"I see. I was thinking that maybe our lives are being manipulated by Destiny."

"Huh?"

"Maybe we're heading towards something…something big, and us being together is just a small part of it all. I hate the idea of being a pawn but…it worries me too."

"But that's only one way of seeing things, right? Maybe we do have control over our own lives. We seem to make our own decisions all the time, how do you know that Destiny doesn't just adapt to it?"

"Maybe we could ask Rey?"

"Yeah, may…wait," Henry said, eyes widening as he recalled something from what in reality was only a few hours ago.

"What?"

"That's odd…I just remembered. Rey…she said something…back in Nagasaki. We wanted to find out how long Naoko would live for, and so she sensed out her string of Destiny. She didn't like what she found though…it was short, and Naoko was going to die."

"So…did she?"

"No, Rey saved her."

"But…doesn't that change history?"

Henry shrugged, frowning. "I don't know. I want to find out, but…I'm worried what I'll find out."

"So Rey changed Naoko's Destiny?"

"I think so."

"Hmm…this is all so confusing," Jeri mumbled, looking away from where they sat about at the large, beautiful garden.

"I know what you mean," Henry sighed. "This whole day has been so surprising, from ending up in the past to meeting Naoko to discovering I'm an Angel and then to discovering that you had been trying to kill m…oh, sorry…"

"No, I'm sorry," Jeri said, looking into his eyes as she squeezed his hand. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea then?"

"Huh?"

"I don't want to risk killing any of my friends, let alone you. If our relationship is just part of this big plan and get someone killed as a result, maybe…" she mumbled, looking down at the grass before forcing herself to look back at him. "Maybe we're better off without it, before another Demon comes along and uses us. They are so powerful."

"But our relationship is more than just a strange event in time or Destiny, I know it. And I'm sure if I was in the present when all this was happening today then…"

"I wouldn't have stopped. None of us do. The only reason Mari broke free was because Ryder died, and because Chiyo weakened her own spell. She had us all completely under our control…I seem to get that a lot."

Henry put his arm round Jeri quickly, knowing she had resorted to one of her bad habits: self blame.

"No…it wasn't you. And…we can't…just because of random things…"

"Oh for god's sake, you're both so useless."

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Jeri and Henry both looked over to Terriermon, looking fit to explode with irritation. "You two are so annoying."

"Terriermon!"

"But you are Henry! I would do anything for a relationship, and if television hasn't lied to me, a lot of people would do the same. And you guys sit here considering ending yours just because of some ridiculous Destiny thing? Come on Henry, that's mean."

"Are you talking about you and Dark…?" Elecmon began, surprised by his fellow Digimon's outburst.

"That doesn't matter, and neither does this whole coincidental universe thing that drives me nuts just hearing you all talk about it. The point is, are you happy?"

"What do you mean?" Jeri asked, confused slightly as the pair was suddenly on the receiving end of Terriermon's annoyance.

"I think he means are you two happy together?" Elecmon asked, the cream and green dog bunny nodding as he crossed his arms.

"Well, yeah, I am," Henry answered, glancing to Jeri for confirmation.

"Yeah, we are," Jeri replied. "It's…nice to know there's always someone there to talk to about everything."

"Thanks."

"Well then what does it matter how it started out? Sheesh, stop moaning and smile for once," Terriermon pouted, broodingly sitting down.

A confused silence followed, Jeri looking to Henry as each gripped each other round the back, both not wanting to speak out of dearly hoping to understand what had just happened. _"How did he manage that?" _Henry wondered, looking at his usually-annoying partner.

"Why are you only occasionally insightful like this?" asked Elecmon.

"It's not as fun."

"Ah."

"Jeri, I think I agree with you," Henry said, looking to the girl next to him with a pondering eye.

"What do you mean Henry?"

"I think there is something bigger out there. I just don't know what, but it does feel like everything is building to something big."

"With us all together, we'll make it through anything," Jeri said, a smile coming to her face. "I'm sure of it."

* * *

"_Rey, have you got addicted to spying?"_

"_Um…no?"_

"_Ugh."_

"_Well, I wanted to see what happened. Come on then, let's go back."_

Realmon nodded, the pair beginning to creep away from the gap in the door which Rey had made. Her apparently altruistic interests in ensuring things didn't go too badly didn't really hold water - it was obvious she was simply curious what they were talking about, and Realmon couldn't help but share that curiosity.

"_Ugh, I hate not being able to tell them the truth."_

"_The truth about what?"_

"_About everything," _Rey thought, sighing. _"But, if they knew…well… let's just say I wouldn't want to be the one to break the news to them."_

"_I see."_

"_Which reminds me, we've still got to fix my time device."_

"_Do you know how it works then?"_

"_Kinda. I was planning to just replace each component with an identical one. Well, except for _that_ of course, and maybe the paradox components too. They didn't seem too badly damaged."_

"_So we're stuck here for a bit longer then?"_

"_Yeah. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad about it all."_

"_Huh? Why would you be sad?"_

Rey and Realmon stepped back into the living room, a growling Rika glaring down a worried Guilmon as he shied back away from the table and her strange food.

"Mine."

"_A pregnant Rika? Enough said. Plus, I still have to tell her about Naoko, and I don't think I'll be able to get out of that too easily."_

"_Not now that you gave Naoko the name of Rika's great grandfather."_

"_Heh, and my great great grandfather. I love relations."_

"_I just think your family is freakishly large."_

"_True. Young too."_

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**14:27 JST**_

Ryder frowned as he arrived at their apartment door, putting his hands in his pockets and sighing as he recalled the dramatic events of that day. The number 29 hung on the door, and he stared at the brass numbers for a while before looking to Mari with a frown. The irony of her top, black with the words **HAVE A TERRIBLE DAY **plastered across it, wasn't lost on him.

"I don't have the key," he sighed, recalling the frenetic exit he had been forced to make that morning. Mari looked at him, a frown on her face as she remembered the reason, and saw his glum expression continue as her hand ran to her back pocket. She pulled out her key ring, glancing to him again as the tense, contemplative silence continued to flood anywhere near him. He didn't even seem to want to talk much about what'd happened, and she dearly wanted to know why.

She sighed, turning the key in the lock and pushing forward as it clicked open. She wandered in, the apartment looking messy and disrupted thanks to the earlier brawl between them. The bowls and remotes had fallen onto the floor from the table, a layer of dust coated the area where the shards had exploded earlier, and a bullet was embedded in the frame of the balcony doors. Very little had been left undisturbed thanks to Mari's earlier burst of wind throughout, and she made a mental note to replace that light bulb.

Mari noted Ryder looking around, and let loose an obviously fake laugh. "We've got one helluva cleanup, haven't we?" she said, knowing she wasn't fooling him remotely. She clasped her hands together. Her laugh became faker as she looked into his eyes, before fading entirely as he loosely and dejectedly wandered towards the sofa. He simply fell onto it with a moan, Donmon and DarkRenamon eyeing him with saddened expressions from where they stood behind Mari. As good as it was that he could now do that, thanks to his latest death healing him to the point where he could walk again, it was still a depressing sight.

Crossing her arms, she wandered over to look at him, before sighing and looking at the television. She mentally noted how despite her eagerness to kill him earlier she had still been herself enough to turn it off. But, her mind wasn't eased much by the thankfulness that their home hadn't burned to the ground. God only knew what the neighbours thought had been going on after all those bullet shots that morning.

Looking back to the boy, now turning around to sit up as soon as he found he annoyingly wasn't ready to fall asleep yet, she quickly joined him on the sofa, looping an arm around his back.

"Listen," she mumbled, pulling him over as if he were a depressed child. "It's going to be alright," he whimpered, finally getting the silence and the privacy enough to let it all begin pouring out. A tear trailed down his cheek, being followed by several others as he sobbed. "Don't cry," she pleaded, her voice soft and completely contrasting to the tone she had used the last time she was in this room.

"I killed someone," he sobbed. "Again, and I couldn't even save her."

"Ryder…I know…but…you did it to save me, and you can't forget that."

"There could've been another way."

"Ryder…Ryder…" Mari said, pushing him up slightly and looking him directly in his wet eyes. "Listen to me. Back when I worked for SDCO, I was given a piece of advice by Jeff that I think you need."

"What did he say?" Ryder asked, the girl wiping back one of his tears and letting her mouth become a thin line.

"He said that in the heat of the moment you'll always have to make those big decisions, and sometimes someone can get hurt. But you have to realise that you made those decisions at the time, based on what you know. There are no mistakes, only slightly worse moves. We're all responsible for what we did, but we also learn from our mistakes."

"Yeah, but I didn't learn from mine."

"But you did Ryder, you really did."

"When? When between aiming and firing did I act on anything I'd learnt?" asked Ryder, his voice angered, but at himself.

"You realised there were no other options. Chiyo was about to send a bullet straight through me," Mari insisted, putting her hand on her chest between her breasts where the bullet would've probably gone through at that range to illustrate her point. "And you also learnt that killing wasn't the only way. To me, what matters is that you tried to hit her in the legs."

"Yeah, but…that doesn't change things. I still killed someone, and the whole world has to be talking about it."

Mari reached over to the remote, switching on the television, now slightly out of line with the sofa. She glanced to Ryder who watched intently, curious about what she was doing.

"Let's see."

"**Hostilities seem to have ceased now. As of yet we are not aware of any casualties, although a number of gunshots had been reported from the park. These have been denied by the government, which is reporting that a Digimon with a gun-like weapon was the source of the sounds. The actual nature of events today is unlikely to be known for a while, although these reports do seem to contradict the previous speculation that this was an inter-Tamer battle. Regardless, the park is likely to remain closed for a while, and the police are asking people to use alternate facilities."**

"See, they don't know a thing. Rayleigh may be a total bastard who seems to be taken straight from American action movie head honcho number one…"

"Only because you guys have a terrible habit of using Brits as bad guys."

"Can we put movie politics aside Ryder?"

"Fine."

"Going back to the point, what I mean is that, as much of an asshole he is, I think we can trust his word right now, because the implications for him if this were to get out are as bad as they would be for us."

"Yeah, I guess."

"**We have someone here who claims to be a major informer to Digital Watch. Sir, what do you have to say about this incident?"**

"**Well, I have gotten the impression, and I'm not alone in this, that the government is hiding something very important about this incident."**

"**So you think there is a conspiracy involved?"**

"**Perhaps. The government has been known to cover things up regarding Digimon before, including their existence in the first place, so perhaps this is a repeat of that."**

"**What would you like the government to do?"**

"**Given the nature of certain members of the government, the truth is unlikely to come out, but I am sure that Digital Watch, with our many members and clever minds, will manage to work out exactly what happened here. This government will become accountable for its own actions, and those of its agents. We are onto you."**

"Ugh…"

Mari sighed, promptly turning off the television as Ryder leaned back and slipped down into his seat, groaning. She pulled him close again as he leant his head onto her shoulder, both frowning deeply.

"Sorry," she mumbled, realising she had just made things worse. She glanced over to Donmon and DarkRenamon, both still watching their partners sadly. She looked back to Ryder, kissing his forehead gently before pulling him into a hug. _"I really shouldn't have chosen this top this morning," _she mused sadly.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Things have certainly slowed down a fair bit, but that doesn't mean there won't be any more action or drama. Things are about to take a very interesting turn.

Until next time…

B.C.


	64. The Trick To Investigation

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 58**

_The Trick to Investigation_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Streets of Minato Ward **_

_**14:29 JST**_

Two sets of hooves touched the concrete, wings swinging down before six shoes leapt to the ground. Takeru frowned, looking across to Davis helping Kari down from Nefertimon before glancing to Pegasusmon, eyeing him with concern.

"Go ahead Pegasusmon, dedigivolve," he said, sighing as he wandered over to his best human friends. Pegasusmon grimaced, before glowing and reverting back to Patamon, who flew over to land on Takeru's shoulder. Gatomon likewise fell to the ground, while Kari turned to face the pair of boys.

And subsequently, grabbed them both in a bear hug, to the surprise of one and the confusion of the other.

"I'm so sorry you two."

Davis glanced to Takeru, before looking back to Kari and patting her on the shoulder. "It's okay Kari."

"Yeah, it wasn't your fault. Please don't beat yourself up for it," added Takeru, doing likewise.

Kari frowned, pulling away from the pair. "Yeah, I know but…I really could've killed both of you, and I'm really sorry."

"Please don't beat yourself up about it," Davis asked, looking his girlfriend in the eyes solemnly. Kari was the kind of person who could do so very easily.

"Yeah, you're our friend. We'd forgive you for whatever you do, and we know you'd do the same," Takeru added.

"Yeah, I guess so," Kari tailed off, the concept of universal forgiveness bringing Ryder's situation back to the forefront. Given what she had nearly done herself, did she have the right to judge him? This was the kind of situation she had never foreseen happening.

She sighed, leaning into Davis and planting a kiss on his lips, before surprising Takeru by doing the same to him, only on his cheek.

"Sorry. I'll see both of you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you at school tomorrow," Davis replied, Takeru simply frowning and nodding.

"Bye," Gatomon said, waving from the ground below up to Patamon flying alongside Takeru and DemiVeemon on Davis' head.

"Yeah, okay. Bye," Kari replied, turning on her heels and beginning to walk away from the pair, heading in the direction of her home. Both Davis and Takeru paused to watch her walk away, before turning back to face each other.

There was a moment's silence, the reason for which only known to the blonde, before Davis put his hand out. "See you tomorrow then," he said, his voice ignorant of the subtleties flying about.

Takeru looked over, wondering if his friend was really that dense or if he actually knew more than he let on. With Davis, it was rather hard to tell. He nodded, a slim smile on his face as he shook Davis' hand. He turned, heading towards a nearby large tower block, whilst Davis headed back to his own.

* * *

Gatomon skipped along the nearby brick wall, keeping a steady eye on her Tamer who looked rather distracted and in her own thoughts. The road and pavement were both practically empty, the time of day and the events of that day no doubt attributing to it. The cat's mind was addled, the brunette concerning her greatly, but she also knew that Kari needed some time to think things through properly too.

"_Today has definitely been one of the worst days of my life. I nearly killed two of my friends, and I lost one too. Are things ever going to be the same again? I really hope I haven't ruined anything, and I hope this doesn't split our group apart but…what is going to happen to Ryder? Sooner or later things are going to be revealed."_

"Kari, you okay?"

"Hmm…I don't think so Gatomon, I don't think so."

"Want to talk?"

"Maybe later. Right now I just need to think things over." _"Even though I know it won't help," _she mentally added, frowning.

* * *

"_How am I still alive?"_

"Davis, you okay?" DemiVeemon asked from his Tamer's shoulder, the brunette currently taking on a wondering expression as he looked down at an intact, if grazed hand. The slight soreness to the touch he felt from it was disproportionate to the level of pain he should've been feeling all over his body. He should've broken every bone in his body, perhaps even died. So what was going on? How, what, why, had he been saved?

"Yeah; that's what I just don't understand."

"What do you mean Davis?"

"I fell from that building. I _should_ be dead but…look at me. I'm hardly hurt. As cool and great as that is, I have to ask, what the hell is going on?"

"Maybe you're immortal?"

"Like Ryder, you mean?"

"Yeah. That'd be cool."

Davis sighed, frowning as he put his hands behind his head and stretched out his elbows on either side. He stopped, looking to the clouds above.

"The thing is I don't think I died."

"Huh?"

"When Ryder survives something like that, he dies, but I was conscious the whole time, even if a bit dizzy."

"So you don't think it's the same?"

Davis grimaced, outstretching an arm in front of him again and looking at it. He shook his head. "No…so what is going on here?"

"You should talk to the others about this."

"I know but…I don't think they'd be able to help that much."

"Still, whatever it is it came at the right time Davis."

Davis grinned, nodding to his partner as he put up a thumb. "Yeah. Like always!"

* * *

Takeru arrived at the doorway to the apartment block, absently glancing up at the floors stacked away from him. He had been expecting to walk home with Yolei, but she wanted to go with Ken to apologise first about the damage she'd caused. The extent of damage Yolei hadn't made clear, but he expected the full events of the day to become clear soon enough. He made a mental note to tell Cody after he'd first gone to relieve his mother of her probable panicking about his whereabouts.

And what a terrible day it had been. He'd been attacked by some of his friends, betrayed by others and, worst of all, Ryder and Chiyo had died, and only the former survived to tell the tale. His friends had fought, and he had been caught in the crossfire, one of the few without someone directly after them. So much pain, so much horror from seeing his allies at each other's throats, but right now, his mind was stuck on something else, or rather, someone he knew he didn't want to think about.

Kari.

Sighing, he began to ascend the stairway.

* * *

_**Ichijouji Residence, Minato Ward**_

_**14:31 JST**_

"So I am sorry if I caused any trouble Mr and Mrs Ichijouji," said Yolei, bowing deeply in front of Ken's parents as Ken warily watched. He knew why she was apologising, but he didn't think she had to by any means. She wasn't the one who caused all of this, and yet she was taking responsibility for what had happened. "I'll pay for any damage caused to Ken's room."

"Dear, you needn't worry. I can tell it wasn't your fault. No sense beating yourself up about it," Mrs Ichijouji said with a warm smile, Yolei nodding and smiling out of relief, bowing lightly.

"Thanks."

"Still, that is a worrying story, and the news has told us nothing," Mr Ichijouji noted with a frown.

"Really?" Ken asked, rather surprised that news still hadn't got out about the real events of that day. His father nodded, standing up from the breakfast table where they had sat to talk, fetching the remote and turning on the television as the other four humans and two Digimon peered over.

"**Are we as safe from Digital Threats as we think we are? That's the question being asked now by many people about Japan in light of today's still unexplained events. It's not just Digital Watch members who are talking about it anymore; rumours are running wild after reported sightings of the Tamers fighting each other in combat. The government denies the allegations and has made some early explanations, but it has become clear to many parties that more is going on than is being made apparent. Shiro Youta reports from the Kantei."**

Behind the anchorwoman, a window appeared of a video of a male journalist, standing alongside a security booth guarded by a number of officers. A two story building hung above, a glass and steel construction: the Kantei, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Japan, an office presently held by one Inukai Keishiro.

"**Thank you Kaoru."**

"**Mr Youta, is the Prime Minister saying anything?"**

"**No, the PM is yet to personally provide a statement. It has become very busy here, however, and there have been several arrivals to see Mr Keishiro, including the Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr Nakazawa. It seems the action regarding this story has died down, and the park has been closed off to the public and the media so we are unable to report from there either."**

"**Surely this silence will simply be fuelling speculation that something is being covered up here?"**

"**Yes, the internet is currently full of heated suggestions of what's really going on here, all of varying levels of plausibility."**

"**I see. Mr Youta, thank you."**

Ken's father sighed, turning off the television. "So, what did happen?" he asked, turning about to the two teenagers, both of whom frowned and looked sheepishly about to each other.

"One of our friends died," Ken sighed, before watching his mother gasp in surprise as her hand shot to her mouth.

"What?!" she spluttered, as the reason for the cover up began to make itself apparent to his father.

Yolei frowned, nodding sadly. "It was Chiyo."

"How terrible!" Ken's mother gasped again.

"What happened?"

"She attacked us," Hawkmon explained, grimacing about having to be the one to tell the news. "She turned against us, a terrible thing to happen if you'd agree, and she unfortunately set her fate in stone."

"We all thought she was a reformed Demon who had come to our side, but in reality she had been manipulating us the whole time until she was ready," elaborated Wormmon to Ken's parents, his father now with his arm round his mother.

"So who killed her then? And why?"

Ken frowned, looking down to the ground and cursing himself for having to keep things like this from his parents. "I can't tell you."

"Why not dear?" his mother asked, horrified that her son would keep such an important secret.

"No, I can understand why," his father said, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry but…the whole world wants to know, and we have to keep them from doing so. We have to protect our friends, before the media can lay into them regardless of their motivations," Yolei apologised.

"But what was your friend's motivation? Was it the last resort?"

"I'm afraid so," Ken sighed. _"I hope so."_

* * *

_**File Apartment, Bunkyō Ward**_

_**15:00 JST**_

The open window was struck by a wing-like hand several times, frantically nudging it open before it finally widened enough to let the figure through. With a flurry of feathers and a pained groan about the tight entrance, a black and purple being crawled in, landing on the dull carpet before evaluating her new surroundings.

"_I hope this is it."_

She began to wander, turning when she reached the lift before scanning the nameplates by the door for what she was looking for. She had been here before, but had been too distracted, too causal…too happy…to notice. But now, it mattered, and she had a lead to go on.

**FILE APARTMENT**

The words scrawled artistically across a printed piece of paper, they sat above the actual room number, **29**. Evidently, they were a computer printout, and in the style of a matrix clock or display, but they had been drawn on slightly to reduce how bland they would otherwise have looked.

Another useful clue was that this particular door was stuck open, the lock broken thanks to events she could easily imagine. She grimaced at the thought, something she didn't want to remember. A plan that had gone so sorely wrong, and had lost her the being she cared about more than anyone else in the world.

A tear dropped from her eye, drowning into the carpet before she wiped it aside. Now wasn't the time for flooding out tears. She needed help, and her instinct as a Digimon was telling her that looking for someone similar to her was the best way to go, if only because it would mean the similar Digimon's Tamer was more likely to sympathise with her.

She pushed forward, the door nudging open and the largish apartment spreading out from her eyes, only to be met by plenty of others.

"DarkBiyomon?" Mimi asked, looking down to the increasingly-worried Digimon. What was she doing here? _"She looks so sad."_

"But…what are you doing here?" Sora asked. She stood up from the sofa where she sat alongside Tai, the latter previously having had his arm around her as they talked through the sadness of the day so far. They had been trying both to comfort each other, and to inform their fellow ex-Digidestined of the day's events and of Chiyo's passing. Surprisingly, they hadn't received any form of notice from their digivices, and by the time it had become clear they needed to be involved, the battle was well on its way to its terrible conclusion.

DarkBiyomon simply frowned, looking down to the floor as she stood in silence. Was this the right thing to do? Chiyo had told her never to trust them, and now she was breaking Chiyo's trust in going to see them. What sort of a partner didn't honour the other's wishes, particularly in death?

"You look like you need help," said a similar yet lighter voice, DarkBiyomon looking up again to see her pink opposite, with Sora by her side.

"Don't worry, we're not going to judge you or anything," Sora reassured, kneeling down to be closer to the Digimon's level. "We just want to help."

DarkBiyomon looked down again, cursing herself for what she was doing. Part of her was urging the rest to leave, get away from these wretched Tamers, this city, these memories, but the other part recalled how kind they had been to Chiyo, accepting her despite her differences and hostility. She felt so torn, so split, so…

"Here, you look hungry," said a new voice, a male one this time. She looked up to see a blue haired young man, holding out a yogurt drink to her. She glanced at it, and back up to Joe, wondering whether to take it.

Her stomach grumbled.

"Thanks," she mumbled, taking it from the hand and quickly drinking it down. _"Ugh, I feel like every other Digimon now, and plus, I don't have a Tamer either anymore. Looks like I could use all the food I can get," _she thought as the Tamers peered over at her eating, or rather, drinking.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to check you out to see if you're alright. All of you Digimon went through a pretty harsh battle today by the sounds of it and I want to make sure you're all still healthy, okay?"

"Just don't let him use the cold stethoscope on you," noted a white and purple marine creature landing next to him, before Gomamon faked a shiver. "You should put that thing in the oven first."

"It has to stay sterilised though," replied Joe.

"I still don't understand why you use that thing, the Digimon seem to have a very different internal system to us," Izzy noted from where he sat on the sofa, his laptop on the coffee table, as ever not more than a few metres from him.

"It can't do any harm I guess," Matt suggested, smiling lightly.

"Okay, but I warn you. Don't try any fast ones," DarkBiyomon said harshly, taking a step back.

"You have nothing to be worried about," reassured Agumon.

"Yeah, you'll be completely fine," added Gabumon.

"Except for the cold stethoscopes."

"Gomamon, quiet about that. She's already on edge enough."

"Geez, just trying to be informative Joe."

DarkBiyomon frowned, looking about at the group around her with a depressed eye. Was this how her life would be from now on? She, a liability, "cared for" by the Tamers like that Calumon creature. She wasn't mindlessly optimistic, she couldn't take that.

"_Still, doesn't look like I have much choice right now."_

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:05 JST**_

Looking at the scene, it would be pretty difficult to tell when the events of earlier that day had happened. On the one hand, a regular visitor to the park would notice the distinct difference between its pristine condition the previous day and the bull-through-a-china-shop condition it had taken on now, but a first-time visitor, thanks to the lack of any real evidence to what had happened remaining beyond the broken paving stones and trees, both long term damage that could take weeks to repair, would've been unable to tell.

That was, of course, the annoying situation that confronted a pair of figures now wandering into the park. Initial shock from a blonde haired man, grey suited and looking completely like a random government agent were it not for the seniority and anger conveyed in his walk and the lighter clicking in his hand, promptly turned to irritation as he found very little to go on.

"He's cleared up almost everything."

Riley frowned, nodding. "Yes, and he broke a lot of protocol too by the looks of it. Normally we investigate the scene for a while afterwards with at least one officer on hand, but…it doesn't even look like anyone came."

"There's nothing marking out where the body fell. Not even blood," Yamaki said, before looking across to his ex-subordinate and partner for her eyewitness assistance. "Where was Chiyo's body?"

"Let's see…I think it was right…there," she replied, gesturing to a patch with a slightly glassy quality to it. Yamaki wandered over, crouching down to find a thin layer of water or cleaning agent on the paving stones. He ran his hand through it, lifting his fingers to look at it more closely.

"He's cleaned off the blood then. Do you have any idea as to why he would've done so?"

Riley frowned, shaking her head. "No. Not at all."

"Hmm…I get the feeling we're missing something then."

Riley glanced about, curiously scanning the area for any signs of what had actually happened here - bullets, patches of blood, maybe even one of the firearms. Yamaki joined her, his eyes caught by a pair of broken Goggles glinting in the sun.

"Are those Ryder's?"

The redhead nodded, frowning again as her mind played back over the events from earlier. "When the CPR failed, he tossed them aside in anger."

"Hmm…I think we'll take them with us, although I can't see what use they'll be as evidence to work out what's really going on."

"There's not much to go on really, and that's the problem."

"Yes, we can't investigate Hypnos, particularly now that I'm fired, and with any evidence of anything unusual cleaned from here it looks like we're not going to find out much here either. Still, this does tell me one thing."

"Which is?"

"This battle ended, when?"

Riley glanced to her watch. "About two hours ago. Why?"

There was a sinister look in Yamaki's eyes as he stared back at the glistening paving stones. He stood up, removing his shades and looking Riley in the eyes. "Who could possibly conduct a thorough investigation that quickly? This park is already off-limits; there was no risk to security by doing so. With the growing Demon threat, we were meant to be investigating thoroughly what effects they could have, but Rayleigh has completely disregarded that by the looks of things."

"Or perhaps I just work _quicker_ than you?"

Yamaki and Riley both turned in surprise to see the one person they didn't want to see right now, calmly wearing a black suit over a grey shirt. He had his hands in his suit pockets, a look of bemusement on his face.

"Rayleigh," Yamaki spat, shooting a harsh glare at the man.

"Ah, my ex-boss, and, I hasten to add, ex-employee. How is life on the dole?"

Yamaki didn't say anything, merely standing tall and walking over towards the other man as Riley agitatedly watched, knowing this wouldn't end well.

"Not talking, are you? Hmph, I didn't expect you to answer anyway," Rayleigh said dismissively.

"Rayleigh, what are you doing?"

"Hmm…now, shouldn't I be asking you that question? Breaking through a police cordon with an expired badge…that's a very serious offence."

"Hardly time for you to get all high and mighty when you yourself can't follow protocol."

"Talking about the blood, are we? Well, I suppose I am a bit of a clean freak."

"That was vital evidence and…"

"Vital evidence? Perhaps for the media. In case you haven't noticed, Yamaki…" Rayleigh began, pretending to whisper it in his ear as if it were a secret. "We know _exactly_ what went on here," he said, before pulling away and looking at Riley. "For example, your partner, slash, employee, slash, love interest here was a witness to the events, as were the Tamers themselves. Natural of course, since they are the perpetrators of this all, regardless of how innocent they act. But - and I don't know what you learnt at cover-up school, but it obviously wasn't this - the important thing to prevent the media finding out about an incident like this is to, and, I'm sure this is a complex idea, but just bear with me here: it's to get rid of all the evidence. Now, I know you graduated from pre-school, I'm sure you can do this Yamaki. Come on, what did the teacher tell you two plus two was you little…

**TWACK!**

Rayleigh recoiled backwards, clutching his cheek as both his eyes and Riley's flashed in surprise. Yamaki growled, a hand balled up into a fist. Rayleigh glared into Yamaki's eyes, taking on a cool expression once again. "Ugh…to use your catchphrase, that was "pathetic"."

"You need to learn to shut up and stop acting like you know everything _Rayleigh_. You would get a lot further in…"

"Pah, you're hardly one to teach me a lesson. I think you've been spending too much time with those Tamers, throwing punches rather than doing any planning at all. There's the difference, you see. We take passive measures to prevent things, controlling entry from the Digital World, but the Tamers, they just deal with the aftermath. Prevention is always better than cure Yamaki, and…"

"Quiet."

"Hmph…you are really starting to piss me off…but, if it's a fight you're looking for…be warned…" Rayleigh replied, before suddenly rushing forward and throwing a fist into Yamaki's gut. The blonde staggered backwards, not expecting the twenty-one year old to start a fight like that. He cursed himself for not being prepared for Rayleigh's unpredictable nature. "I am known for not being easy."

"_Dear god, its trash talk from the middle managers. This is ridiculous," _Riley thought, eyeing the scene warily. This could very easily get out of hand, and…

Rayleigh rushed forward, bashing with his shoulder into Yamaki, who scrambled backwards, putting his hand out before he could completely fall to the floor. At Rayleigh leapt at him, preparing to unleash his anger on someone who had been nothing but trouble for him, he turned, moving just out of the way before punching the Brit in the shoulder.

The brunette hissed, getting to his feet again whilst Yamaki took a moment to recover from how he had been winded. Rayleigh rushed forward, slamming one fist into the man's face and causing Yamaki to stumble back again, covering his face with his hands. Rayleigh went forward again, only to be rugby-tackled before he could do anything and pushed backwards, completely lacking stability. A sprinkling of coins clattered to the ground as one of the pockets of Rayleigh's suit opened. He hesitated to work out what the noise was, only to receive a punch to the face.

"Christ, my nose," Rayleigh groaned, clutching his sore visage. Yamaki, as angered as Rayleigh was by now, slammed a fist into the back of his opponent's hand before sending a knee crashing into the same place. Rayleigh collapsed backwards to the ground, still clutching his face. "Ugh…what the hell is your problem?" he strained.

"Yamaki, stop," Riley called, and, as she had asked, Yamaki paused, evaluating what he had just done. He'd just punched his ex-boss squarely in the face, a wholehearted success for most ex-employees, but not when your boss had the power to bring you down for good.

Rayleigh stood up straight again, groaning. "Should we stop this now then?" Yamaki suggested. Rayleigh nodded.

"Yes, we should," he said, glaring into the blonde's eyes. He let out the slightest of grins before rushing forward, dealing a punch into Yamaki face.

Yamaki, this time, was prepared, sending a fist into Rayleigh's gut. The pair staggered away from each other again, stumbling slightly as they gathered their breath. They weren't professional fighters - as Rayleigh had put it, they were office workers, and geeks too. The most fighting they would've done would've been fighting they had lost, until their government training, which was probably what they were fighting with right now. Riley, watching, was still unsure as to whether Rayleigh had gone through that sort of militaristic training yet, but it didn't seem to be making any difference.

Still, neither wanted to admit the flaws of this fight. This was half about ego and half about making a point, and they weren't about to back down, which of course left Riley watching helplessly.

"_This is _not_ good!"_

"Okay you little piece of…" Yamaki began, rushing forward before Rayleigh swung his fist around into the side of Yamaki's skull. He stumbled sideways, gasping for breath before falling to the side. Rayleigh stormed towards him, Yamaki beginning to get to his feet before he noticed something on the ground.

"You fall so much I'm surprised you can ever get up a…" Rayleigh began, before Yamaki rushed forward, an item in his hand. He quickly looped it around Rayleigh's neck, pulling tight on the Goggles as Rayleigh choked for breath.

"Finally you shut up," Yamaki said, coolly removing the goggle strap and leaving a red mark. Rayleigh gasped for air again, Yamaki standing back to give him a chance to recover when he caught a stern glance from Riley.

"Okay, stop this now!" Riley ordered. Yamaki grimaced, looking at his foe with a despising gaze.

"Hmph," Rayleigh huffed, standing up again and facing Yamaki. Riley glanced between them, both still boiling in anger but hopefully both now beyond the point where…

**TWACK!**

Yamaki fell backwards to the ground, slamming into the concrete with another bruise on his face. He cried in pain, while Rayleigh hissed. "You are really getting on my nerves now," he complained, before glancing at his watch. He intentionally made his look as brief as possible; ensuring those watching didn't see its grey facia. "Regardless, I have a few meetings to attend to still, and other matters need to be dealt with, so I'll leave you with your girlfriend to argue. Perhaps about whether she'll have a job still after all this," he said harshly. "Now, I suggest you get out of here quickly. Goodbye," he said, turning and beginning to wander away across the cracked stones.

Yamaki pushed himself up slightly, clenching his fists and teeth and hissing through the latter. "Come back here," he growled, but only received a chuckle from Rayleigh as he put more and more distance between them.

The blonde took a step forward, only stopped when Riley placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think that's the best idea right now, Yamaki."

Yamaki breathed out, sighing as he looked into Riley's eyes and unclenched his fists. He had overreacted, that was for sure, but it was something that had to be done. His chest, back and face stung like hell, but he knew that Rayleigh was feeling just the same way, only with a sore neck to boot.

"Hmph…I'm not worried. I don't expect him to report that to the authorities, he would just incriminate himself, and besides, right now the last thing he needs is media exposure. And he also knows that he needs the experience of you and Tally with the systems, so his firing threat is an empty one."

"Yeah, but with the way he seems to blackmail everyone…you should be careful."

Yamaki grimaced, looking back again across the ex-battlefield just as Rayleigh vanished from sight on one of the curving pathways. This was just another low point in a terrible day.

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:29 JST**_

"Not hungry?" Mari asked, looking with concern at Ryder, resting his head on his crossed hands and simply staring at the bread and beans left on the table.

He sighed, shaking his head dismissively at he turned to look at her where she sat next to him on the sofa. "Starving, just a bit distracted."

"More than a bit. Still, I think eating something will make you feel better."

Ryder gave a blank expression. "Sorry Mari, but I don't think that simply eating will improve things."

"Tell that to the chocolate industry."

"Heh," Ryder laughed lightly, perhaps the first time he'd shown any positive emotion for that whole evening.

"Still, it's all psychological Ryder. I've been just as depressed before as you are now, and, besides a good shrink, what helped me was trying to get back as much normality as possible, even if it made me feel sad that life would never be the same way. Putting pyjamas on the radiator so they're warm when you go to bed, making food in the same way my parents used to, even just watching an episode of a show my dad and I would enjoy every weekend," she said, a slim smile turning into a slim frown as she brought the memories back to the forefront of her mind. She uncomfortably looked down to her mind, sighing before looking back to him. "I learnt that that sadness didn't have a quick fix, and that it'll never go away, but I still realised that I couldn't let it dominate my thoughts."

"Yeah, but I can hardly push it from my mind either. I killed a friend a few hours ago, even if it was one who was tricking us. And, not only that, I don't think I'm going to get any retribution beyond my guilty conscience, which right now is pretty much flattening me."

"Aw, don't say that. You'll just get yourself even more down," Donmon complained, wandering to stand over by the sofa's armrest.

"Think of it this way," Mari said, gently touching and placing her hand over Ryder's, before sending him a slim smile. "When things are this crappy, they can only get better."

As if intended by fate, or at least dramatic irony, there was a knock on the door at that very moment. Ryder glanced to Mari, the pair sharing a confused moment with their eyebrows cocked before Mari cautiously stood up, watched by her three companions as she wandered across to the front door. As she walked, Ryder remembered that now he could actually physically follow now his legs were healed, but he also knew that he was concerned the person behind the door wouldn't be as over the moon about that fact as he was.

Mari placed her hand on the door lock, pausing momentarily before deciding that it wasn't fair on whoever was behind the door to leave them waiting simply because of her doubts. Taking a quick glance through the eyepiece and being relieved it wasn't a news reporter or a policeman, but instead a rather blurry man in a black suit, she promptly opened the door without delay.

"Hello?" she said nervously.

She paused upon seeing the figure, tilting her head slightly as she tried to place the vaguely familiar face. Quickly, a worried look graced her face when she noticed a pair of police officers with guns holstered standing on either side of him, evidently his security force.

"Hello Miss Flynn," replied the man, a sound of authority to his voice. Ryder cocked an eyebrow within the flat, standing to his feet as he strained his mind to recognise the voice. "I apologise, we haven't been introduced," he continued, Ryder joining his girlfriend at the door and promptly being followed by both of their Digimon. "I am the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Eiichi Nakazawa."

Ryder came into view and nodded to the man, the nod promptly returned. "Hello again," the boy said.

"You've met before? When?" Mari asked, confused about why Ryder knew someone so high up in the Japanese government. "Oh, now I remember," she then said, the memories of many conversations clicking in her mind.

"I came to see Ryder when he was in hospital, and we had an interesting conversation."

"That's one way of putting it," Donmon said, recalling the tense conversation all too well.

Ryder nodded, gesturing into the apartment. "Please, come in."

"Thank you," Eiichi replied, gesturing for his two soldiers to follow him onwards before crossing the apartment to the sofas. Mari pulled Ryder aside, a look of concern in her eyes about what was happening.

"Ryder, are you sure about this?"

"Huh?"

"They have guns, and I think we've learnt today that that's a bad thing! And what if he arrests you?!"

"Hmm…" Ryder mumbled, glancing across the apartment to Eiichi, before shaking his head. "No, I think I can trust him. He would've arrested me by now if he had any plans of doing so."

"You sure?"

Ryder placed his hand on Mari's shoulder, looking her in the eye. "Yeah." _"I bloody well hope so at least."_

Mari nodded unsurely, before watching the boy wander back over to the settee. She followed, cautiously sitting down opposite the secretary whilst, disconcertingly, the officers stayed standing, eyeing the two Digimon cautiously. _"Ryder better be sure on this."_

"I don't think I need to ask why you are here," Ryder sighed, looking sadly down at the table and making a mental note to eat that food at some point. The beans were probably cold by now, unfortunately.

"Yes. Your actions today haven't gone unnoticed, although thankfully no real evidence has found its way into the hands of the media. I think it would be Rayleigh's involvement that has aided that."

"I can't say we aren't thankful…but…" Mari began, tailing off and being thankful when Mr Nakazawa took up the conversation thread.

"I have noticed his animosity towards your group. Regardless, I am sure he is the best person for this role."

"Uh, I hate to overstep my boundaries, but…why?"

"Hmm…he has proven himself to be highly intelligent, adaptable and with much potential."

"Yeah, but Yamaki had plenty of experience and seems like he has similar skills."

"Hmm…regardless, right now that is irrelevant, I'm sure you'll agree. Regarding Rayleigh though, he did have one particular request," Eiichi noted, before glancing to one of the officers, who nodded, unsurely reaching down into a pocket.

Mari gulped. _"Ugh, thanks a bloody lot Ryder, now they're going to kill us," _she cursed, while Ryder nervously looked onwards as the man pulled out a gun. He passed it over to the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the man warily looking at it.

"This is yours, is it not?" Eiichi asked, cutting away a bit of the tension which had amounted in the room.

"God no, I don't want to see that thing again in my life," Mari insisted, shying away, and mirroring Ryder who recoiled backwards. What was going on? Was this some kind of torture or punishment?

"I'm afraid you will have to, at Rayleigh's insistence."

"What? Why?" Mari gasped, Ryder cocking an eyebrow at the absurd suggestion as the previous horror faded promptly to bewilderment.

"Yeah, why on earth would he want Mari to have a weapon? I thought he frowned upon that idea in the first place."

"He has his reasons, and he insists you carry it as you used to."

"Perhaps he wants us to be prepared?" DarkRenamon suggested, her arms crossed across her chest where she stood behind Ryder and Mari's sofa.

"If he wants us to be ready to kill any Demons…ugh…I just don't know why he thinks we would after all this," Mari complained, sighing as she looked at the weapon, which had now been placed on the coffee table alongside the plate of food.

"Regardless, given his animosity towards your group I suggest you comply, even if you don't carry around the firearm in day to day use. Naturally, I am wary of this, but I trust Rayleigh has the correct reasoning."

"Speaking of Rayleigh, what is he doing right now?" asked Ryder curiously.

"He asked me to see you because he has other business to attend to. There is a lot of clean up involved in this situation, as I'm sure you'll appreciate."

"Yeah, we didn't exactly have a light-footed battle," Mari sighed, recalling the devastation they had caused. That would be very expensive if they had to pay for it.

"Yes. If my reports are accurate, the damage was thankfully kept to a relatively small area, but that area will need a lot of work. Regardless, your group will need to be more careful in future."

"I should take that advice especially I guess," sighed Ryder, running his hand through his air. "I can't believe that I've done, and I hate myself for it."

"Hmm…I was under the impression it was a critical situation."

"Yeah, but…still…"

"Well, officially we will count it as an act of defence, understand?"

"I suppose that's true too."

"Ryder, it is true," Mari insisted, determinedly looking into his eyes.

"I know, but…ugh…I know that either way someone would've died, but still…I didn't mean to kill her…but I missed, and so it was an accident; all because I made a mistake."

"Regardless, I recommend you don't tell the general public about the events of today, at all," Eiichi said, Ryder nodding in response. "This was only a quick visit, although I can tell that I am right to trust you in your actions. The Demon threat is evidently beyond this government, and so I hope you understand the burden placed on the shoulders of your group."

"Yes, I understand that. Thanks for coming to ensure that things were okay."

"Even if you did bring us a worrying weapon," Donmon noted from the side.

Eiichi nodded, a slim frown on his face as he glanced to his officers and stood to his feet. "I will have to be going now, and I wish you a quick recovery."

"Thank you," Ryder said, standing to his feet and nodding. He put his hand out, shaking hands with the older man whilst Mari nodded warily, not sure whether this meeting had been a good or a bad thing. At least Ryder wasn't on the way to a police cell right now.

The five humans wandered towards the door, Eiichi and his pair of police officers turning to face them upon exiting the apartment. "I see you soon."

"Hopefully not, that normally means something bad has happened."

"Hmm, I understand your pessimism about seeing me."

"Still, interesting to talk to someone so high up in power," Mari said, a slight tone of optimism in her voice.

"And I can't say that you Tamers aren't interesting either. Still, I must be leaving now, so goodbye."

"Bye."

"Bye," Ryder said, both he and his girlfriend watching Eiichi and his two aides walk away before returning to the inside of the apartment.

Ryder closed the door and put his back to it, breathing a deep sigh of depressed relief. Mari warily watched him warily as he put his hands in his pockets, wandering back towards the sofa. She caught up with him, quickly looping her arm over his shoulder and stopping him.

"Please don't let yourself get really depressed again," she asked, looking dearly up into his eyes. They sat down together, her arm still over his shoulder while he sighed, staring down into the by-now stone cold snack on the plate, and the black form of the gun alongside it.

He sadly looked to one side, emotions once again flowing over him again as he contemplated all that had happened that day. He fell onto her shoulder, groaning as he looped his arm around her as both closed their eyes, the memories flooding through them.

Ryder, however, had one set of memories so different to Mari's, a set of memories he couldn't explain, and he was pretty sure no-one else could either.

"_How on earth did I meet Ivy? And why was she my girlfriend? This just doesn't make any sense."_

And it really didn't, not at all. He'd had this kind of vision before, and had even kissed Ivy before, but not like that. This world felt so real, with none of the ghost-like properties he had been cursed with before. Plus, at the time he had had a different set of memories, a drastically different one. What did it all mean? What was going on?

"_Is this Ivy's doing? How could she be doing this anyway? And why? Was that really her? Am I just going nuts?"_

The most important question of all, of course, was whether it would be wise to tell Mari about it all?

"_I told her the other times, and even though she blew a fit I'm sure she's grateful that I tell the truth. How can I break her trust now, particularly right when she's comforting me and when we've been through so much today?"_

He opened his eyes lightly, seeing the gun on the table past the edge of Mari's head which he was lying on. It brought so much back to his mind, and quickly made him reconsider. Right now was the worst time; they had _enough_ on their plate without this to make things worse. He needed her help to get through this, and vice versa, and the last thing they wanted was to be arguing. It still felt wrong though.

"It's all going to be alright Ryder, trust me. We'll get through this together, I promise."

"Mari…" Ryder began, still not sure on whether to raise the issue that was right now dominating his mind.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning her head to look up to his. He frowned, sighing.

"Never mind."

"Oh…alright," she replied, noting his unsure expression. She edged forward, their lips meeting in a kiss.

"_I feel like crap now. I'm lying to her, but I'm in a catch 22 situation. I have to tell her to keep her trust but I can't because if I tell I'll lose it. I hate myself sometimes."_

Mari pulled back again, looking sadly from her brown eyes into his. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ryder replied, although the words felt tainted by how he knew that he was lying to her. She nodded, a slim smile on her lips as she contently pulled him close again.

The pair just sat there, leaning into each other with their eyes closed, whilst Donmon and DarkRenamon nearby settled down to relax after a difficult day. Everything was beginning to get better again, little by little, and nothing could wreck that, not so long as they were together.

"_I hope."_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, a nice little fight between blokes in suits. So amusing. Things are certainly getting interesting even without so much action.

You know, reading how DarkBiyomon got into the apartment with the broken door and nameplate and all, you'd think I had planned this well in advance. You'd be wrong, of course, but heh, it proved a useful coincidence all the same.

Just enough time for a blatant plug: if you like big overarching series (like mine), I implore you to check out WarBard and his Foundran Chronicles. Albeit barely started right now, I have been discussing the series with him for months, and it looks set to be brilliant. It's a very different yet interesting take on the Digital World, Digimon and their universe as a whole, along with an unusual organisation that created the Digital World, the World Builders, who look set to be a key part of the series. It will run through each of the TV series, so it's good for crossover fans too. Anyhow, plug over with.

Until next time…

B.C.


	65. The Trick To Purpose

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 59**

_The Trick to Purpose_

* * *

**SUNDAY, 24****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:00 JST**_

Once again, events had happened, the noise had arrived, and the Nonaka household had been a flurry of activity and chatter. And likewise, once again, it had all gone back to that relative silence, now Jeri and Henry had gone home, rather contently too. Indeed, the only outsiders to the Nonaka household now here were Takato, Rey, and their partners, although all had a close familial relationship to the Nonakas, albeit both in the future tense.

Rey sat on the sofas about the living room, staring at the various television reports of that day with Kristy while trying to avoid falling asleep. It'd been a difficult day for the redhead, and only Kristy's almost-endless optimism (despite her bouts of bad temper) was keeping her from entirely escaping into the world of her dreams.

It was for this reason that Rika and Takato were forced to sit elsewhere, outside on the step of the doorway leading out into the garden. Well, it wasn't just to avoid waking Rey further - their daughter was taking up the whole couch by lying sprawled out on it, with Realmon sleeping on her chest, tails curled about the fox's body. The redhead's eyelids dropped a bit more every time she forced them wide again, and she was definitely pleased that she wouldn't have to travel again before she could sleep this night.

Out in the hallway, Takato wandered along to where Rika sat on the step, a content smile on his face. "Have you seen Rey?" he asked, promptly being followed along by his red dinosaur partner who watched him intently, a slim smile on his face.

"Hmm, yeah, I think," Rika mumbled, glancing about the garden as the evening rays began to sink over it, turning the sky a tinge of orange.

"She's sleeping, well, like an Angel. Geez, Time travel must be worse than jetlag," Takato added, taking a seat next to his fiancée as she nodded, still distracted.

"Jetlag?" Guilmon asked, tilting his head to his partner as he dropped down, the boy stroking the dinosaur's scaly skull with an amused expression.

"Yeah, you know - when you go from one country to another and they run on a different time so you feel like you have to go to bed when for them it's the middle of the day."

"Oh yeah…that made me feel really sleepy."

"**You know, you'd think with a Digimon you'd just be able to adjust their internal clocks through a screw on the back of their head. So much for Digital Monsters."**

"Hehe, Chaos that's really funny!" Guilmon laughed.

"_**Great, getting a laugh from Guilmon. Why don't I just give up comedy altogether?"**_

"_You say it as if Guilmon's stupid."_

"_**Well, let's be honest Takato, he's not going to win the Nobel Prize unless scientific advancement stops dead for a year and he discovers how he can catch up with his tail when chasing it."**_

"_Hey, that's mean."_

"_**Meh. He doesn't mind, I've had **_**plenty**_** of time to discuss this kinda thing with him."**_

"_That's the thing I don't understand, I thought _I _created him."_

"_**Yeah, and **_**I**_** am you, so I just needed to implant the idea in your head, cook with DigiGnomes for a day or so and kapow, instant Guilmon ready to cause destruction like this world has never seen before!"**_

"_Odd to think you've given up on your evil intentions."_

"_**I HAVEN'T GIVEN UP! I mean…I'M NOT EVIL! I mean…STOP TRICKING ME!"**_

"_Hey, you're hurting my brain."_

"_**I would make a joke, but by now it feels like kicking a kitten."**_

"_And taunting Guilmon wasn't?"_

"_**The ways of comedy could never be understood by such simpleminded folk like you. It takes a true expert, like Terriermon or me, who has studied in the ways of annoying everyone like hell with endless jokes which they are unable to escape from."**_

"_O…kay…"_

"Sorry."

"…huh?" Takato mumbled, glancing up with a start from his internal argument and looking for the source. He turned to Rika, who currently was staring at the ground and a patch of grass below, at least until she turned her head to make her words more intelligible, which unfortunately meant she would have to look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry…for attacking you."

"Yeah, I know you are Rika."

"Yeah, but…if you'd died, Rey wouldn't have had a father, and god knows how much that'd screw things up. And…you tried everything you could to avoid me getting harmed…out of all of us, you were the only one who didn't attack your girlfriend."

"I had a lot more at risk though."

"That's the thing that still pisses me off though."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I know that Chiyo's control was practically absolute, so I'm not complaining that I didn't break free, it's just…" Rika began, before holding out her hands and looking at her fingertips, which gently glowed to demonstrate her point. "The power I could've used…it would probably have killed me, and even if it hadn't, god knows what would've happened to the baby. I would've destroyed the whole city if I had to just to get you."

"But, you didn't Rika."

"Yeah, but…I guess I never really got to grips with the idea before. Takato, we're just _not_ human, even if we are partly human. We're…more than human…too much more to be honest. We're as much a threat to our friends as the Demons are, maybe more. All it'll take is some arsehole to use mind control on us or exploit our powers, and god knows what'd happen."

"**There's nothing we can do about it Rika."**

"Well, that much was obvious, but that doesn't stop me worrying."

Takato smiled to her, reaching out and gripping her right hand. "I don't think there's any reason to worry." He gently stroked her fingers, the girl letting out a slim smile before his expression dropped. "Wait. Where's the ring?!"

Rika rolled her eyes, raising her other hand with a smile. "Left hand Takato," she said, chuckling. "For someone who says about not worrying, you really did stick your foot in it there."

Takato laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head with his other hand. "Heh…"

"Still, I think it'd be better to be safe than sorry."

"Huh?"

"I want to schedule a check-up soon, on the baby. After what happened today, I think it'd be better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Nice show of confidence and decision-making from the father-to-be."

"Heh, I think you understand this baby stuff more than I do Rika."

"No, I really don't."

"Harmony does though. That at least gives you advantages over everyone else."

"Yeah, at least until she starts giving me horror stories about past births," Rika replied, shuddering.

"**I promise not to until afterwards."**

"Oh, I am _so_ grateful."

"Huh? Wouldn't you be ungrateful?"

Renamon appeared alongside Guilmon, a smile on her face at how, despite his increased knowledge of the subject, he'd still fallen foul of this particular bit of sarcasm. "Rika was being sarcastic Guilmon," she explained, before uncomfortably sitting back down onto the small bit of the step exposed alongside the saurian, trying to ensure she didn't tumble straight off the edge.

"Oh, I think I get it."

"_**Point proven?"**_

"_Guilmon is _not_ stupid. He…just doesn't know that much."_

"_**Which definition of stupid are we using?"**_

"_Which definition of loyal partner are we using?"_

"_**Fair point."**_

"Guilmon, I apologise if I injured you at all today."

"That's okay Renamon…I have a thick skull."

"Good too, since I don't think you two would've survived your first battle with us without it," Rika laughed, recalling those events all that time ago, and mentally noting how odd it was to simply laugh about them now. Were those hard feelings that far gone?

"Do Digimon even have bones?" Takato asked, looking curiously about at his companions in the hope that one of them would have an answer.

"I am unsure," Renamon replied, shaking her head. "We probably have some form of system."

"**I'd like to see a hospital in this day and age that'd let you run an X-Ray machine on a Digimon, not least because Guilmon's body would probably just deflect the radiation," **Harmony noted, recalling how the sharp diamonds of Renamon never managed to pierce that skin, and only damaged the dinosaur when they exploded.

"Plus, I think the question we'd all prefer to be answered is how on earth you eat so much, Guilmon?" Renamon said to her love interest, the Digimon giving a bemused look before placing a claw on his chin.

"Well, I think I just get hungry when I see food and so I eat it and then I see more food and I wanna eat again."

"**Maybe it's sort of wish-based then?" **Chaos suggested. **"Guilmon can eat that much because he **_**wants**_** to eat that much."**

"Yeah, that's actually not a half bad idea," agreed Rika.

"**See Harmony, my ideas aren't all bad."**

"**Hmph."**

"You two have got to stop bickering like this," Rika complained.

"Yeah. We don't think one of you is evil or anything, we've got that idea by now."

"**Tell that to Chaos."**

"Harmony, why do you always…uh…Takato, what did say your teacher calls that thing that Kazu and you and Kenta do?"

"Backchat?"

"Yeah!"

"**Uh…well…"**

"Hmm…how ironic Harmony," Renamon said, a slim smile on her face as she looked over at her eternal partner. "Outsmarted by Guilmon."

"**Pah."**

"**I could've sworn you sounded like me for a second there," **Chaos laughed. **"Now, that **_**is**_** ironic."**

The group quickly burst into laughter, well, all apart from Harmony, that was, and Renamon's laughter was rather restrained as always. Harmony pouted, crossing her arms and oddly looking like a little girl, helped by the fact she was currently in a body far younger than how she normally acted and how her voice sounded.

"**Hmph."**

Rika finally stopped (technically) laughing at herself, and turned to face her Kitsune partner with a curious gaze. "Hey Renamon, where did you go just now anyway?"

Renamon's tail swished forward, revealing the digi-egg which she placed in her hand, looking over it with a relieved expression. "I was retrieving this."

"I hope we didn't damage it."

"No, it is intact."

"Renamon, can I hold it?" Guilmon asked, putting out a claw.

"Of course," Renamon replied, nodding before she carefully passed the egg into his out held paws. He carefully took it, looking curiously down at it with a wondering expression.

"It's so…weird."

"**Just don't eat it."**

"Chaos, just…shut up," Rika complained, rolling her eyes.

"**Back to normal then."**

"**Thank goodness."**

* * *

_**Kantei, Chiyoda Ward**_

_**17:00 JST**_

"Good evening Mr Nakazawa."

"Thank you," Eiichi replied to one of his aides, who approached him when he returned to his private office within the Kantei, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Japan. Wooden panelling coated the internal walls, with large glass windows at the far end providing a nice view of the sunset over the nearby trees. "Could you please place my briefcase in my personal safe? It is already open so you will only need to close it."

"Of course sir," the aide replied, taking the case as it was held out to him. He nodded, Eiichi nodding in thanks.

"Thank you. Have I any messages?"

"Yes. The Prime Minister requested to see you at the first opportunity. He is waiting in his office."

"Oh? What was the reason?"

"He said you will be briefed when you arrive."

"I see," Eiichi said, searching his mind for some reason he had been requested. He had already talked to the Prime Minister about the current situation earlier that day, and right now he was preparing to return to his own residence. It was after the end of his normal office hours, and the current circumstances didn't seem exceptional enough anymore to warrant him staying late at the office. Regardless, he would have to comply. "Thank you for the message," he noted, before turning, walking towards a pair of double doors, the wood panel effect exposed as a sham when they slid apart, their form disguising automatic doors.

He turned, passing along the long corridor, the sunset lighting it in a spectacular manner which made him smile despite the pessimistic nature of the day at large. Shadows slowly crept up, growing longer and longer all the time as he walked, finally reaching a doorway at the end, one with a small but important sign on it.

**PRIME MINISTER INUKAI KEISHIRO'S OFFICE**

Glancing into a retina scan, a laser swept over his pupil before the doors swung open. He stepped into a reception area, a rather bored female aide sitting at a desk alongside an even more important-looking door, the only truly manual door in the whole building by the looks of it. The door, however, still had wooden panelling, disguising the thick metal behind designed as an effective defence.

"Ah, Mr Nakazawa. The Prime Minister has been expecting you."

For a moment, Eiichi had the bizarre feeling he was in a Bond movie, but he brushed it off, nodding and continuing to act professionally. "Thank you," he said, the aide pressing a button and a clunk sounding as the locks opened. The Chief Cabinet Secretary pushed forward against the door, the heavy object slowly groaning open.

He looked into the relatively dimly lit room, extremely reinforced glass along one side providing yet another view of the beautiful sunset and casting light across the office. The Prime Minister looked up, nodding to acknowledge the man's presence and gesturing him across to a set opposite him on the desk. Another figure sat nearby in the darkness, one that surprised Eiichi somewhat.

"_What would Rayleigh be doing here?"_

"Don't worry about Mr Thompson; he is merely waiting for his car to arrive after talking to me. This office is far nicer than the reception, I'm sure you'll agree," the Prime Minister noted as Eiichi took up the seat with a nod. Inukai nodded across to Rayleigh, the other man pausing in his careful looks about the room and nodding in reply with a smile.

"Heh, you make it sound like I am picky Mr Prime Minister," Rayleigh replied. Mr Keishiro nodded and smiled, before returning to the matter at hand as he pulled a briefcase out onto the table. No-one noticed Rayleigh's continuation of his careful looks about, or the slim smile that came onto his face as he listened into the conversation.

"Now, Eiichi, I have trusted you for many years as my Chief Cabinet Secretary."

"A trust I am very grateful for."

"Yes, but, you see, a similar trust is placed in me by the citizens of this great nation, and I must not let them down because of my personal thoughts. Therefore, I am forced to make a very difficult decision. Eiichi, I am demoting you."

"Excuse me?"

"I apologise, but you were extremely ineffectual in containing the disruption caused during the battle today. We live in a tense world today, and your lack of leadership in ensuring emergency services, media and information were dealt with could have caused a major crisis."

"Sir, I hasten to inform you that I have just returned from a meeting with one of the Tamers at the heart of this situation."

"I am fully aware of that Eiichi, but by now it is beyond the point where that is a key issue. The issue stands that during the crisis, you were unable to deal with events, and the public trust in me dictates that I can no longer be sure that you will continue to be an effective Chief Cabinet Secretary."

"Yes, but…"

"I apologise for this Eiichi, but I have made my decision."

"So…what am I being demoted to?"

Rayleigh's grin widened greatly. Everything was going exactly as he had planned it, right down to the last detail.

He rubbed his sore face, the pain flaring over it again.

"_Almost right down to the last detail. But it makes no difference in the long run. This kind of wound heals, but the kind I shall inflict, heh, we'll see about that."_

* * *

_**Wong Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:30 JST**_

"Wow, I can't believe your mother stopped hugging you. I thought I'd have to digivolve and prise her off you."

"Terriermon."

Terriermon leapt down from Henry's head onto his bed, a smile on his face. "Momentai Henry, it was only a joke. Hey, if you can go what we went through and still laugh, I'd say that's a good thing?"

"I guess so but…it wasn't really a laughing matter."

"Henry! This is coming from someone who laughed when Renamon was chasing me earlier!" Terriermon pouted, crossing his arms across his chest.

"…okay, you win."

"Is it weird that I'm not leaping up and down and cheering?"

"Yeah. Tired?"

"Tired? I'm half asleep Henry. What about you?"

Henry yawned, before running his hand through his hair and feeling pangs of tiredness sweep over him. "Yeah, same, but too early to go to bed…and…"

"Yeah?"

Henry sighed, sitting down on his computer chair and looking at the large number of monitors and computers spread about the desk. He needed a clear out of them at some point, some of them were pretty old, but that was something that could wait for another day. He looked at the computer screen, before reaching down to turn it on.

"I've just got a lot on my mind," he said as the words **Windows Vienna** soon came up onto the screen. He tapped at the keyboard, the password entered whilst Terriermon frowned at his Tamer.

"Oh. What's bugging you most of all Henry?"

"I guess…" Henry began, clicking to open the web browser before spinning about on his chair to face his partner. "Now it's finally quiet again, I've had time to think about this whole Angels thing."

"Oh Henry, don't tell me you've been worrying yourself to death again! You really need to see a psychiatrist about your self-blame issues."

"No, it's not that."

"For once."

"Terriermon."

"Sorry."

"I guess it's that…it's just a lot to take in. I mean, I knew that Angels were possible from seeing Mari and Ryder, but oddly…oddly it never crossed my mind I could've been one," he said, looking at his hand contemplatively. "This morning…that morning…whenever it was, I woke up human but now…is my DNA changed just like theirs was? Do I have some kind of powers, and what are they?"

"Heh, how do you know you're not going to reach for the remote and accidentally fire a laser beam?"

Henry frowned, looking downwards at the dull carpet below.

"That was a joke you know."

"I know Terriermon but…it's not impossible either. Angels…we are meant to have a special power each, but…it's only a fraction of the power that Chaos and Harmony have. And Naoko put so much of her power into things earlier, and she still lost. How do I know this'll help us at all?"

"Henry! Stop finding new things to complain about! Sheesh, can't you go one minute without finding some reason for you to call it doomsday?"

Henry chuckled, a slim smile on his face. "Heh, you mean like when that nuclear bomb was going to kill us?"

"Okay, call it doomsday when it's _actually_ doomsday then, but not over something weird like this."

Smiling, Henry nodded, before those memories of seeing the nuclear bomb go off brought something else to the forefront of his mind, and with it, a frown.

"What's wrong now?"

"Naoko…she's probably dead by now, even if she did survive back then."

"Yeah, but she had a good life, didn't she?"

"I guess so," Henry replied, before turning about on his chair to face the screen. "The thing is, all I have to do…" he said, tapping in the words **Naoko Tamiko** into the search engine. His finger went to the return key, but he paused above it. "…is simply press this key and we find out everything."

"Then go on and do it!"

"But…I don't think I want to know."

"That's a first! Henry, you want to know everything. You're worse than Izzy."

"What if we learn something we don't want to know? What if she was tortured? Or maybe she ended up with radiation burns from the aftermath, or maybe she died in battle along with Renamon?"

"Henry, you're not burnt, so I don't think she would be."

"Yeah, but…it could be anything. I don't really want to know."

"Then don't. It's up to you Henry, but if you don't decide soon I'm going to press it just to satisfy _my_ curiosity."

"Hmm…"

Henry's finger twitched about, occasionally moving closer to the key, before creeping away again. He finally sighed, his hand crossing the keyboard to the backspace key and deleting it all.

"Finally!"

Henry sighed. Part of him wanted to know, but the rest of him knew that once he knew the truth, he could never go back. Some things were better left unknown.

"HENRY!"

"Huh?" Henry mumbled, both he and Terriermon turning to see his ten year old sister Suzie at the door, looking rather annoyed. "Oh, hey Suzie, what's up?"

Suzie crossed her arms, making no effort to disguise her irritation at her bigger brother. Lopmon looked warily from the top of her head. "Why did everyone leave me out of everything?!"

"Uh…I don't know."

"Hey, don't blame us! We were in the past."

"Useless brothers," Suzie grumbled, huffing as she turned and left the blue haired boy with his partner again.

"Even when we have an excuse…" Terriermon sighed.

"I wouldn't have wanted her to be in that battle anyway, it sounded too dangerous."

"Normally I would say you were just being overprotective, but for once I agree."

"Okay, now I'm sure I'm dreaming."

"Hey!"

"Momentai."

Terriermon simply crossed his arms and sulked, while Henry chuckled.

* * *

**MONDAY 25****th**** OCTOBER, 2010**

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**00:29 JST**_

Silence.

Blissful, pure, silence, broken only by the occasional siren, the howl of the wind, or sound of a lone car on the road, most of which was kept back by the double glazed windows, framed by a door.

Until those windows were suddenly rattled, a flurry of wings beating at them and forcing at the lock. Frustrated, the wings flapped backwards, before a spiralling purple fire shrieked towards the lock. An irritated voice broke through the silence.

"MAGICAL FIRE!"

The lock exploded, the door pushed open slightly by the shockwave. DarkBiyomon flew forward, pulling at the door handle until it was opened wide enough to allow her to get in through the gap. She shook herself off when she landed in the apartment, her ruffled feathers resetting back onto her form as she analysed the situation. The room was in darkness, but she could just make out the shapes of furniture and doors from the streetlight permeating in from outside.

She wracked her mind, searching for a memory of what room her target inhabited. The gloom shifted, swarming her vision and she closed her eyes periodically, forcing herself to calm down and concentrate.

Naturally, the older Digidestined had offered her a place for the night, and of course, with nowhere else to go, a cold October night and very little persuasion from her depressed mind to do anything else, she'd been thankful, even if she hadn't showed it. It wasn't really their fault; they had merely been unfortunately involved in Chiyo's plans. The Angels were her real targets, along with Takato, Rika, and, via the murder of the latter, Rey. Chiyo knew that by interrogating the latter, she could probably find out the identities of the remaining Angels, but she didn't need to. The deaths or arrests of several of the central Tamers in the group would send pillars cascading downwards - the group would be torn to pieces. Easy to eliminate with little evidence remaining, at least, with some careful manoeuvring.

Together they stand, divided they fall.

But, the concept of being divided had stuck on her mind since Chiyo's death. The other part of her, the other part of any Digimon partner, had been torn from her. She knew that no Digimon had had the misfortune of feeling this before, at least, unless there were other Tamers that hadn't been mentioned.

And that made her angry. Extremely angry, with nothing holding her back from acting on those emotions. What did she have to lose? She had already lost everything. There was everything to win however, every ounce of revenge to be extracted. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Ryder would certainly not be getting forgiveness.

She opened her eyes again, recalling the sight of Ryder entering his room a few days prior on his birthday, followed promptly by Mari. They had done so rather subtly too, so the reason behind it was unclear, but she now knew where she was going.

Flapping her wings sharply, she rushed across the apartment, knowing that time was an issue here. At any moment she could be caught. She had to get him first, before he could do anything.

The red mist descended as she tugged the handle down, the door swinging open and a beam of moonlight floating in to illuminate the sleeping boy on his bed with his bat-like partner sleeping at the foot. She initially growled, before hushing as she worried that that could wake up the in-training Digimon. Still, nothing seemed to have woken him so far, and it was pretty important that she acted before someone else got there first.

She took to the air, a rush of wind sweeping downwards and sending her soaring over the bed. She scowled as she floated above, looking straight down at her target and his exposed face and head. Her talons, claws and beak glinted in the moonlight, before she shot forward, the blades out held and ready to tear him to shreds.

"_This is for CHIYO!"_

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Frozen.

Less than an inch from the boy's face, something grabbed her tail feathers, causing her to lose concentration and squeal in pain. Ryder shot awake, DarkBiyomon rebounding back from the elastic-like pull on her rear.

A red gloved arm encircled her, hindering her movement. The grey pyjama-wearing boy fearfully crawled up against the wall, breathing deeply as he looked at his near-killer, struggling to break free.

"What…what…the hell?!" he stammered, beads of sweat slowly inching down his face.

The door swung open, and simultaneously, there was another flapping of wings as at the foot of the bed MiniDonmon awoke and quickly readied himself for whatever was ready to harm his Tamer.

"What happened?!" Mari and the bat both exclaimed at once, the former's hand still on the door handle as she looked into the room, her pale pink pyjamas swaying to a stop after her haste. She quickly flipped on the light switch, revealing the chaos that had ensued, and the tragedy that had almost been caused.

As for DarkBiyomon, all she could feel was failure. Total failure. Those endless red thoughts and dreams, her escape from the Digidestined, her searching for Ryder's apartment, her declaration of revenge for Chiyo's death…all came to nothing.

And so, she stopped struggling.

"DarkBiyomon," DarkRenamon said harshly, her tone bitter as she looked down at the being restrained in her arms.

"What…were you trying to kill me?!" Ryder stuttered.

"Yes," DarkBiyomon mumbled, as if a naughty child caught in the act and resigned to their fate. "You have to pay!" she said, growling darkly as a glint of anger flashed across her glaring pupils.

Ryder frowned, looking downwards towards the bed sheet. He turned around and stood up out of bed, sighing as daren't look the creature in the eyes at first.

"Listen…I'm sorry…really, really, deeply sorry," he said, his voice deeply sincere, as he finally looked into the bird's eyes.

"Do you think that makes a difference? You killed my Tamer."

"I know, I know, I know! For Christ's sake, do you really think I need you to tell me that? I can bloody beat myself up enough, and it's a lot more painful than anything you could possibly do to me. You're wasting your energy."

"I have a loyalty to my Tamer, I have to…"

"Do you know what loyalty does, DarkBiyomon?" DarkRenamon asked, the voice coming from behind her and pervading her ears. "I was once loyal to someone, someone so far up their own arse they believed they were truly a God. He was corrupt, so corrupt that he killed millions of Digimon, wrecking many lives, and we stood by, believing it was part of the mission. The Royal Knights paid the price for that, and so did I. We followed the orders to the letter, and turned a blind eye to what we were doing. It was mindless devotion, and I dearly regret ever doing so."

"Yes, but…what do I do? I'm lost, what am I meant to do?"

"Once I thought I was lost, taking a path of evil, until they convinced me otherwise." A slim smile crept onto DarkRenamon's face, as she glanced across at Mari. "They gave me a purpose in life, and people to care about."

"_T...n…ks…"_

DarkRenamon nodded, their bond still not strong enough to maintain the telepathy yet, in spite of all they had been through. Doubtless, this day had done nothing but weaken the link between them. Mari frowned when she realised it wasn't working, instead mouthing "thank you" across to the fox.

"I see," DarkBiyomon said, the concept registering in her mind despite her also wanting to deny it for all it was worth. She was lost in her thoughts as Mari crossed in front of her, bending over to look the bird in the eye.

"Listen…I…we, really want to show you that we are sorry. Even if Chiyo tried to kill both of us, and, well, succeeded, that's no excuse. You aren't responsible for your Tamer's actions, and we aren't going to hold it against you. So…would you like to stay with us until you can get something sorted out?"

"What? No! I would never stay with…"

"Please," Ryder pleaded. "Because I don't know how else I'm going to make it up to you other than helping you out."

"At least consider it," MiniDonmon asked, flapping down to land on Ryder's shoulder. DarkBiyomon suddenly felt herself lowered, DarkRenamon placing her on the ground and releasing her in order to put them in a better position of negotiation. She couldn't feel forced into this decision.

DarkBiyomon looked about at the trio surrounding her - the fox behind her, looking down on someone who disturbingly shared a rather similar past to herself, except for the fact that the Kitsune hadn't always been a tamed Digimon, and up until the end hadn't shown any doubts about her master's orders; the girl to one side, dearly wishing to fix things but also clearly looking very tired, her ruffled hair creasing down the sides of her head and falling onto the shoulders of her pink pyjamas; the boy to the other side, looking even more tired and disturbed by a lack of sleep, but still desperately wanting to right his forced wrongs, his partner looking warily on from his shoulder and hoping that the bird would let him do so.

Did she want to stay with these people and Digimon? What would Chiyo have said?

But then again, who was Chiyo? Who was the _real_ Chiyo? Even DarkBiyomon couldn't really tell.

* * *

"**I'm sorry too," she replied, her silvery gray eyes meeting with DarkBiyomon's green ones for what she knew could very well be the last time. "I should've listened," she added, hands gripping tightly into each other, not wanting to let go. "You were right," she added, a tear on her eye. "What have I done? And now…now…I'm going to die…" she cried, finally letting loose with the tears.**

* * *

"**I'm sorry…to all of you…I see now…I guess…I hope I do…sorry," she apologised, looking about at the group around her sadly. DarkBiyomon frowned; this was who she had been searching for all along. The **_**real**_** Chiyo, not the Demon Chiyo.**

**It had come too late.**

"**Please don't go!" DarkBiyomon cried.**

"**I love you DarkBiyomon…so much."**

"**I love you too. Please, hang on."**

"**I…" Chiyo began, before being unable to speak no longer. She found herself breathless, and began to struggle with her mouth, gasping for air.**

"**No!" DarkBiyomon cried, gripping Chiyo's hand tightly. "Please! Don't die! I couldn't live without you."**

* * *

But she would have to. She would be forced to live without the Tamer she loved.

DarkBiyomon crossed her wings across herself, holding herself tight. She felt like she was about to cry but she knew that right now she couldn't completely give in to what they wanted. She wouldn't let them get away with forgiveness that easily - they would pay for this in whatever way she could. Even if she wasn't able to attack them, they would be forced to spend their time proving themselves. That was the only way DarkBiyomon could ever appease things.

She sighed, looking away before nodding reluctantly. "Okay."

"Good. You can sleep on the end of my bed if you want," Mari said, bending down and smiling bravely to the bird, hoping her emotion would wear off on the partnerless creature.

DarkBiyomon nodded. "The further away from him, the less likely I will have urges to kill him," she mumbled darkly, looking bitterly back to him and making him feel even more miserable as he sat back down on the edge of the bed.

Mari nodded, frowning at DarkBiyomon's words and at Ryder's reaction. She looked to DarkRenamon. "Could you take her to my room? I want to talk to Ryder."

DarkRenamon nodded, gesturing towards the door as DarkBiyomon warily nodded, hoping they weren't going to plan something in her absence. They had done enough to hurt her, what more could they want?

She followed the black fox out of the room, her leader diverging from their route only to close the open balcony door to prevent the cold air rushing in.

Mari sighed, sitting down on the bed alongside the boy and wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "Ryder," she said softly, the boy staring into the wall blankly, lost in his thoughts. "I know you think you've done the worst thing in the world, but you're never going to recover from that if you don't forgive yourself. You acted on how you had to act based on what was going on, and I thank you…I love you, for saving me," she said, gently pulling him close and kissing him on the cheek. "Sweet dreams."

"Yeah…you too," he said dejectedly, the girl kissing him again, this time on the lips, in the hope it would somehow bring him back from his spiral of depression, but of course, things were not so simple. She stood up, letting him go as he turned himself round to lie back in the bed again.

He watched her wander to the door, never taking his eyes off her pyjama-wearing form. She paused by the light switch, moving her hand to turn it off.

"Mari."

"Yeah?" she asked, looking across at him and turning her head as her brownish auburn hair ruffled further about.

"You look nice like that."

Mari chuckled once as she glanced down at herself, rolling her eyes before smiling. "Given how tired you are, I'll take that as an innocent compliment."

"Huh? Oh…right…I…uh…"

"Good night Ryder," she said dismissively, albeit in good humour.

"Yeah, night, night Mari," he replied, the lights switching off and plummeting him into darkness again.

Darkness where his nightmares would once again come alive, darkness where his memories would haunt him, and darkness where he would lose all sense of time, and escape into the almost perpetual land of sleeplessness.

* * *

_**Yuuna Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**01:29 JST**_

The darkness was constant, swarming about everything as the occasional soft snore broke through the silence, and even more rarely, a harsher, more animal-like snore. The city had fallen silent also, the only sound out there that could break through it being blocked out by the windows. All was peaceful, all was dark.

A burst of light was the only thing to break the pattern, a circular object lighting up and flashing brightly all of a sudden.

Sakura stirred, close to waking up before the light from her D-Vice quickly ceased without a trace. She moaned, turning back over and ploughing her head into the pillow again, unaware of how close she had been to awaking, and finding what the D-Vice had to say.

**BIOEMERGANCE DETECTED**

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Heh, and so this particular day ends, with a fair few more surprises along the way. Certainly has been one of the longest days in writing for me so far. There are still a few more scenes to cover, Rey still has to make a few discoveries about an old friend, and, of course, they still have to tell the truth about Nagasaki to the group. Oh, and that's not forgetting Ryder's latest secret, or what they're going to do about DarkBiyomon.

Until next time…

B.C.


	66. The Trick To Necklaces

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 60**

_The Trick to Necklaces_

* * *

**MONDAY, 25****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**07:15 JST**_

A mouth spread wide, yawning deeply before a hand ran through the hair above, doing little to mess it up further from its already disrupted state. Mari groaned, slamming her hand down on the alarm and standing up, stretching out and yawning once again as she desperately fought the urge to go back to bed and try to finally get to sleep after a restless night.

Her eyesight finally clearing, she looked about the room, seeing a relatively unfamiliar form sleeping at the foot of her bed. A frown leapt onto her face as she recalled the events of the middle of that night, and she dearly hoped the recent incidents wouldn't have any lasting repercussions. It was a futile hope, of course.

"Hmm…" she mumbled, not sure whether to think the sleeping bird was cute or sinister.

Sighing, she wandered across the room and out into the living room, making a beeline for the airing cabinet. DarkRenamon landed into existence alongside her with a thin smile as she pulled out a pale yellow towel, warm to the touch from where it had been left alongside the water tank.

"Morning."

"Hey DarkRenamon," she replied, yawning again as she pulled the towel to her, it feeling warm and comforting for her sleep-ridden self.

In a moment of self-consciousness, she pulled it away, shaking her head sharply to get rid of the drowsiness (but failing badly). She looked to one side, a frown creeping onto her face as she looked at the Kitsune, watching her intently.

"…listen, DarkRenamon…I'm really sorry for what happened yesterday, and I know it must've harmed our bond deeply."

"The telepathy demonstrated as such."

"So, I am deeply sorry, and am going to try to make this up to you, okay?"

"Mari, you don't have to. I know that you're sorry."

"Yeah, but…I owe you, okay?"

"If you must."

Mari nodded, a slim amused smile on her face before she turned, walking across the apartment with towel in hand. She glanced to Ryder's door, knowing the boy wouldn't be awake for another few minutes. They'd worked out a few months ago that this way, she could go in the shower first before him and thus they wouldn't just be sitting drowsily waiting for the other to finish, inadvertently using the water in the kitchen to make a drink while the other was in the shower, or, worse of all, ending up with one opening the door whilst the other was in the shower should one of them forget in their tired state to lock it.

Once in the bathroom and coincidentally locking the door, she chuckled at the thought, the amusing patterns they had both taken on from being roommates for several months now making it feel like they had been together for years. She wouldn't go back to that lonely apartment for the world, but she knew that Ryder had a lot more to consider going back to. Sighing, she turned the taps on in advance, threw the towel on the rack and undressed. Subsequently, she stepped into a shower she knew would be one of two things, aptly described by her boyfriend as "bloody cold" and "bloody hot".

"_BLOODY COLD!" _she mentally screamed, stepping out of the blast of water and putting her arms across her chest as she shivered, dearly hoping to warm up. She glared down at the taps, and at her goosebump-laden arms, before an idea occurred to her.

She lifted her hands up in front of her, gazing at the palms before turning them to face the shower taps, a smile crossing her face.

"SYNCRONICITY!"

She smiled as the taps turned around on their own, aided by the blue tinge, before closing her eyes and taking a leap, or rather, step of faith forward into the stream.

"ARRGH!" she screamed again, the water now, rather predictably… _"BLOODY HOT!"_

* * *

Ryder yawned, hearing a scream from the bathroom. _"Mari's awake," _he mused, rubbing the "sleep" from his eyes and sitting up to look about at the still dimly-lit room. His eyes still blurred from sleep and rheum, he clambered clumsily to the side and out of bed, standing to his feet.

Quickly, he panicked, scrambling around for something he knew he needed.

"_Oh, yeah, that's right…don't need crutches __anymore."_

The alarm across his face stopped, as he cast his eyes upon the end of the bedstead, his bat-like partner sleeping soundly as his ears gently lifted and sank. He smiled, the sight of his calm partner oddly comforting compared to how distraught his own sleep had been.

"MiniDonmon," he said quietly, the movement of the Digimon increasing slightly. "It's morning now," he added, wandering towards him and bending down to look at his faithful companion.

"Aw….just ten more years," MiniDonmon groaned, his eyes still shut as he turned over.

"I wish, but Mrs Asagi would kill me," Ryder chuckled, hearing further noises from the bathroom as Mari continued to fight her daily battle with the shower.

"So what? I don't have to go to school," MiniDonmon said drowsily, opening his eyes a crack to look at the blurry image of his Tamer.

"Heh, but we do everything together MiniDonmon. That's what being a partner is about."

"I really should've looked at that contract more closely."

"God, imagine if it were actually done by a contract."

"I'd have written in a sleeper clause," MiniDonmon grumbled, turning over in the hope that sleep would escape him from this difficult situation.

"Do I have to lift you up by the wing?"

"Sleeping! Do not disturb."

"You asked for it," Ryder said, turning and wandering across the room back to his bedside table. On it, his D-Vice, and as he lifted it and strapped it to his arm, it lit up upon recognising its user. He tapped the screen, the device expanding along his forearm and awaiting whatever order he had. Right now, his order was simple. "Digivolution Activate," Ryder whispered, tapping the specific part of the screen.

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**MiniDonmon, Digivolve to…**

**Donmon**

"I hate you," Donmon grumbled, pushing himself up off the bed and slipping his far larger form down onto the floor.

"I love you too," Ryder said sarcastically, as he came to a stand again alongside his dragon-like Digimon. Donmon continued to grumble, growling as he shook his head and the sleep away with it, before he turned his snout up to look at his Tamer.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Ryder's smile dipped, and he sighed, running a hand through his ruffled hair. "Unfortunately not I'm afraid…and thanks for reminding me."

"You didn't sleep well did you?"

"Not at all. I don't think I've ever had such an uncomfortable sleep," he complained. "God, what I'd give for waking up on Ivy's lap again," he mumbled, looking off into space in the way only dreamers did.

"Excuse me?" Donmon asked, confusion paling across his face as he tilted his head at his partner.

Alarm sprung onto Ryder's face, as he furiously shook his head. "Never mind," he said, dismissing the concern of his partner and quickly wandering towards the door as Donmon, bewildered, watched him pass.

"_What was _that_ about?"_

* * *

Brown hair ruffled about as a towel was roughly thrown through it, the user knowing that it made precious little difference to its spikiness whether he dried it well or not. He subsequently wrapped a towel about himself, taking a step out into the living room where Mari was eating cereal breakfast alongside her partner, one eating far more neatly and precisely than the other. Then again, few could ever hope to match the sheer politeness that most Renamon seemed to possess, a politeness that seemed unnatural considering how vicious they could be as a species in battle.

"Morning," Mari chirped, barely fazed by the towelled boy. Ryder nodded glumly in response, the combination of Donmon's question and the time in the shower being all he needed to remember what he had done the previous day. Indeed, considering what he had done, it seemed too…ordinary a morning.

Well, except for the ex-partner of their friend-turned-enemy sleeping in Mari's room. Or at least, Ryder hoped DarkBiyomon was sleeping, and wasn't about to have a change of heart and go at his neck with the kitchen scissors.

"_The most sick and twisted thing is, if I _am_ immortal, then she can endlessly kill me. I hate my damn luck."_

He crossed the room to his door, placing his hand on the handle as the other bedroom door opened, revealing the one being Ryder didn't want to see right now.

DarkBiyomon, unfortunately, turned to her right, a tense stare passing between the human and Digimon as their observers watched agitatedly. DarkBiyomon gave a stare of disgust, Ryder one of apology, and until DarkBiyomon gestured to the door with her eyes, it seemed never to end. Ryder nodded, breathing a sigh of relief that DarkBiyomon wasn't going to try killing him that morning and entered his bedroom.

"Good morning DarkBiyomon," DarkRenamon greeted politely, pausing in her eating.

"Did you have a nice sleep?" Mari added, whilst still in the process of eating. She swallowed down, DarkBiyomon frowning.

"Obviously not," Donmon commentated, as the bird wandered across to the sofas. Mari was already dressed, a black and grey checked blouse with a black jacket over the top, a dark grey skirt below. Where the uppermost button on the blouse was undone, her necklace glinted through; the stylised number two a subtle message to tell those who knew its significance who she really was.

"May I have something to eat?" DarkBiyomon asked, her voice timid and anxious about her new hosts, unsure how to judge those apart from Ryder.

"Of course," Mari replied, standing to her feet with a smile and hoping the optimism would filter through to their guest. But, of course, it failed to do anything of the sort.

DarkBiyomon nervously climbed onto the sofa as Donmon and DarkRenamon watched, whilst the sound of cornflakes being poured into a bowl sounded from the kitchen. The tap poured water into the glass, before she turned, crossing the room while dearly hoping that DarkBiyomon would eat it. The last thing they needed was a fussy eater.

The bird eyed the food nervously as it was placed in front of her. "Bon appétit," Mari chirped, DarkBiyomon nervously reaching out to eat.

Just then, the door shunted open, Ryder stepping out as he pulled a black jacket over a black buttoned-up shirt, a pair of black jeans below. Like with Mari, however, the top button was undone, subtracting from the more formal nature of their attire somewhat.

"All black?" Donmon asked, a frown on his face. Mari got to her feet, her eyes set on something that wasn't quite clear yet.

"Yeah," Ryder sighed, before casting a nervous eye at DarkBiyomon. The bird had taken to eyeing him with a glare between eating, something he didn't like but he knew he didn't have much choice in right now.

His attention was quickly drawn away when Mari stepped up to him, pulling on his collar and looking curiously at his neck. She looked up to the bewildered expression on his face, a peeved one on hers.

"Necklace?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as her expression lightened. Perhaps he was simply forgetting things?

Ryder frowned, looking away guiltily, cursing Mari's observant nature. She sighed, irritation in her voice as she pleaded him.

"Look, I know you still feel guilty about what you did, but you can't let it wreck your life."

"It's just a necklace."

"Yeah, but it represents _who_ you are. You're the First Angel, and…"

"I haven't been doing anything particularly angelic recently."

"Hello?" Mari asked sarcastically, pulling out on her blouse and putting the necklace into full view. "I tried to kill you yesterday; it hasn't stopped me wearing mine."

"Yeah, but you didn't actually kill someone. You committed no crime."

"Tell that to the people sent down for attempted murder."

"Yeah, but…"

"Ryder, I'm sick of this crap. Put the necklace on and do as you're told," Mari huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Now."

Ryder looked into Mari's eyes, her determination for him to recover from his current depression and downward spiral clear for anyone to see as it burned in her pupils. "Fine," he said, turning and wandering away as Mari crossed her arms. In actual fact, she felt fit to laugh out loud at the present situation and the absurdity of her order just now, particularly since she felt like his mother or a particularly bossy wife, but she decided against it in case she was taken the wrong way.

She turned when she heard a stifled chuckle. "Don't laugh," she insisted to Donmon, a slim smile barely concealed on her face.

DarkBiyomon looked about bewildered at Donmon and DarkRenamon, both in varying degrees of amusement while she felt completely left out on the joke. What on earth was so funny?

* * *

_**Yuuna Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**07:46 JST**_

"Hmm…" Sakura mumbled, looking curiously down at the plant-like Digimon which stood alongside her as they stepped out into the cold yet bright October day. Floramon held her arms out, savouring the light cast onto her form. Sakura was the complete opposite, expressing no amazement at all at the light falling onto her turquoise sleeveless top and dull brown pants, and she was unable to see it glinting off her greenish pupils or her dark blue hair running freely down to her hips behind her.

"What are you wondering about?" Floramon asked, looking curiously at her Tamer.

"Do you think anyone will notice you?"

"Would that be a bad thing?"

"I'm not sure. Can I put a box over your head or something so they don't take you away?"

"No."

"Fine," Sakura replied, smiling a slim smile. "Never mind, it's not like this city isn't used to Digimon walking around."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"We're going to get some Digimon cards before school. I want to be prepared in case a Digimon attacks during the day, so it's better to get them now rather than later. Now come on, the card shop opens at eight."

"Right," Floramon cheered, the pair beginning to walk along the road, heading for school, for the card shop, and for a new life as Tamer and partner.

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**07:46 JST**_

"Christ you took ages, what were you doing?" Mari asked from where she leant on the back of the sofa, eyeing Ryder where he stood in the doorway. His necklace was now fastened about his neck, whilst in his hand another gold object glinted.

"Looking for this," he replied, holding up the object as she stood up straight and wandered forward, recognising the item more and more as she got closer. He gently passed it over to her, knowing that she'd be less likely to somehow break it between now and the time it found its rightful owner.

"For Henry?" she asked, looking curiously at the stylised number three on the attached pendant. "Looks like it's his turn to get one."

"Yeah, although whether he's really awoken, excuse the pun, to it all yet…I'm not sure."

"Yes, I have observed Henry has a habit of overthinking things," DarkRenamon chipped in.

"He's not the only one then. Well, apart from when I do something stupid and Goggleheaded."

"Speaking of which, we have to go to school," Mari said, reminding them of why exactly they were up so early. She would've had a lazy morning in if it were up to her.

"What I'd give for a day off."

Mari gave an assertive look, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You need a touch of normality right now, even if school is never the same two days running for us."

"Normality? What is this unknown thing?"

"Hahahaha," Mari laughed sarcastically. "Very funny," she said, rolling her eyes mockingly.

"Uh…what do I do?" DarkBiyomon interrupted, clambering onto the arm rest and looking over to the two humans who stood on one side of the room.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Mari said, the realisation coming to her that she couldn't simply leave the bird locked up here. Part of her wanted to let the bird roam free in the city, but she knew that, on the risk of losing her, it wasn't the best option, and she doubted that DarkBiyomon was in the mood to roam free at this moment.

"Perhaps Rey can look after her?" Donmon suggested, raising a claw.

"I'll call Rika's house and see," Ryder replied, leaping at the chance to get away from DarkBiyomon for a moment. Even if the bird wasn't glaring at him right now, he still felt guilty every time he saw her.

He wandered across the room, reaching for the glossy black wireless phone where it was left on the side table. He lifted it, about to dial the number before, to his surprise, it rang.

Smiling in amusement, he glanced back to Mari. "Weird timing eh?" he noted, she rolling her eyes and contemplating how they would probably end up running to school unless he hurried up. He turned back, lifting the phone with a smile on his face. "Hello?"

"_**Hello Ryder. Can you hear me?"**_

Ryder froze up, the phone slipping from his hand and clattering to the ground. His eyes widened as he scrambled to the floor, reaching for the battery that had leapt from the case on impact. Cursing, he pushed it back into the handset, his mind thinking of only one person all the while. He lifted it to his ear, finding no response before realising that the loss of the battery had aborted the call.

"Clumsy idiot," Mari muttered. "Who was it?"

"Not sure," Ryder replied, lying through his teeth. This was the last thing he wanted. Still, he needed to know about what this was, if he wanted to get to the bottom of things. "What's the number to check the last caller?"

"Ugh, can't this wait? I'm sure they'll ring back," she insisted. He put on a pleading expression, forcing her to search her memory for the number. "136."

"Thanks," he replied, dialling the number into the phone. He wandered across the room getting a small pencil and piece of paper from the tray.

"I may as well make you breakfast," Mari sighed, rolling her eyes while Ryder embarked on a quest of pointlessness. "You're making me breakfast tomorrow," she insisted, wandering over to the kitchen as he absently nodded. He lifted the phone to his ear again as he pressed the call button.

"**Telephone number…plus…4…4…2…0…7…9…4…6…0…9…2…9."**

He scribbled down the number before hanging up the phone. **+442079460929 **he wrote, a number he looked at for a few moments before its significance hit him like a truck.

"_That's _my_ home number!"_

Indeed it was, and only the international prefix had prevented him from realising so straight away.

He froze up, staring at the oh-so-familiar number and contemplating how pointless it was to have it written down now. That number was ingrained into his mind, so much so that he could whizz straight through it from memory without even recognising the individual numbers on the way. "02079 460 929," he mumbled absently, reaching for the phone again in readiness to call back. He had to work out what on earth was going on here. How was she using his phone number to contact him in a different world?

"Ryder!" Mari interrupted, waking him from his amazed trance with an annoyed expression as she burst into his vision. "Just ring the damn Nonakas, okay?!"

"What's wrong Mari? You're in a really bad mood."

"Just do it."

"Uh, okay," Ryder said, paling back in fear at the sight of his girlfriend at the end of her temper. Either the last few days were really getting to her or…

"Ugh, just give me the phone," she insisted, watching him freeze up again. At this rate, they'd miss the whole day of school and be brutally murdered by Mrs Asagi. Or get a week's detention. Which one was worse, she wasn't sure. As she dialled the number, she looked across to him. "So who was it then?"

"Uh…" Ryder mumbled as she put the phone to her ear, her eyes still focused on him as it rang.

"DarkRenamon, do you have any popcorn?" Donmon asked, turning to his fellow Digimon with a smile.

"No, I'm not Calumon," she replied in an amused tone, mirroring his smile.

"Or Terriermon, or Guilmon…"

"Hello?!" Mari exclaimed, wondering why on earth Ryder was taking so long to reply to her. What on earth was wrong _this_ time?

"**Hello?"**

"Oh, sorry Mrs Hata," Mari quickly apologised, cursing herself for shouting down the phone.

"**Dear, I'm not deaf, there's no need to shout."**

"Yeah, sorry. Sort of crossed lines there," Mari said, shooting a glare across to Ryder and silently insisting to him that he had to tell her later. Ryder was too busy pondering about whether it was just _that_ time of the month for Mari to notice her intense stares.

"**Never mind dear. So, any reason for calling?"**

"Yeah, can I talk to Rey please? If she's not still asleep, that is."

"**You'd be surprised. She's up bright and early this morning, saying she's going somewhere important."**

"Oh."

"**What's wrong?"**

"Well, I was hoping she could look after DarkBiyomon today while we're all at school."

"**Hmm…I'm afraid that won't be possible, she's already about to go. Shall I ask her to wait?"**

"Hmm…guess she won't be able to help then."

"**Perhaps I could look after DarkBiyomon? The poor thing must be getting lonely by now given what I've heard from Rika and the others."**

"Uh…" Mari mumbled, looking nervously across the room to the bird who sat watching events unfold. As DarkBiyomon did so, she listened in to Donmon and DarkRenamon's chatter. "I'm not sure that's…"

"**She is hardly likely to attack me, I am an older woman and I have no Digimon partner. If worst comes to worst, I'm sure Renamon would be there."**

"Yeah, but…"

"**Talk to Rika and ask her when you see her later. If worst comes to worst, I'm sure she can tell her daughter to come back."**

"Yeah…I guess…okay, I'll talk to her then in that case."

"**Goodbye Mari."**

"Yeah, bye," Mari replied, the anger in her face dissipitated and replaced by simple bewilderment. Seiko couldn't be serious, could she? The idea of leaving such a potentially volatile Digimon with one of their parents, nay, one of their grandparents, and for that matter one who was kind and opposed to fighting, seemed like an act of total stupidity, and yet it was the suggestion of the older woman herself.

"You look…shocked," Ryder commented, wondering why on earth Mari's face had turned pale.

"Yeah, well…Rika's grandma just came up with a strange suggestion that could actually work."

"What was it?"

"She suggested we leave DarkBiyomon…with her."

Ryder and Mari both looked across to the Digimon, the bird looking back with a growing sense of concern. What did they have planned for her?

* * *

_**Shinjuku Collectors Palace, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**08:06 JST**_

"They're so…weird."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I suppose it's not the cards themselves that are weird; it's just the idea of some for real. I never imagined this kinda thing would happen," Sakura said to her partner where they now stood outside the card shop, a fan of cards in her hands and a card holder now clipped on her belt. "Then again, getting a real life Digimon wasn't exactly expected either."

"So are we going to school now?"

"Well, I'm still not sure about you. This isn't personal, but with the Tamers and their Digimon there, I don't think you could stay all that hidden."

"Don't you want them to know?"

"I'm not sure. What if they take you away from me, or they don't think I'm right to tame you? I don't want to get separated from you before I can even get to know you."

"Oh, okay."

"I'll find somewhere for you to hide, but…with the park closed, I'll need to work it out. Do you know the way back to mine?"

"Uh…" Floramon began, putting her plant-like hand on her chin as she contemplated how they had got there so far.

Suddenly, the tiny petals on her hand tensed up and stretched out, her eyes dilating and her expression becoming somewhat menacing. Sakura took a step back, Floramon beginning to worry her.

"What's wrong?"

Before Floramon could answer, a sharp gust of wind swept through the area, sweeping some leaves up and sending them scuttling through the air, and a quick shape burst through. The ground shook as something pounded into them, a horrid snarl echoing also through the road. But, it wasn't the most notable noise right now. Something else far louder dominated the air.

"WAAA!"

The thing was, as Sakura's head swung around to see a faded blue and strong red tail whishing past, she couldn't help but feel a pang of familiarity about the voice.

"Let's go!" she quickly said to Floramon, who nodded, snapping out of her growling trance.

"Right!" the plant replied, the pair quickly chasing after whatever it was. A slim smile graced Sakura's face, despite the potentially dangerous nature of the situation she was running into.

This was it. Showtime.

* * *

_**Outside Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**08:06 JST**_

"So, your grandmother suggested she could look after DarkBiyomon," Mari explained, the pair of humans and trio of Digimon having arrived at their temporary meeting point outside the park. It wasn't anything special, it simply was easy to find thanks to the overbridge running overhead. A short, brick wall provided space to sit, and was currently occupied by Rika, Jeri, Henry and Kenta sitting along its length, their partners either sitting alongside them or on their heads. "What do you think?"

"Hmm…" Rika mumbled, crossing her arms across her chest, a motion complicated by the large bump below. "I don't know, I'm a bit worried that she'll do something. No offense," she said, looking down to the bird who frowned, hating her current reputation. Maybe it would be easier to fly around all day?

"_I'm worried I'll get so lonely I'll try to kill myself though," _DarkBiyomon thought darkly. _"And I don't really want to get lost all day either."_

"Rika, I could keep an eye on things if you wish?" Renamon suggested, turning to look across at the girl from where she sat alongside her on the wall.

"Yeah, but…"

"I assure you I'll stop her doing anything."

"I don't have any plans to do anything stupid either," DarkBiyomon insisted, looking up into Rika's eyes with a sincere determination that gave her the confidence she needed in leaving her with her grandmother.

"Fine then," she agreed, nodding before looking to Renamon again. "You better take her there now then…" _"…so we can all talk without her hearing."_

"_I understand," _"Of course Rika," Renamon replied, standing to her feet and looking down to the bird. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," DarkBiyomon sighed. Renamon nodded, bending down and lifting the bird. She looked to Rika, a nod passing between them before the Kitsune vanished into thin air.

Mari absently watched the slight breeze ruffle the group's hair, before asking about something she had been wondering about on the way to their interim meeting spot. "Hey, Rika, do you have any idea what Rey is going to be so busy with?"

Terriermon looked up to Henry, a glance of acknowledgement his reply. It was rather easy to work out where Rey was off to, given her currently-damaged time device and her eagerness to know about Naoko the previous night. Perhaps she had been going for parts, but in light of the facts it seemed more likely that she had other plans. Plus, right now she seemed more intent on staying around for a bit to see how things ended with this particular episode of their lives, in particular Chiyo's funeral, something she would be unlikely to miss.

"Nope, although I'd like to know, but Rey isn't the most open person."

"Heh, tell me about it," Mari laughed. "Seriously, she must be keeping something pretty big secret."

"Beyond the fact she's my daughter, beyond her Angelhood and beyond the war we'll all be facing in the future? I can't even begin to imagine."

"Oh, speaking of Angels," Mari said, remembering something as she put her handbag on the wall. She reached into it, before promptly and delicately pulling out a gold item. She turned to Henry, a small grin on her face. "You might want this."

Henry looked over the item in amazement, before looking back over to the girl. "Is that mine?"

"Yeah."

"It's…amazing," Jeri said, looking at the sun glinting off the almost perfectly clean and undamaged form. The stylised three hung from a pendant, and it gently coiled up as Mari lowered it into Henry's outstretched hands.

"Welcome to the exclusive club of the Angels," Ryder said with a grin, holding out a hand jokingly. Mari rolled her eyes at him.

"If you do that every single time…"

"Sorry. Guess starting an initiation ceremony is a bit much?"

"Of course."

"**Good, because if Chaos was here he'd be sure to present some ideas, and I'm sure they'd involve pebbles, a stupid act and enough alcohol to drown a rhinoceros."**

"Hey!" called out a voice from nearby, interrupting the conversation as the ground shook from each bound of a large, red saurian. His Tamer chased behind, Goggles glinting in the sunlight, while more casually and further back another brunette walked along, his hands in his pockets and his large rust-coloured android partner following in his wake.

**"Speak of the devil..."**

"Takato!" Rika complained, her voice irritated. "How many times are you going to be late for school?"

"Uh…" Takato mumbled, stopping short in front of her. A frown soon graced his face as he realised the true context of the question. "Mood swing?"

"Ugh…yeah," Rika groaned, running a hand through her hair.

"To be honest Chumley, even with these mood swings she's just as nutty as ever," Kazu said casually as he arrived.

"There's dumb, there's suicidal, and then there's Kazu," Kenta quipped to MarineAngemon.

"Pi-piru-pi!"

"Ugh, whatever," Rika groaned, standing up from the wall and putting her hands in her own pockets. "Come on, we'd better get going before I slam Kazu's head into the nearest lamppost."

"**And you call me violent."**

* * *

**Streets of Shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward**

**08:15 JST**

The boy felt his back ache as he recovered from his daze, the result of being thrown off a fast moving creature at very high speed.

"Okay…please…please…please, DON'T KILL ME!"

A snarl filled the air as a paw touched forward, getting ever closer to the wall against which he was leaning.

"Shit."

The wall the cursing boy was leaning against was part of a construction site, the sky filled with metal girders crisscrossing between each other, and scaffolding graced the outside. The site was pretty much empty, those who had arrived early to prepare it for the day's construction already having made their escape.

"Okay, I'm not sure what the hell you are exactly, but…I'm sorry for leaping on you!"

"GRRRHH…"

"Uh…I just thought you looked cool and dangerous and I was playing hero!"

"Human."

"Uh, yeah, I'm human. Uh…"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The beast turned its head, a pair of purple blades either side of a wolf-like grey face moving with it and making its expression even more menacing.

All the while, the boy, his short even more ruffled black hair looking like it had been through the wars, did likewise, his expression quickly turning to one of absolute shock, and yet also one of slight relief.

"Sakura?"

"Kohaku?"

"Sakura, who is this?"

"Grrr. Digimon!"

"Look out Floramon!" Sakura yelled, the wild Digimon leaping forth at her newfound partner with a ferocity seen in the eyes of many a bioemergence over the years. But Sakura and Kohaku, one only recently a Tamer and the other never having been one, certainly weren't familiar with it, and it scared them to death.

Floramon crashed to the ground as the wolf smashed into her, pushing her through a trench across the ground. Sakura froze, staring at her partner as the snarling beast stood over the plant, blades perilously close to her partner's body.

"Leave her alone!" Sakura cried.

"Yeah, pick on someone your own size!" Kohaku yelled, clenching a fist as he glared across the battlefield. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on anymore, and, indeed, ever since he had found that weird wolf-creature, but he was going to find out.

"GRRR," the Digimon snarled, turning and glaring at the boy who dared shout at him. Kohaku took a step back, his expression waving.

"Christ, I didn't mean it. Hey, I'm not your size, you're…what the hell are you?"

At that moment, Sakura noted her D-Vice was currently illuminated, a layer of data projected above it along with Floramon's point of view. Pushing down the urge to simply watch it, awestricken, she read the data off it. "Sangloupmon, Virus Type, Champion Level, attacks are Sticker Blade and Black Mind."

Floramon groaned as she pushed herself up, pain wracking through her body. She took a step forward, preparing to attack the wolf, currently with its back to her.

She placed her hands together, the petals opening as a sparkling dust began to gather in them. "RAIN OF…"

"GRAAAAH!" Sangloupmon snarled, swinging round and slamming a sharp blade, attached to his purple-blue furry leg, into her. Sakura winced as Floramon crashed across the ground, screaming in pain.

"AAAAH!"

"Floramon!"

"Leave her alone!" Kohaku growled, Sangloupmon looking to him again with a sharp glare.

"Stay out!" he insisted, before turning back to his disabled foe, the plant groaning as she struggled to push herself even an inch off the ground.

Kohaku took a step forward, before freezing, realising what he was about to do. He was about to step into a battle against a Digimon, nay, a Digimon with insanely sharp blades that he bet could disembowel him before Sakura could even begin to scream. This was suicide. There had to be another way.

Kohaku clenched his fists, cursing his humanity and wishing he weren't one for a moment.

"_I have to do something," _Sakura thought, wishing for a mind beyond that of a typical human as she watched Sangloupmon smash a paw into Floramon's head.

He by now had pushed her down to the ground, one paw standing on her legs and preventing her escape and the other pushing into her face, crushing her.

"Sakura, I have to know. What the hell is going on?!" Kohaku pleaded. Sakura looked to him, a look of complete hopelessness in her eyes.

"I became a Tamer, but I don't know how to help my partner or to digivolve her or to slash cards or…wait, that's it!" she exclaimed, her hand rummaging in her back pocket quickly.

"What's it?"

She pulled out a card, before shaking her head. "That's not what I need," she panicked, searching her cards even more quickly before they clattered out onto the ground about her. She groaned, bending down to look at them while Kohaku stared over, not entirely sure if this was the same girl. She didn't seem that interested in Digimon the last time round.

"Are they Digimon cards?"

"Yeah. Wait, this'll do!" she exclaimed, grabbing at a card and standing up with a determined glare. "DIGI-MODIFY…Power Activate!"

Floramon suddenly felt her vines and body tense up, power roaring through them and weakening Sangloupmon's grasp. She pushed upwards, straining as she did so before she finally threw him back. He fell across the concrete like a sliding dog, crashing onto his side.

"Take that!"

"Now, DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!"

"What are you doing? What on earth is going on?" Kohaku asked, watching as the injuries on Floramon healed up. The plant looked far more battle ready now, staring down her opponent with a harsh glare that demonstrated how she would no longer be such a pushover.

Sangloupmon got to his feet again, looking at Floramon and breaking into a gallop at her. The ground thudded as Floramon put her arms out, ready to use her still-surging power to throw him aside with ease.

The wolf grinned, and leapt at her.

And over her, before vanishing into thin air behind her in a black blur, as if he were melting.

Floramon froze, bewilderingly looking about for her foe.

"Where'd he go?" Kohaku asked, confused by this turn of events.

"Floramon, do you know where he is?" Sakura cried, Floramon now extremely agitated as her pupils darted about, desperately searching for some sign of her lost enemy.

"No. Sakura, I'm scared. Where is he?"

"I…I don't know," Sakura stammered, shocked and worried by this startling turn of events.

"He's got to be here somewhere," Kohaku insisted, his eyes darting about at the battlefield around him. Sakura glanced aside, noting his growing agitation, before looking to see similar facets in her partner. This was not good, no-one could think straight, certainly not Sakura herself. She just needed to think, she just needed to change things here. First of all, they needed to calm down.

"_Okay Sakura, calm down and help Floramon calm down, that's the only way we're going to find him. Breathe in, breathe out," _she chanted to herself, closing her eyes and pushing down the rising sense of alarm.

Floramon had paused in her search, now looking to Sakura with a curious expression. She looked so…confident. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

"Floramon," she began, kneeling down by her cards as she looked down into them, hoping to spy something useful. "Come over here," she added, gesturing to her partner to come closer.

The plant nodded, gradually making her way across to her Tamer, seemingly a safe haven in this battle. How she had made herself calm, she wasn't sure, but it seemed to be helping her. "Sakura, can you…"

"GRAAAAH!"

A blur leapt from Floramon's shadow, reconstituting as it shot through the air and quickly closing the distance between itself and the blue haired girl, by now frozen to the spot as the blades came ever closer.

Closer.

Sakura screamed.

Closer.

"SAKURA!" Kohaku cried.

Closer.

"NO!" Floramon insisted.

Sakura merely closed her eyes, awaiting her death as the blades cut through the air towards her. Her eyes were clenched so shut, she missed the blinding bright light from her wrist.

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Floramon Digivolve to…**

Floramon was encased in a dark blue orb, as her body was stripped down to a wireframe. With a blur, it reconfigured, a new yet similarly sized form replacing it. The form was cream circular, with short stubby arms and a red cloth sheath over the top. Sharp mace-like shoulder plates were nothing compared to the sharpness of the ninja stars on either of her hands, which in itself paled when compared to the sheathed blade behind her. From the cloth, two short trails of fabric fluttered back, as she landed down on the concrete.

**Ninjamon!**

"IGA-STYLE SWORD DRAW!" she cried, leaping forth and sending her blade straight into Sangloupmon's side from behind. He spun round, barely missing Sakura's head in the process before he crashed back into the concrete.

Ninjamon landed alongside a shaken Sakura as they watched the dust settle on their foe.

"You okay?" Kohaku asked, taking a step towards the frozen girl. Sakura turned, her disturbed expression unchanging until she uneasily nodded.

"I think so."

"Sakura, I don't think he's done with us yet."

"Floramon? No, wait, you digivolved…let's see…Ninjamon, Data Type, Champion Level, attacks Ninja Knife Throwing, Iga-style Sword Draw, Bunshin no Jutsu, Dancing Leaves and Ninja Hopping."

"Sounds like she packs a bundle of attacks," said Kohaku, looking back over to the now-growling champion foe, the dust cleared finally. "Looks like we could use it."

"You attacked my Tamer!" Ninjamon scowled at Sangloupmon. "You will pay!"

The wolf simply gave a low seething howl, glaring at his enemy.

"NINJA KNIFE THROWING!" she cried, crossing her arms and uncrossing them rapidly to launch a pair of shurikens at the wolf.

The wolf leapt into the air, soaring over the top of them to avoid. Ninjamon was oddly pleased; this would be far too simple otherwise. This Digimon needed an example to be made of him.

"NINJA HOPPING!" she exclaimed, leaping into the air after him and landing on his back. She kicked her feet down at him, knocking him off course in midair while propelling her upwards. She promptly landed on one of the girders surrounding the battlefield below, standing on what would eventually be where the first floor of this building's ceiling. Her eyes scanned below, seeing Sangloupmon crash to the ground on his side. A slim smile filled her face.

She cast a cautious glance over to Sakura and Kohaku, the latter now helping the former gather up her cards while they talked. They were safe.

"_Good," _she thought, as she glanced absently over to see Sangloupmon rushing towards her through the air. This would be interesting.

* * *

"So what on earth is this all about?"

"I don't really know."

"Where did she come from?"

"The other day, I was wandering back from the shops, and there was this big fog. I stepped in, and there she was. She was injured so I took her home, and then the digivice appeared and we became partners."

"You make it sound so mundane."

"Heh. So what's up with you then? I get the feeling you don't usually ride on the back of huge wolves."

"I don't make a habit of it. I found it, him, Sangloupmon, whatever he is, sleeping near some skips while I was heading to school this morning. I didn't expect him to run at me."

"So what did you do to get on his back?"

"I had the crazy idea I could calm him down, you know, like how you calm down a horse. Didn't work."

"I guessed that."

"You know, I didn't have you down as a Digimon fan…"

"I got these cards this morning. I'm having a strange few days."

"I think everyone is. I'd have gone to the park this morning were it not for that hubbub yesterday."

"Looks like you'd have been a lot safer that way too."

"Yeah, even if this is sort of cool."

"How is watching me nearly get killed cool?!"

"Apart from that."

* * *

Ninjamon touched down on another girder, the pair leaping up the building gradually as each tried for the higher ground in-between attacks. She was surprised that neither of them had succumbed to gravity so far, although she had no doubts that she herself would not do so. She was far too agile.

The great lumbering wolf, on the other hand, only seemed to have survived thanks to his teeth and claws, which had saved him from plenty of falls so far. This was worrying, she needed to finish this, and quick.

The wolf turned to look up at her, the ninja standing on the level above.

"Sangloupmon, for attacking my Tamer I will make sure you hurt."

"Hmph."

"IGA-STYLE SWORD DRAW!" she cried, propelling herself off and downwards at the wolf. The wolf promptly rushed aside, leaving his foe to slam her sword into the girder.

As if it were wood, the metal split in half, before one began to dangerously push into the other. The wolf panicked, the floor beginning to slope away from him in a dangerous manner. As the girder he was standing on began to fall, he rocketed off it, his paws barely making the above level. He pulled himself up, the metal groaning from the stress.

"_This building is going to fall," _Ninjamon thought, the need to end things even more quickly becoming even more pressing. She turned, ready to face her foe.

She was struck by a forehead, slamming straight across into a vertical girder at the corner. Sangloupmon roared in victory, as she groaned in pain, casting an eye down to the metal tumbling below.

* * *

Kohaku shuddered in fear, ducking downwards as several metres from them a number of girders smashed into the concrete. The ground rumbled, Sakura putting his arm quickly around his shoulder.

"We have to get out of here!" she insisted, her voice barely heard over the roar of metal on concrete.

He stared into her eyes, the shock of what was going on forcing his reactions to be slow. He nodded, far away from reality. This couldn't be real. He glanced upwards to the structure above, visibly shaking as more pieces began to fall. Uneasily, he began to be led away by Sakura, the boy clenching her fists against the sheer danger of the situation. They needed to escape, now!

* * *

Ninjamon returned to her feet, the dizziness setting in and making the word double up around her. Oddly though, this merely gave her an idea.

"Try to catch me," she called. "BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Sangloupmon's expression dropped as Ninjamon quickly multiplied twelve-score, the copies swarming about their floor of girders. He blinked unsurely, looking about for the real one before howling in irritation.

"Come on!" she taunted, the voice multiplied about him as all mouths moved.

"GRAAAH!" he growled loudly, determination in his eyes as he turned, leaping from the girder at its opposite on the other side.

"IGA-STYLE SWORD DRAW!"

"IGA-STYLE SWORD DRAW!"

Sangloupmon's paws touched the girder, and grabbed on. Unfortunately, the girder then fell away from him, and he lost his grip. Looking to either side, his eyes widened in horror to see that the girder he was holding onto had been severed at either end, and was now tumbling as helplessly through the air as he was.

Gravity finally got payback, as he rocketed down towards the ground.

* * *

The pair of humans finally got out from under the cover of the girders, quickly making their escape. Sakura's arm was now free from Kohaku's back, the boy's constitution back and allowing him to get a grip on the situation again.

A shadow moved on the ground below. Kohaku looked up, eyes widening in horror as he impulsively leapt at Sakura.

"MOVE!"

He ploughed into her, the pair falling down and sliding through what was thankfully a dirt surface, and that was also thankfully out of harm's way, at least for now. The air filled with a cacophony of noise, girders crashing down about them and the ground quaking as the structure began to collapse.

Sakura looked up to him, Kohaku quickly pushing himself up off her both to aid her recovery and save their dignity. He gripped her hand, putting his arm about her back and helping her up. She simply stared over his shoulder.

He cast his eyes about, seeing the large form of Sangloupmon shaking and distorting, half covered in fallen girders and construction material. He suddenly glowed, his form shrinking downwards out of sight before the building materials clattered down on him.

"Thanks," Sakura said, feeling tired and breathless from the sudden events. "Let's get out of here."

Kohaku simply stared on at the pile, not even noticing Ninjamon landing alongside them and insisting to Sakura that they escape.

"This building is coming down, we must flee."

"Kohaku?" Sakura mumbled, not even noticing her partner's words as she simply stared on at the boy. He seemed transfixed on that pile, but why?

His feet quickly began to move, breaking into a run as he rushed across to the pile. He crashed to his knees, gritting his teeth against the pain and strain as he pulled away bits of fallen material. The girders dominated the pile, impossible for him to move.

Sakura rushed up behind him, Ninjamon in tow. "What are you doing?!"

"Shut up and help me!"

"Help you do what?"

"NINJA KNIFE THROWING!"

Kohaku stepped back in surprise, the heavy girder he was struggling with cut with ease into several pieces by a number of shuriken. The metal clattered apart, finally opening up his vision to what he was looking for.

"There!" he exclaimed, reaching out with both hands for the unconscious and altered form of their foe. He pulled the Digimon free, grabbing him up into his arms before turning. "Run!"

Ninjamon and Sakura didn't hesitate in joining him in running across the building site to the exit, the sound of crumpling metal and crashing girders roaring over them as they ran. Finally reaching the pavement again, they turned back, seeing a number of girders now making the pile unrecognisable.

"Phew, close one."

"Even closer thanks to you!" Sakura complained, glaring at the boy. "You could've got us killed."

"I had to save him," the boy replied, holding out the figure in his arms. Sakura looked down, seeing a rather bizarre Digimon. A black head was oversized in proportion to its body, which was covered in a thin blue cloth on the torso and hands. Red impish fingernails and toes mirrored in colour a pair of red gems on its body and one of its eyes, while a third emerald gem matched its other eye. However, these weren't its only eyes - likewise coloured eyes could be found on each of its hands. Sakura raised her D-Vice while Ninjamon focused on the Digimon's form.

"Dracmon, Virus Type, Rookie Level, attacks Undead Fang and Eye of Nightmare."

"Hmm," Ninjamon mused, looking over her former opponent as she evaluated the battle they had fought.

"But why did you have to save him?"

"I just did."

"It'd be dishonourable to let our foe die like that, after it put up such a determined battle, if a savage one."

"I see."

The air suddenly rippled, a glowing form arising out of it and surprising the trio of observers. It was glowing, but oddly and seemingly impossibly, with black light.

They took a step back, but the glow pursued one of them, sliding through the air towards Kohaku's wrist.

He raised it in surprise as it grabbed onto it, the feeling filling him with alarm. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, staring at the screen as the device expanded from something looking like a grey watch with a rust orange ring to a device looking just like Sakura's expanded D-Vice, only with a rust orange ring. Words flashed across the screen.

**Owner recognised as intended owner. Owner registered. Searching for partner.**

The screen glowed brighter and brighter, the light seemingly expanding in three dimensions before it came into contact with the Digimon in his arms. It suddenly stopped and retracted back inwards.

**Digimon found. Identified as Dracmon. Partner recognised as intended partner. Partner registered. D-Vice initialisation complete. Shutting down.**

It suddenly retracted back into its watch form, Kohaku still staring on in shock at what was going on. This couldn't be real. This was a digivice, and it had just claimed that Dracmon was his partner. That meant…

"This must make you a Tamer," Sakura exclaimed, shock in her voice as she mirrored his thoughts.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, just endlessly glancing between the form in his arms and the D-Vice. This was impossible.

"Maybe this is why you saved him," mooted Ninjamon.

"Speaking of which…I want to thank both of you for saving me," Sakura added, giving a slight bow to her two newest friends.

"Of course I did, we're partners."

"And we're friends…and now, uh, fellow Tamers."

Their conversation was interrupted as with a grand crash, the building finally settled into a crumpled heap on the ground. The cloud of dust was mesmerising to the teenagers and Digimon as sirens began to sound in the distance.

"God, I hope no-one got hurt. I couldn't stand the idea that our battle had hurt someone, or worse," Sakura mused. Kohaku nodded, glancing to his watch.

"Ugh, it's only half eight and I still have school to get to. My mom will kill me for this, let alone my teacher."

"If the police don't arrest us for this, I'm sure Mrs Asagi will. I have to get out of here."

"But wait, what about the Digimon?"

"Oh."

"Sakura, I will hide myself in this form with ease. I will also ensure that Dracmon stays hidden," Ninjamon reassured, putting out her arms to Kohaku.

"Are you sure? You guys did just try to kill each other," he asked.

"Trust me, I will ensure he causes no-one else any harm."

"Ninjamon, you're so different in this form."

"Am I?"

The sirens drew even closer, reminding the pair it was no time for talk. "Listen, we've got to get out of here," Kohaku said, Sakura nodding in agreement. "Can I have your number and address?"

"Huh?"

"I need to pick up Dracmon later."

"Oh, right," Sakura chuckled nervously, reaching into her pocket for a piece of paper and a pen. She scribbled the number on it, leaning on her D-Vice, before handing it to him.

"Thanks."

"I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," he replied, turning and beginning to walk away from her. Ninjamon nodded, waving farewell, scooping up Dracmon in his arms and vanishing into thin air. Sakura looked around, frowning before making her own escape.

"_Now I'm going to be in trouble."_

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**08:25 JST**_

The world finally began to settle down for DarkBiyomon, ceasing to be a jumble of lights and sounds and becoming a tangible image of a room. She felt dizzy as something placed her on the ground, voices murmuring around her as she rubbed her spinning head.

"DarkBiyomon."

"_Ugh, I feel so ill."_

"DarkBiyomon."

"Huh?" she mumbled, looking up to see Renamon looking down at her from the side. What was more interesting, however, was the woman in front.

She was older than most of the people she had been with in the past year, yet seemed far from crippled or senile. Short, greying brown hair topped a face holding a warm kind smile, not what she was used to seeing recently from people. Chiyo's smiles would always have a sinister hint to them, and even the Tamers' smiles were ones of pity, rather than pleasure to see her.

"Wait, you look familiar," DarkBiyomon mumbled, searching her mind for where she had seen this woman before. This woman seemed to be in the background in most of her memories, her attention drawn away to more important events. She glanced about, noticing the very familiar surroundings.

"My name is Seiko Hata, I am Rika's grandmother. I take it you are DarkBiyomon."

"Yes."

"Well, I am pleased to meet you then dear."

"Mrs Hata…" Renamon began, hesitating when she received a stern glare from the woman. "Seiko, will be looking after you today, understand?"

"I see. Do you have a partner?"

Seiko laughed. "No, I'm far too old and adult for the stuff my granddaughter gets up to. Digimon also have a tendency of becoming involved with teenagers, perhaps because most others would run in terror at the sight of them."

"But, I thought you were all scared I would hurt one of you. Why would they leave me with a non-Tamer?" DarkBiyomon asked, bewildered by this turn of events. Renamon gave a stern gaze of warning, while Seiko continued to smile.

"Renamon assures me she will keep watch on affairs. Of course, I know it's an unnecessary move, you would never attack me, I can tell. But, of course, Rika will always want to protect her family as much as we want to protect her, so I'll have to oblige."

"I see," DarkBiyomon replied, but she didn't. This was odd.

Were they planning something? Why had they left her with this woman? And would she always need a babysitter?

"_Still, she seems nice. Could be nice to talk to someone who isn't a Tamer. I don't think she'll understand what I'm going through though."_

"Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Huh?"

"Tea, you know…"

DarkBiyomon frowned, looking downwards. "Chiyo used to drink that. She let me have a sip once."

"I see. Never mind then."

"No, I'll have a cup, if it's okay?"

"Of course it's okay dear, what kind of a host would I be otherwise?"

"Uh…I don't know."

"It's a rhetorical question DarkBiyomon," Renamon said from the side, DarkBiyomon unsurely nodding. This was getting very strange.

* * *

_**Odaiba High School, Minato Ward**_

_**08:25 JST**_

"So have you spoken to Kari or Davis yet this morning?"

"Not yet Yolei," Takeru replied, shaking his head. "I'll talk to them at school."

"I wouldn't dream of being involved in that kind of chaos, I'm actually pretty glad to be left out," noted Cody as the trio wandered along the pavement, the gates of their school now within only a few moments walk.

To Takeru, given what had happened the previous day, things seemed remarkably mundane. Perhaps _too _mundane. Given the damage they'd caused yesterday, he would've expected the police to have come and arrested them. Evidently, Rayleigh was standing by his word.

Turning the corner into the school yard, they joined the masses of teenagers either walking across or standing about on the concrete. Spying two of their friends not far away, and, pausing briefly in astonishment that Davis was on time for once, they wandered over to him and his girlfriend.

"Hey," Kari greeted glumly, a frown on her face and a down tone to her voice.

"Hey," Takeru replied, Davis nodding and joining Yolei and Cody in doing so.

"Feeling better now?" Davis asked Takeru, the boy briefly giving a bewildered glance before realising that the question was far more innocent and mundane than he had previously thought.

"Yeah, but still…yesterday was rough."

"You're telling me. I nearly killed Ken and now I'm standing here, going on with life as normal. I have to be thankful his parents are so understanding and didn't force us to break up," said Yolei, a mix of relief and puzzlement in her voice.

"See. They don't think you're to blame, and you're not," Davis insisted. "No-one could be blamed for what they did yesterday. I mean, come on, when things come down to it, you've gotta do what you'd got to do."

"Even when that means killing a friend?" Cody asked, his fist lightly clenched as he challenged the leader of the "new" Digidestined.

"He has a point Davis, there has to be a limit on things," Kari noted with a frown.

"Yeah, but what is that limit?" Armadillomon asked.

"Things are never that simple," Gatomon grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Then we have to use our discretion, and we have to know that killing is never the answer, particularly not of humans," insisted Cody.

"Yeah, well, I think you're wrong Cody," Davis complained, crossing his arms. "I just know it."

"Based on what evidence?" Hawkmon asked.

"Yeah, we can't go around killing people," added Patamon.

"Davis is still right."

"Huh?" was the collective reply as heads turned to face Takeru, his arms crossed as he looked up from a grim, contemplative stare at the ground. A flare of determination had lit up in his eyes.

"All of us there saw it, Chiyo killed Ryder. Even if did come back in the end, she killed one of our friends, and she would've killed more if Ryder hadn't stopped her. Mari was seconds away from death…we risked losing a true friend to one who'd betrayed us."

"But it's still killing," Cody insisted, fists clenched until he forced himself to calm down. This was getting way too overblown for a before school conversation.

"Yeah, she may have murdered one of our friends but we weren't about to sink to her level," added Yolei.

"How many Digimon have we killed in the last month?" Takeru said with a strange calm determination in his voice as he looked into Yolei's eyes.

"Well…uh…let's see…" Yolei began, staring into thin air as she began to count off on her fingers. "At least a dozen," she replied, doubt in her voice as Takeru nodded, his point proven.

"Yeah, but that was a last resort," objected Cody. "We had no other choice."

"Neither did Ryder," Davis said, finishing Takeru's point. Takeru gave a grim nod, Davis returning it. "I mean, I know the guy didn't mean to do it, a Gogglehead can tell, but Chiyo wasn't going to be stopped."

"But we could've talked to her Davis. When she was dying, she seemed regretful," Kari said, sighing deeply as she remembered the moment one of her friends became no longer.

"She was just as regretful as Ryder is now, in fact, so why are you defending him more than her?" A confrontational tone rang loud and clear in Gatomon's voice. DemiVeemon frowned, he didn't like the way this conversation was going - it was pretty close to becoming and out and out argument.

"Because maybe that's what this Demon thing does." There was a distinctly dark and worrying tone to Takeru's words. "What if it only lets them go once it has run out of ways to do what it wants?"

"Then what do we do?" Davis asked, sighing. "Ryder's just been unlucky so far, who knows who'll have to make the decisions when the next seven come along?"

"Well I couldn't do it!" Cody insisted. "I couldn't kill another person."

"What if you had someone at stake, like Ryder did?"

"Then there would have to be another way."

"Now, come on guys, you don't really wanna fight, do you?" DemiVeemon insisted, looking with concern at Davis and Cody's rather confrontational poses.

"Yeah, how can we defend the world if we're just bickering ourselves?" Gatomon asked.

"Gatomon's right. There are so many questions here which don't know where to begin thinking about, and I really can't think of any simple answer," Kari sighed. "I also get the feeling we're going to be stuck with this dilemma for a while, and so we can't let it break up our group. Now, are you two going to make up?" Takeru watched Kari carefully, wanting both to smile at her attempt to appease things even if it meant delaying her own opinion being heard properly to another day, and yet frown at the fact that, despite how amazing she was, he simply couldn't have her. Or, put rather simply.

"_Ugh."_

Davis nodded, realising his faults in this current argument as his expression lightened, as did Cody's. "Kari's right. We've got to stay friends even if we disagree on these things," he said, putting his hand out.

"Yeah, imagine if you agreed on everything. God, life would be so boring," Armadillomon joked.

Cody let loose a smile. "Yeah, you're right," he agreed, meeting Davis' hand in a handshake.

"We may never find an answer to this, so we're just going to have to deal with what comes our way I guess," contemplated Yolei, a smile on her face as several nods and smiles from the group were her reply.

"Uh, Yolei, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Hawkmon said, fluttering up and tapping her on the shoulder for her attention. "But it appears that everyone else about us has vanished."

Yolei looked around, the school yard now remarkably empty. In fact, it, and the detention for lateness that was sure to follow, was summed up by one expletive from Davis.

"Aw crap."

* * *

_**Tokyo Main Library, National Diet Library, Chiyoda Ward**_

_**08:30 JST**_

Rey stood, looking up at the huge 60s era concrete and glass construction that was the Tokyo branch of the National Diet Library, established originally for the purpose of providing a research source to the members of the National Diet, Japan's answer to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or to the United States' Congress. Nowadays, however, this building, containing books and reference materials from many a source and many an era, was primarily used by members of the general public.

But, surprisingly, the area was completely free of any people, at least around the entrance. The only thing moving in the view, besides the occasional car or pedestrian, and of course besides Rey herself, were the fallen leaves from a row of trees along the entrance, supposedly adding some much needed colour to a dull building, and yet, thanks to the autumnal drear they had brought, making it look duller still.

She wandered up to a plate by the door, reading through the list as a frown crept onto her face. Glancing to her watch confirmed her displeasure. She turned to face Realmon, wandering along on the floor next to her, and anticipating what she had to say.

"It opens in an hour," she answered. "Oh, and I have to be over eighteen, but it'd be easier just not to tell them that. Plus, looks like I have to fill out a form with my home address…should I be honest?" she said jokily, chuckling. "Ah well, worst comes to worst, you can help me sneak in. I'm certainly not using the time device again, I'd like to stay in this century thank you very much."

Realmon nodded. "So what do we do until half nine then?"

"Well…" Rey began, wandering over to the short concrete wall nearby and perching on it. Realmon leapt onto the wall next to her. "I suppose we should work out what we want to know."

"Which is?"

"Naoko. Specifically, what happened to her. I worked out on the way here she'd be 81 by now, if she's still alive, and I'm sure that something in that treasure chest of a library is going to give me an answer to what her future ended up being," she explained, sighing as she looked up to the building. _"Just another hour..." _

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

By the way, don't bother ringing the number, it's a fake one reserved by the UK's Ofcom for drama purposes. Still, lovely and dramatic eh?

Also, sorry about the delayed new chapter. My birthday, a busy week of college and a long chapter conspired against me.

Until next time…

B.C.


	67. The Trick To History

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated). Oh, and I don't own one particular rather famous character in this chapter. At all. Even if I forget the message for later chapters. I'm sure you all know who he's owned by.

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 61**

_The Trick to History_

* * *

**MONDAY, 25****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**08:45 JST**_

Reddish black claws gripped around the china teacup as a bird-like head nodded thankfully, appreciating the warmth emanating from the liquid within. Even though the inside of the Nonaka household was a lot warmer than the cold world outside, sometimes having just one hot thing was a nice change.

Taking a sip and feeling oddly more relaxed than she did when she first arrived, and indeed, the most relaxed she had felt in days, she looked up to her hosts. She nodded to Seiko, who gave her a friendly questioning glance.

"It's just right thank you."

"No problem dear," Seiko said, smiling before glancing to Renamon. Renamon nodded in reply, not one to talk while eating or drinking. She placed the cup to her lips again, sipping down.

DarkBiyomon cradled the cup in her hands, looking about the room and ending up with her eyes caught on a rather unusual object, perched on the side table. Spherical, and yet elongated, it was looped about by black rings, yellow and red colouring filling the spaces. It looked like a big version of one of those things Chiyo occasionally used to eat. Her frown deepening at the memory, DarkBiyomon decided to inquire more about the object to take her mind off things.

"Renamon, did you say you produced that?"

Renamon kept a serious expression, absently glancing to DarkBiyomon suspiciously before placing the cup down on the table. "Yes," she replied, her voice carrying all the tones of one not sure what their conversational partner was implying.

"How?"

"I would say it is nothing which concerns you frankly."

"Huh? Why?"

"It is a private matter."

"Oh…but…what is it?"

"A private matter, as I have said."

"I mean that thing…what exactly is it?" DarkBiyomon asked, looking over to the object again. Renamon gave a curious yet wary glance, standing and picking it up before returning to being seated at the sofa.

"In what way?"

"What is it?"

"Is it not obvious?"

"Looks a bit like a beach ball."

Renamon rolled her eyes - having to deal with this situation was an annoyance. At first it had seemed like DarkBiyomon was inquiring on the most private of matters, and certainly none of her business lay there. But now, she simply seemed to be showing herself to be truly ignorant. How could she not know what it was?

"It is a Digital Egg, a digi-egg, which I produced."

"So…it has a dead chick inside?"

"Excuse me?"

"Chiyo always said that the inside of an egg was a dead chick."

"DarkBiyomon, I think you will find that Chiyo made a…over-simplification there," Seiko interjected, looking over at the curious bird and noticing how Renamon just seemed to be more and more galled by DarkBiyomon's words. "The eggs we use for cooking and eating are like that, although they are not exactly chicks…however, in this case and most cases of eggs, it is actually living inside. The shell around it allows the baby inside to develop before it hatches."

"So…you made this then?" DarkBiyomon asked Renamon, a new portion of the world previously unseen to her suddenly opened up.

"Yes, it's my…offspring," Renamon replied, the word still sounding strange to her to say.

"Hmm…I didn't think Digimon could have children though? Don't we all just…come from…I'm not sure where?"

"Digimon used to be spawned by the ENIAC computer, manifesting as the Tree of Yggdrasil, but recently Yggdrasil was destroyed."

"By who?"

"Us."

"What?! Why?! You could've killed all Digimon!"

"At the time, we didn't know that was the case. However, when we later found out what was going on, Terriermon began working on a solution."

"So…that solution, was this?"

"Yes. Terriermon's program gave Digimon either the use of their reproductive organs or reproductive organs to start with, which produce eggs."

"Renamon, I have been listening intently and wondering, why eggs?" Seiko asked.

"Maybe it's easier than pregnancy? Rika seems to be having a terrible time with that," DarkBiyomon mooted. "Are there any real benefits to that at all? Wouldn't it just work better all with digi-eggs?"

"That would explain why Terriermon created it that way," Seiko agreed.

Renamon gave a slim smile as she placed the egg down on the centre of the table, her confidence that DarkBiyomon wouldn't try anything now at the right threshold to do so. Hearing the others' conversation, she rolled her eyes, remembering a discussion or two with both Terriermon and Henry (the latter far more informative and less prone to joke-making) on the subject.

"No, in fact it was a bit of a misunderstanding on Terriermon's part, all thanks to his lack of knowledge about reproduction in humans," Renamon replied, a tone of ridicule towards the dog-bunny in her voice towards the end of her words.

"Still, given the variety of possible sizes of Digimon, I would say that eggs are probably the best way to deal with it all," Seiko noted. "Regardless Renamon, didn't you once say that Digimon had no genders?"

"Yes, that was during the D-Reaper crisis."

"Yes, that was it."

"Hmm…at the time it was true. I was under the impression that genders are a sexual split and without any sexual ability Digimon thus would have no gender, even if we appeared to all have some form of gender thanks to our voices, forms and features. The Monster Makers designed Digimon around childhood dreams however, so perhaps that's why we have such prominent characteristics."

"No male could be so graceful," Seiko chuckled, before being joined by DarkBiyomon and Renamon.

"Renamon, if Realmon is your daughter and this egg is yours, then is Realmon inside?"

"Yes," Renamon replied. "Although in what state I have no idea."

"Hmm, the urge to look inside is great," Seiko said, peering over at it. Renamon gave a stern gaze as Seiko retreated, laughing. "But, of course, I won't."

"Good," Renamon replied, half jokingly and half seriously. Seiko nodded, seeing first-hand how protective Renamon was over the object. Whatever Terriermon had done in that program, and for all its foibles, it still seemed pretty well designed and implemented, even though it was also still rather disturbing.

"_Still, it will bring a new family member and partner for Rey with it, so all for the better," _the older woman thought with a smile.

* * *

_**Tokyo Main Library, National Diet Library, Chiyoda Ward**_

_**09:40 JST**_

Speaking of Rey and her fox-like partner, right now they were a few miles away across the city, busy looking up other family members, if indirectly. The computer terminal whirred, data brought up onto its screen about the many records around them. Some were digitised, but others would need her to physically go and look for them.

A search box appearing, she promptly typed in the name:

**Naoko Tamiko**

Tapping the enter key, crossing her fingers and holding her breath, Rey watched as a page of results came up. Groaning, she went back to the search box again, cursing the primitive nature of the search engines in this day and age, particularly in libraries.

**Naoko AND Tamiko**

Once again she hit return, and the records once again proved irritatingly nonspecific. She needed just one more piece of information. Counting the years off on her fingers, she added another key piece of information.

**Naoko AND Tamiko AND 1929 IN Census**

Finally, the search engine yielded some useful results.

**(Census 1930) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Nagasaki**

**(Census 1940) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Nagasaki**

**(Census 1950) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo**

**(Census 1960) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo**

**(Census 1965) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo**

**(Census 1970) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo**

**(Census 1975) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo**

**(Census 1980) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo**

**(Census 1985) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo**

**(Census 1990) Naoko Tamiko Born 04/04/1929 in Nagasaki, Current Residence Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo**

Rey read through the list, tilting her head in confusion when she reached the end. "Hmm…why do her census records stop then? I thought they were every five years nowadays."

"In 1990, she would've been 61. Wasn't Rika born in 1994?"

"But…that doesn't make any difference. I changed history, so…shouldn't she have survived?" Rey gave a bewildered and concerned look to Realmon.

"Maybe she died of old age?"

"At 61? Unlikely, unless she _did_ get affected by the radiation, in which case we should be very worried for ourselves right now since we got the same exposure."

"But maybe it's still worth a try?"

Rey frowned, looking back to the computer screen again. She swallowed, typing in:

**Naoko AND Tamiko AND Death**

She frowned, no result returned. She was partly thankful that Naoko apparently wasn't dead, but also confused. Wasn't the census compulsory?

Also, something else concerned her. If she had saved Naoko from her otherwise death, wouldn't she have changed history? Every effect was meant to change things, after all.

"What's wrong Rey? Isn't this a good thing?"

"No…well, yes…kind of. If I'm a time traveller, I thought my actions were meant to have an effect on things, but…it seems like she died anyway before Rika. What if I removed another incarnation of Harmony from existence?"

"Yeah, but wouldn't that sort of…move who Harmony ended up being this time round?"

"But Rika's still Harmony, so…did I change anything at all?"

"Hmm…I don't know Rey."

Rey breathed in deeply, sighing before looking back to the dull computer screen again. Apart from their whispers, the library was dead quiet. It was also clearly too early to just give up now. So what could she do?

She stared at the words, her mind analysing them before a disturbing idea occurred to her. "Hmm…" she mumbled, leaning forward with a new determination, and with new concern, as she did a new search.

**Naoko AND Tamiko AND Murder**

Realmon looked up to her in surprise, as she stared at the screen, dearly hoping it wasn't so.

It was.

**(Newspaper: Lookup ID 292925031994) 25th March 1994 - Asahi Shimbun - WOMAN, 65, MURDERED BY ASSAILANT IN MORNING - MURDERER VANISHES**

Both Rey and Realmon froze, staring at the name with a look of horror.

This couldn't be true, could it?

The date finally caught their attention, only letting their jaws drop ever further.

It was the day Rika was born.

"No…no…NO!" Rey stuttered, the reality of events quickly becoming apparent to her. Was this how it worked?! Did Naoko have to die so that Rika could exist? Or…or was this always meant to happen?

Pushing herself back from her seat, she sharply stood to her feet, before bending forward to check where she could find this particular newspaper. A quick glance was all she needed.

**Section I29-42-12-06**

"Let's get to the bottom of this," she said, her voice holding a mix of concern and anger as she turned, heading off into the depths of the library. Realmon glanced at the screen again, switching it off before following her headstrong partner.

It was still early in the day, and so the library was mainly empty, the small fox getting hardly any of the attention she was used to receiving in their travels. It was a great relief to be able to walk freely alongside her Tamer in the real world without the usual hiding and care that came when amongst the general public.

To Rey, the world may well have been full of people; she still would've shoved them out the way. A friend of hers, even if for less than two days, had turned out to be dead, and she had to get to the bottom of things. Worse still, it seemed to coincide with Rika's birthday - were they making a breakthrough? Had she made a mistake back in Nagasaki? Was this the way things were always meant to happen?

So many questions swamped her mind, and she forced them back for now by biting her lip, the aisle 42 of Room I29 coming into view. The room was rather high thanks to its purpose: storing a huge quantity of newspapers, probably yet to be scanned for easier access. Realmon didn't envy whoever's task that was. Rey was too busy concentrating to care.

Scanning the aisle, packed high with newspapers on either side, she quickly noted that the right side was even numbered and the left odd. Heading down to a sign on the right hand side saying **12**, she looked up and down the collection allocated to that number. All were newspapers; all were copies of the same newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun.

She glanced about, smaller numbers on shelves aiding her search somewhat.

Looking up, she saw shelf **06** a fair way up into the air. Frowning, she glanced about, presuming she would have to get a ladder or whatever else they used here to help her. But right now, that seemed like a time-wasting option.

"_Any security cameras Realmon?"_

"_Yeah, plenty. Why?"_

"_I'm going to be impatient anyway."_

Rey clicked her finger, a brief flash of gold radiating about it as Realmon began to feel energy emanating from her, the tell-tale sign of a perception filter. The amount of energy worried her - Realmon knew that Rey could quickly burn herself out doing this. So what did she have planned?

A gust of wind swept through the papers as Rey's wings swept out, top half blue, bottom half red. She leapt up and into the air, flying up to shelf **06**.

Her eyes darted about, finding a number of smaller sub-shelves within, a lookup number on each. She gripped onto the main shelf, being careful so as not pull the whole thing over. She cast a careful eye on the numbers, quickly finding what she was looking for.

**292925031994**

She reached out, pulling the copy free and looking over it to check it was right. She sunk downwards, landing on the ground and breathing a sigh of relief as she retracted her wings and cancelled her perception filter.

Looking down, she frowned at the headline, something other than what she was looking for. She flicked over the page, going through a page or two before finding what she was looking for. The details were sparse, evidently a last minute addition to the edition of the paper.

**WOMAN, 65, MURDERED BY ASSAILANT IN MORNING**

**In Shinjuku Ward, this morning, a woman was found murdered by an unknown assailant. She has not yet been identified, but…**

Rey gave up reading, groaning before she clicked again, flapping her wings again and soaring up into the air. Realmon watched as the girl promptly returned.

"This one should be better," she noted, Realmon glancing at the date. **26****th**** April 1994**. The next day.

The paper, like the last one, rustled as she flicked to the second page, a large image of a crime scene prominently displayed, alongside a photo-fit image of what the attacker was presumed to look like and of Naoko herself. Rey paused over the photo, a frown on her face as she looked over to the face, so much older yet still so familiar. She sighed, looking down to the article.

**GUNMAN LOOSE IN TOKYO - POLICE INEFFECTIVE**

**It should've been an easy arrest for one of Tokyo's police officers, being a direct witness o****f the murder of Naoko Tamiko, 65, by an unknown gunman yesterday morning in Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. However, as details have become clear, it is more evident that the police at present are unfit for duty.**

**Instead of first calling for backup in a situation which was evidently very dangerous, the police officer promptly confronted the armed gunman, now at large, when he realised what was going on. The police officer, whose identity is being protected, apparently has no memory until several hours later, when he awoke nearby at the scene. He has reported that he saw a pair of monsters fighting before they "destroyed each other" at the scene, as well as the attacker and his victim showing pairs of wings. This evidence is apparently being disregarded by police.**

**This incident has raised both immediate and long term issues for the police force in Tokyo. Their first priority has become to apprehend the attacker, who is presumed to still be in the city. Their long term priority is…**

"What am I meant to do now? Ugh, how do I find how this all ended? Did they catch the guy, or what? And who on earth would kill Naoko, she's just an old lady and no-one knew she was a God…shit…no…NO!"

Panic and alarm flashed across both Rey and Realmon's faces. Rey, clicking her fingers and clenching her fists, soared up into the air again, returning the newspaper promptly before grabbing at the next shelf. She flicked through the newspaper, before moving onto the next. And the next. And the next.

One after another, the newspapers were rustled open, the girl checking the first few pages before moving onto the next day's paper. Beads of sweat rolled down her head as she struggled to keep herself in the air, with the perception filter and concentrating on reading the newspapers. This wasn't easy - fooling a human with a perception filter was easy enough, but CCTV cameras were a whole new level. She cursed that she hadn't had the patience to find a ladder or fireman's lift first, or whatever they used here.

She reached for the next newspaper, habitually going to open it before she froze, staring at the headline.

**NAOKO GUNMAN SHOT DEAD BY ARMED POLICE YESTERDAY**

She sank back down, her wings sagging and her anger dropping into a silent depression as she stared downwards. This couldn't be happening. There had to be something else…the whole universe wasn't playing a huge trick on her!

**18****TH**** APRIL 1994**

The day after Takato's birthday, and the first newspaper to be published after the events, which would obviously have happened on the same day Takato was born.

The newspaper fluttered to the ground, Rey screaming and gritting her teeth as she pushed her hands up and into her fringe. She clenched her eyes shut, her fists threatening to fall inwards on themselves. Her nails dug in tight, threatening to draw blood as Realmon worriedly looked on.

"NO!" she screamed, falling to her knees by the paper as Realmon became even more fearful, not sure what to do. At this rate, they'd be caught and escorted out of the library. She needed to do something now.

As a fellow user of the library stopped at the end of the corridor, Realmon promptly acted, grabbing her Tamer and forcing a perception filter about them. It was too late to stop the CCTV filming now, but that probably wouldn't even be looked at. This was a far more pressing concern right now.

The person glanced about in bewilderment before promptly moving on. Realmon let out a light sigh of relief, before turning to her Tamer, now leaning over in a feral-like position as her clenched forehead pointed down at the page. Her breathing was erratic as she read through the article, the feeling she was being cheated here burning through her veins. The image displayed a cordoned off building, while insets showed the victim, a black mop of hair on his frowning face in his photo, and his victim, Naoko's face coming back to haunt Rey once again.

**10:29 yesterday, the 17th April 1994, in Tokyo saw the culmination of a huge police exercise to track down the murderer of Naoko Tamiko last month, previously at large in the city.**

**Based on reports from neighbours and other people who knew him, the police sent forth a team of firearms officers to arrest Jiro Sho, 27 at his apartment in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. But, evidently, he was prepared, threatening the police with a firearm. When he failed to co-operate and instead tried to kill an officer, he was shot dead.**

**This brings an end to a sorry chapter for the Tokyo police, facing allegations of incompetency after one of their officers', still anonymous, acted unprofessionally and allowed the gunman to escape originally.**

**However, this story took a more sinister turn once the apartment was inspected by the police in more detail. "It has become clear that the original murder was a pre-mediated attack, and that the killer had a psychopathic mentality," police spokesman Mr Sasumi reported to the Asahi Shimbun.**

**More specifically, a number of disturbing finds and plans for Naoko's murder were found at the apartment, although as of yet, no clue about the motive has been found. The killer appears to have never met his victim before the murder, and yet a number of images of her with the words "DIE", "KILL" and "SCREW YOU HARMONY" written over the top were found on the walls, amongst other hate messages and the most bizarre message of all, "RIP DINO-BUDDY". Details about the victim's life were also found, from research about where she lived to research about her survival of the Nagasaki bombing during World War Two.**

**Police are still investigating this incident and the events surrounding it.**

A tear embedded itself into the paper, before being complimented by a single drop of blood as Rey pushed her slightly-bleeding hand into her forehead and eyes, groaning as she tried to block out the reality of what was going on. She rolled backwards, lying on her back with her eyes closed, the eyelids "staring" up at the rafters above, unforgiving and cold to her shattered mind.

Before it had seemed almost comic, the idea of Chaos killing Harmony and Harmony killing Chaos, rather like a cartoon. Something long over, something in the past. But now…now it was so much more vivid, so much darker, and so much more horrifying. These weren't some random people: they were _her_ parents! She loved them, and yet, they were killing each other.

Worst still, Naoko had been an innocent victim in all of this. The poor girl, the poor woman, her life cut once again by something she had no choice in.

Rey felt intense anger, wanting to go back and fix things, before she realised she would only erase herself in the process.

"Rey, are you alright?" Realmon asked, looking down to the girl where she lay on the dull grey carpet. Rey simply opened her eyes, more tears dropping out and making it clear (as if it weren't already) that things were definitely not alright with her.

Tails gently brushed against tears as Rey lay like that for several minutes, not caring that anyone could find them. Right now, all that was on her mind was Naoko's death, the image of the woman permanently burned into her mind. She was dead. It had all been for nothing, and worse still, it'd only stood to highlight how her parents hated each other so much. How did they ever get together? How did she come from all of this? Why was she here?

For the first time in her life, Rey felt like she was an accident. It was a feeling she despised deeply, but couldn't disperse right now for all she tried. Was the whole world just mocking her now?

"_I hate it all," _she thought, exhaling deeply as she just felt ready to lie down and die. Her entire life, particularly as of late, was just a string of coincidences, catastrophes and chaos, and it seemed it wasn't about to break from that pattern.

She had to find something. Something to help her regain her hope, something to bring it back. She dearly wished for a shoulder to cry on, be it that of her grandma, of David, of Auntie Kristy. But not of her parents. Not now.

Pushing herself up, she unsteadily wobbled, her mind shaken and her motions agitated as she turned to look down at a surprised Realmon.

"I have to find out more."

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:55 JST**_

A relaxed atmosphere had settled in, the calming smell of several teas wafting through the air whilst a television quietly chatted to itself in the corner. DarkBiyomon sat on one end of the sofa, Seiko next to her, while another seat was left vacated while Renamon had gone off to check the egg again. DarkBiyomon glanced about, knowing that they only had the fox's word for that.

She breathed deeply, settling down in her seat and reassuring herself that there was no need to be paranoid. If they had any plans to do anything, they would've done it by now. Seiko didn't seem like the kind to conspire in something like that either.

She turned her greenish eyes towards the television, a frown settling on her face as it chattered about the previous day's Digimon related events, and also about a Digimon battle that had happened this morning. Her entire kind was being badmouthed, and she knew she could do nothing to change things. Digimon weren't bad, yet the media seemed to be more interested in scaremongering than getting their facts right.

"What's wrong dear?"

"Hmm…just…thinking about how all this stuff must be affecting the reputation of us Digimon."

"I see. Personally, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Why?"

"I've seen plenty of you in my time, and I've learnt that you all mean no harm."

"Yeah, but what about those people who think my world would be better off destroyed?"

"They don't matter."

"Huh?"

"Because there will always be resistance to an act on that scale, and in a world like this, resistance is all that is needed. For example, say if the Japanese government were advocating the slaughter of a whole animal species. Would the people stand for that?"

"I get the impression they wouldn't."

"No, of course not, there'd be outrage. So where is the difference?"

"Most animals don't kill and maim like they say we do."

"Some do though, and yet people still want them protected. Those who have seen you for what you really are, those who have seen the wonders of your race, those who know that eliminating you would amount to genocide."

"But…aren't they the ones without any power?"

"Does Digital Watch have no power? By the number of members, I'd say that they have a _lot_ of power, and probably influential power too. Sure, right now they're still an infant organisation, but I can tell they will be a great help to my granddaughter and her friends in the future. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because an organisation that watches everything like they do will also see things for what they really are rather than the biased view that the media gives. They may be a bit nosy and regularly put themselves at risk in the process of doing so, but I can tell they mean no harm."

"I see. Seiko, how do you manage to stay so calm?"

Seiko smiled warmly. "Experience I suppose. Of course, I am certainly not calm all the time, particularly not when my family is at risk. But…as you age you realise the way this world really works and you stop being affected by such alarmist thoughts and policies. Not to say things don't surprise me still, like you, for example."

"Huh? How did I surprise you?"

"You managed to overcome your reservations about talking to us. No offense intended, but I can tell that was a difficult move for you after all that happened."

"I didn't though. I tried to kill Ryder."

"Do you regret it?"

"I don't know."

"Why did you do it?"

"He killed Chiyo, and I loved her."

"Then you were just being as human as anyone."

"But…I nearly killed one of your granddaughter's friends. Doesn't that make you hate me?"

"Not in the slightest. You're clearly guilty about what you did, and also you want to change. You recognise that both your Tamer and Ryder were wrong in their actions."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So, I've heard about Chiyo from plenty of other people. Would you mind explaining how you saw her?"

"Well…okay…I guess. She was just this nice, caring girl towards me, even when she was mean towards everyone else. We were always together…that's why this hurts so much I guess. And…I also wish I'd stopped her."

"Do you think you could have?"

"I wish I could say yes, but I don't think I could have, so no."

"Then you don't need to feel guilty."

"But…I supported her, and I fought alongside her, and I should've been able to stop her. She'd never listen to me though."

"Then it sounds like she made her own decisions."

"Yeah, but I did too. I should've said no, but…well…"

"You were afraid she would get mad or become sad?"

"Yeah…I didn't want to see her like that again. But…I don't think she knew the consequences. I was so scared of losing her, and then…then it happened, and now I'm alone and I've lost her and I don't know what to do and it's all my fault for not intervening and…"

"Calm down dear," Seiko urged. "You're not alone; I am here to help you."

"…thanks," DarkBiyomon said, wiping a panicky tear from her eye.

"Would you like a tissue?"

"Yes please."

Seiko wandered over to a small box, pulling forth a tissue from inside before returning to the bird. She thankfully took it.

"Thanks," she said, wiping her eyes with it but trying to hold back on her cries.

"It's okay to cry dear, I can understand how this would be painful to you."

"It's just…I really loved her, but…they all really hate her for what she did."

"I wouldn't say they hate her. They would prefer to remember her when she was being nice to them, but who doesn't like to think back to good memories."

"Yeah, but…she was lying, and they all know that. They're always going to resent her for it. And I helped her out with it all. I helped her cause all that pain. Why wouldn't they hate me?"

"She didn't force you to though. You did it because you loved her enough to follow her orders, even when they conflicted with what you wanted. Even if what you did was wrong, I don't think you can blame yourself for it."

"I know, but…I can't get rid of those bad memories."

"Then remember a good one. How did you two first meet?"

"Well…it was in Osaka, where we used to live, about a year ago…after a battle back home when I got hurt badly, I found myself in the real world, and I was really disorientated. It was so different, so strange compared to the Digital World. I wandered a bit, and then I ran into her. She started off really cursing at me, but then she took me home, and even when she was calling me an idiot for what I did she still cared for me. I guess that's when I first saw the real side of her, beyond her very harsh façade, and that's when her D-Vice appeared."

"She sounds a bit like Rika."

"I don't know - Rika seems to be all talk and no action really. Chiyo would actually beat people up, or get me to help out. I wasn't ever too happy to do so but then when I fought alongside her I felt…complete. Like, I was part of something bigger. She started opening up to me, telling me about these painful headaches she always got that caused a lot of her anger. I felt really sad for her but she insisted she would find a way of getting rid of them. And then, one day, she comes home and she's just this little bit different. She says she had a fight at school, but she seems happy about everything still. And then…then she goes online, starts finding all this information on your granddaughter and her friends. She says she has to kill the Angels, and then she explained to me what she really was, or at least, what she'd found out. A Demon, a Demon of Seduction, to be precise. Over the next few months, she worked on her powers, from heightening them using revealing clothing to taking advantage of people in order to get what she wanted and to train them. I watched, half of me growing scared of her yet the other hand knowing that all would be alright, that this was still Chiyo deep down."

"So you had doubts even back then?"

"Not doubts…I just…I couldn't entirely see what she was doing it all for, and as I learned more about this world and its darker sides I feared someone would turn the tables on her and take advantage of her. I wanted to be there to protect her, but she seemed to just become more and more self-sufficient."

"So you felt like she was replacing you?"

"Not really, just…there were times when I wanted to tell her to stop but I also knew that I had to stay loyal to her. I trusted her and she trusted me, and I didn't want to break that. She seemed to lighten up on the use of the powers after a while…but, after all that, one day, the headaches really got to her. I had to sit there in her room while she looked close to screaming at the pain in her head."

"It got worse then?"

"Yeah…much worse, and I don't really know why."

"Perhaps whatever this Demon thing is sensed it was losing her?"

DarkBiyomon frowned, sighing. "I hope not…I don't want to think there was never a chance of saving her from herself."

"So what did she do after that?"

"Well, when the headache subsided she seemed to begin making plans. She started finding out more and more about the Tamers, and I think that's when she began planning. Originally she had wanted to cause the group to collapse in on itself by manipulating one or two at a time with their secret irritations about the ones they loved, but several months ago when we were in Tokyo she changed her plan to what she did yesterday."

"So what made her move to Tokyo?"

"She didn't exactly move…she killed her parents and ran away…she set the gas boiler on fire in our old home before escaping by train to this city. We were almost caught several times, but we managed to stay out of the public eye long enough to survive. She looked innocent enough also that she got away with it, even if her clothes had been called otherwise by some of her classmates back there."

"I see. It sounds like you have a troubling past."

"Yeah…" DarkBiyomon sighed; wiping the tissue past her eyes again as Seiko reassuringly put a arm onto her shoulder.

"Go on, let it all out," she said, knowing that the bird just needed to get a lot of this off her chest.

Renamon frowned, silently watching from behind, going completely unnoticed by them but hearing everything. It was a harrowing story, one she was glad to hear from the source itself but still a greatly troubling one. She needed to talk to someone, she knew that much. Chiyo's history had worried her greatly.

Still without a sound, she vanished from sight.

DarkBiyomon sniffed, preparing herself for what she was about to say. "Seiko, I have to tell you something because you seem to be the only one I can trust."

"What is it dear?"

"I was the one who destroyed the bakery."

"Excuse me?" Seiko replied, rather surprised by this turn of events. "You mean you started the fire a while back?"

"Yeah. Chiyo got really angry when her plans were going badly and she ordered me to attack the bakery."

Seiko frowned, the revelation deeply troubling to her. This bird and her partner had been the cause of all that distress and inconvenience to a family that was already under a lot of stress already, what with the revelation that their son had not only gotten a girl pregnant (every boy's parents' worst nightmare, apart from their son's death or incarceration of course) but also that he was a God and had been keeping all this from them for a long while.

Plus, there was something so wrong about seeing Guilmon go hungry at times, even when he did seem to have eaten enough so far to last a human lifetime several times over.

"Please don't tell anyone!"

"I won't dear."

"Thanks. And…I'm sorry."

"I know you are dear."

DarkBiyomon frowned, sighing. "Everyone would be better off if I had died along with Chiyo."

"You should not say that."

"What?"

"I thought you said that you loved Chiyo, and she loved you back."

"Yeah, I did."

"Then she wouldn't want you to die even if she had to."

"Yeah, but…I've got nothing now. Nothing to live for, no-one to die for…what am I meant to do?"

"There's always something to live for, you just have to find it."

"I hope so."

"I know so," Seiko replied, putting her arm gently about the Digimon, pausing to check she wasn't causing any discomfort to the poor thing in doing so. DarkBiyomon merely glanced up. "I think you could use a hug right now."

DarkBiyomon sniffled whilst nodding. "Yeah."

* * *

_**Chiyoda Elementary School, Chiyoda Ward**_

_**10:58 JST**_

"I really saw a real Digimon!"

"Yeah, sure, you probably just sneezed too hard."

"Hey, that's not funny!"

"Yeah, well you're just a big baby DC."

"I'm not!"

"Are so."

"Are not."

"Are so."

This verbose and dramatic conversation was just one of the highlights of Chiyoda Elementary school at break time, a number of pupils standing about, playing and chatting, or in this case, arguing. One wore all black, from his hoody to his shoes, along with his mop of black hair and black eyes, and a black headband to top it all off. An onlooker would've thought this child, who went by the nickname of DC, was a Goth of some kind was it not for the fact he lacked any other features to tell as such. And, of course, the young age added to the perception that this wasn't the case.

The other kid, meanwhile, was the same age, but larger, and more menacing towards his fellow pupil and arguer, and had brownish hair on his mocking face.

"I told you I saw one!"

"What's the baby talking about today?" asked a new voice, a blonde six year old joining the larger boy with a menacing look. Both looked far more confident and extroverted than their black haired victim.

"I'm not a baby!"

"Prove it!"

"Yeah, prove it baby."

"Shut up!" DC complained, throwing forward a fist in annoyance at the larger boy, trying to let out all of his pent up irritation at the pair of bullies who had been tormenting him for his supposedly baby-like nature ever since he had started at elementary school. What was their problem with him? What had he done to them? Why did they do this to him? Was it because he was American? Wasn't he allowed to fit in with their culture?

The futility of his attempt was quickly revealed when the other boy he had lashed out at raised an eyebrow in mocking bewilderment.

"Is that all you've got?"

"DC!"

The larger boy, letting out a smirk, quickly broke into a pained expression while his blonde friend played the part too, both conspiring to get DC in more trouble than he was owed.

"Did you just hit that boy?!" the teacher asked, his stern face uncaring and unknowing of the true nature of events here as he stared down at the trio of boys.

"I…"

"Mr Yokohama, it really hurts," the brunette complained.

"I didn't…they…"

"Come with me DC," the teacher said, grabbing DC's hand and beginning to drag him away. He looked back, feeling angered, wrongly incriminated and watching as the pair of bullies laughed at him with mocking expressions.

"Hey!"

"Be quiet and think about what you have done."

DC frowned, following his teacher onwards as they entered the school building. The others had done something, and he was getting the blame. This wasn't right! They'd encouraged him to do what he did! His free fist clenched bitterly.

"_I hate this school! I have this country. I hate how I alwa__ys get the blame. I hate how no one ever listens to me, how I have no friends, how they mock me for what I really saw…I HATE THEM ALL!"_

* * *

_**Shinjuku Upper High School, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:58 JST**_

"Hey Henry," greeted a brunette with a smile, a small lopsided pigtail fastened by a familiar green band sticking out to one side. She didn't wear it like that every day now, but right now a bit of normality was what they all needed. Jeri's smile hid a frown, the events of the previous day still very fresh in her mind. Henry had been lucky to escape, although where he escaped to wasn't much safer. Elecmon leapt down onto the wall nearby, sitting alongside his Tamer in the same manner that Terriermon was sitting next to his.

She put an arm round him in a hug as she hopped onto the wall next to him, a small concrete wall not far from the school building and with a small area of plants and flowers behind. Henry, whilst seemingly slightly distracted, wasn't exactly staring off into space either.

"Morning," Henry replied, turning to face her with a slight smile. "How has your day been so far then?"

"Tiring, you?"

"I just feel weird, given where I was yesterday," Henry replied, briefly reminiscing about how he had ended up 65 years in the past.

"Is it weird that I sort of want to see what it was like back then?"

"You're not missing much," Terriermon mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Do you really want to be chased and nearly killed?"

"Wasn't that…your fault?" Henry asked, raising a bewildered eyebrow in amusement.

"Still…I'm sure Elecmon would make the same…"

"No."

"No."

"No."

"Fine," Terriermon grumbled, crossing his arms while Elecmon grinned at him about the triad of denials from the others. Jeri chuckled in amusement. "Heeenry, what's the time? How much more of this do I have to put up with?"

Henry groaned before looking down to his D-Vice. "10:51," he replied, before doing a double take on the device. "Huh?"

"What's up?" Jeri asked, leaning closer and looking curiously down at the screen. Terriermon, meanwhile, leapt onto the blue-haired boy's head, looking at the same thing.

"You've got mail!" Terriermon cheered jokily.

"Shouldn't it beep or something?" Elecmon asked.

"Henry turned it off because he didn't want it going off in class," Terriermon replied mockingly. "Teacher's pet."

"You know, being considerate isn't a bad thing," Jeri said, rolling her eyes at the dog-bunny.

"Let's see…" Henry mumbled, bringing up the message and expanding the device. Upon seeing the name, he promptly paused.

**Rey Matsuki - IMPORTANT**

"_Hmm…" _he thought, glancing to Jeri, the girl's arm still around him. He wanted, nay, needed to look at this email, but he risked revealing what it contained. Sure, Jeri knew about whom they'd met back then, but at the same time, Henry knew that Rey would've gone off to research about Naoko. Her prompt vanishing and inability to take DarkBiyomon with her suggested that she not only was eager to do something, but it was something she couldn't have any other eyes watching, particularly not those of an enemy. Otherwise, she may as well have taken the bird with her wherever she went.

"So who is it then?" Jeri asked innocently, looking at Henry with curious eyes that made it all the more difficult for him to decide what to do.

Terriermon saved him the difficulty, leaping onto his shoulder and peering down. "Rey."

"Rey? What does she want?" Jeri asked, the control of events now sharply snatched from Henry's palms. Henry shrugged, tapping the screen to bring up the message.

His eyes briefly widened as he read it, something which worried Jeri as she watched.

"What's wrong?"

Henry began to read the email out loud. **"Henry, I have discovered something terrible about Naoko's future when researching in the Diet Library. I kept researching, but I can't take it anymore. I'm going to take my mind off things by going to find new parts for the Time Device, but I need you to arrange for your Tamers to meet up at Rika's house tonight. I really don't want to tell them, but I need some things clarified in my ****mind before they drive me insane. Good luck, Rey."**

"What does she mean, "Something terrible"?"

"Hmm…I don't know Jeri, but…if it's about Naoko, then…well, there's a big chance it's something truly devastating."

"To who? You or all of us?"

Henry shrugged. "I don't know."

"Hmm, I get the feeling that Takato and Rika are going to be caught up in this somehow."

"Then we need to do what Rey said, and get everyone together."

"What are you going to tell them?" asked Elecmon.

"Yeah, it's not like "we all need to go to your house tonight Rika" will work," Terriermon said.

"Don't worry, I'll get them," Jeri said, a smile on her face as she glanced across at Takato and Rika now advancing towards them, the form of a red saurian promptly following. Guilmon normally would've been back at Takato's home or at the hideout during the school day, but he'd probably end up starving to death thanks to the absence of their normal supply of bread which sustained him or Takato to take his mind off that fact. The bakery was still being rebuilt, after all.

Jeri let go of Henry, skipping towards the pair with a cheery expression while her boyfriend, Terriermon and her partner watched her curious tactic.

"Hey Takato, Hey Rika," Jeri greeted as the couple stopped, looking bewildered at how amazingly optimistic she was and at how she had run across to them.

"Hi Jeri."

"Hey Jeri."

"Hey," Guilmon greeted with a grin, oblivious to the strange nature of the situation beyond purely how happy Jeri was. "Are you okay Jeri? You're smiling really widely. Did something happen?"

"Not really, just in a cheery mood. But, Rika, I just needed to tell you two that we all need to go to your house tonight."

"See, why aren't you that direct?" Terriermon asked his Tamer as Henry's eyes widened in surprise.

"Uh. Why?" Rika replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Rey emailed Henry and said that she wanted to talk to all of us tonight about something."

"Really? Like what?" Takato asked.

"She didn't say," Jeri replied with a frown.

"Figures," Rika grumbled. Was Rey ever going to be transparent to them, or would she always be leaving them in the dark? Thanks to Rika's heightened moods, this was irritating her even more lately.

"So, is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm surprised your parents don't complain with the number of times we all storm in there," Takato said to his fiancée.

"Meh, I think they're used to it, and my grandma loves having guests anyway, even if they do have a habit of bringing bad things with them."

"**People from other universes, pregnancy revelations, tricks about declining proposals, Demon attacks using love as a weapon…"**

"**We don't need the list Chaos."**

"Yeah, and Ryder isn't a bad thing anyway," Takato added. "At least, I don't think he is."

"**His big secret on the other hand…"**

"Huh? What do you mean?" Jeri asked, her cheerfulness dissipating periodically.

"**Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed. He's keeping something big from us, I can tell. Maybe he's not actually from another universe."**

"Oh come on yourself. If that's true, how do you explain all that Ivy crap?" Rika asked.

"**We only have his word for that."**

"Nah, that's too easy. Maybe he's really an alien?" Terriermon interrupted, leaping onto Jeri's head and pulling down his eyelids in a freakish manner to demonstrate what he meant.

"Takato, Terriermon's pulling a weird face and I don't like it," Guilmon whined.

"**Wait. When you say alien, are we talking "the alien that ate everyone" or "The Doctor"?"** Chaos asked.

"Well, he _can_ regenerate, sort of, so I'd say the latter," Terriermon replied.

"**Yeah, but his face doesn't change."**

"I can't believe we're having this conversation," Henry groaned as he joined the small circle of people.

"Neither can I," Rika groaned.

"These questions have to be asked," Terriermon insisted, before beginning to hum the X-Files theme, something which only brought more groans from his companions.

"Terriermon, if you don't shut up right now I'm going to shove your bloody ears straight up your own…"

"Morning," greeted a new voice, once surprisingly absent of the exasperation that came with the metal implements he had needed to use the last time they had been at school. On the other hand, it still had a crushing depression laden in it. The group turned, cursing their previous conversation now stuck in their minds as they looked at Ryder and Mari, MiniDonmon perched on the head of the latter.

"Hey," said Mari, slightly unnerved by the strange stares they were getting. Had she missed something here?

"Hey," Jeri replied, returning to her cheerfulness yet finding herself unable to not inspect the boy from head to toe looking for some hint of abnormality.

"Psst…Henry… Watch out for the tentacles."

"Terriermon."

"Momentai."

Ryder noted the whispered, inaudible exchange and mentally asked the same question that Mari had: Were they missing something here?

"So, how are you all feeling now?" Mari asked, breaking the silence.

"Headache, nausea, mood swings…" Rika began.

"I think she meant about yesterday," Takato said.

"I know - I've just learned that being pregnant means I can complain about things without looking like a whiner."

"How are you two feeling?" Jeri asked, forcing out the memories of conspiring with this particular girl to kill the now crutch-less boy standing beside her. She hoped she would manage to forget that in time but she knew that she wouldn't be so lucky in practice.

"I've been better," she sighed, while Ryder frowned.

"Killing someone, being killed, being nearly killed by the revenge-driven partner of that someone I killed…it's been a crap two days for me I can tell you that."

"Speaking of whom, we need to do something about DarkBiyomon," Rika said.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Jeri asked.

"Well, it's obvious that given what happened she won't be able to stay with Ryder, and I don't think you're too fond of the idea of your grandmother looking after her, are you Rika?" Henry elaborated.

Rika shook her head. "Not at all…it's not that I expect her to do something, I just…don't want to run even the slightest risk that she could."

"Do we need to find her a Tamer then?" Takato asked.

"Guess so."

"Hey guys," greeted and interrupted a new voice, one which instantly sent the aggravation of a certain member of their group shooting up.

"Kazu, I should warn you that if you even try to make any joke, I am in a mood where I will instantly kill you, okay?"

"Hey, I didn't say anything," Kazu complained, a large robotic creature visible over his shoulder. "Geez, stop pre-empting me."

"But, weren't you about to say that…" Kenta began, having arrived with Kenta and bringing with him a small fairy-like creature.

"Quiet dude," Kazu whispered, elbowing his best friend sharply. What was Kenta playing at?

"Ugh, is there anything else this day could do to annoy me even more?" Rika groaned. She suddenly froze up, feeling the hairs on her neck raise, and she turned about to face the concerned visage of her Kitsune partner.

"Rika, we need to talk."

* * *

_**Akihabara, Taitō Ward**_

_**10:10 JST**_

People, everywhere, rushing to and fro, passed a girl who was almost completely out of it all. She was one amongst the crowds of Akihabara, an area of Tokyo well known worldwide for its high concentration of video game, anime, manga and, most importantly for Rey right now, electronics stores. Getting the particular parts she needed should've been a breeze here, but right now anyone looking on could tell things unfortunately weren't so simple. To those with a keen and inspective eye, she seemed odd enough, but even to the most casual of viewers there was clearly something off about her. Her zombie-like paces, her distracted stare, and, of course, the small fox on her shoulder trying to get her attention.

"Rey…" she called. "Rey…Rey," she repeated, her words completely unable to bring her Tamer to her sense until she shouted "Rey!"

"Huh?" Rey finally responded, glancing about before settling on her partner. Seeing Realmon's gaze, she frowned, looking to the ground with a sigh. "Sorry," she mumbled, scratching the back of her head and changing the subject before Realmon could begin a conversation about what was troubling her. Right now she just didn't want to think about that. "I think we'll be able to find the kind of LCD screen we need in one of the electronic hardware stores here."

"Oh," Realmon replied, disappointed that Rey didn't want to talk about what was bothering her. That meant it was bugging her very deeply; the pair of them had been born together and had lived their lives together, and had shared all of their problems too. This couldn't be good. "Are you sure you'll be able to find the same kind of thing that Ryder used in the future?"

"No clue, but it looks pretty simple. I'm sure I'll be able to find like-for-like parts to replace the burnt out parts somewhere here."

"Are we going to be moving on again?"

"Hmm…yes."

Realmon frowned. She only hoped that Rey would talk to her parents first.

* * *

_**Shinjuku Upper High School, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**10:10 JST**_

"I can't tell whether to be glad that you're getting me out of their nonsense or worried about why, so out with it Renamon before I get another mood swing."

"Calm down Rika," Renamon said, her voice lightly soothing. "It is not something particularly bad on its own, although it is still worrying."

"Then thanks for getting me away from the nut jobs."

"No problem Rika."

"So, what is it you've gotta tell me about?"

"I heard DarkBiyomon and your grandmother talking earlier about Chiyo, and what I have learned worries me."

"What'd you find out?"

"Chiyo's history and how she ended up doing what she did. DarkBiyomon said that Chiyo was always aggressive and angry, but that she attributed a lot of it to the killer headaches she got."

"The pain of the Demons?"

Renamon nodded with a frown. "She seemed to have awoken one day and that was when DarkBiyomon felt she had begun to lose her. She said that Chiyo began to research you and your friends all those months ago, and that she already decided that killing you would be the best way to get rid of her pain."

"I see. So what do we do with DarkBiyomon?"

"I am still unsure. I know that many of you will be considering finding a new Tamer for her, but, given how deeply she cared for Chiyo, I don't think she could become as attached to a new partner. I certainly couldn't."

"Yeah. I know I couldn't either," Rika replied, a warm smile on her face before an insightful look crossed it. "I guess we're lucky, huh? Jeri would know that most of all."

"Yes, true."

An uncertain and pondering expression hung on Renamon's face, one subtle but still noticed by her long-trained Tamer. "What's wrong?"

"…Rika, do you think there was ever a chance to save Chiyo?"

Rika paused, pondering while frowning and looking down at the concrete schoolyard ground. "I'm not sure. I want to think there was, but…"

"**She seemed pretty set in her ways."**

"Yeah," Rika agreed.

"Rika!"

Rika and Renamon turned to face Takato rushing towards them, a worried and panicky expression on his face.

"What's wrong this time Takato?"

"I wanted to make sure everything was okay. Renamon doesn't normally just appear like that unless she has something big to tell you."

Rika rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, for once, it wasn't all that big after all. Just, she found out some stuff about DarkBiyomon's past."

"Oh…what kind of thing?" Takato asked, a wondering expression crossing his face.

"Takato, are you okay?" asked a new voice, a panting Guilmon drawing up behind him.

"Did you two just run here?" Rika asked, slightly peeved. "Didn't you think I could've wanted some privacy?"

"Yeah, but, I was worried," Takato replied. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Rika, unnerved, glanced away. "Ugh, you worry too much," she complained, not feeling in the mood to yell at him anymore.

"Hey Renamon," Guilmon greeted the large Kitsune.

"Hello Guilmon," she replied. "How has your day been?"

Guilmon's ears sunk by the sides of his head. "Hungry. How's yours?"

"Insightful."

"Oh, that reminds me," Rika said, turning to face her partner again. "Is my grandma okay? DarkBiyomon isn't being threatening towards her or anything."

"Not at all Rika."

"Okay…can you get back there to make sure it stays that way?"

"I am sure she is fine," Renamon replied, before nodding to Rika's continued worried stare. "Goodbye," she replied, vanishing back into nothing once again as she headed away to do Rika's wishes.

**BRRRRIIINNGG! BRIIIIING! BRIIIING!**

The pair of humans frowned, and Guilmon's ears sunk down again forlornly. "Aw…"

"Great, another two hours of boredom."

"If I fall asleep, don't wake me up."

"What if I fall asleep?"

"Then I'll poke you with a pencil."

"**What if he snores?"**

"Then I'll poke you in the eye."

"Ouch…please don't do that!" Takato cried, putting his hands defensively over his eyes.

Rika rolled her eyes, chuckling lightly. "I can't believe you still take me seriously," she mumbled, grabbing his blue zipped jacket by the sleeve and beginning to pull him away. "Come on Gogglehead."

* * *

_**Hypnos, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**12:29 JST**_

The revolving door presented some resistance as the male hand pressed against it, hearing the brushes hiss against the carpet below. The cold harsh air of the outside was quickly dispelled when the door opened to the inside of the vast building, the reception open in front of him.

He made no attempt to head over to it, knowing his presence was already expected.

"_**Hello."**_

"_**What do you want?"

* * *

**_Yamaki stopped once inside again, looking up at the vast cavernous centre of the central building. A roof of glass hung dozens of storeys above, criss-crossed by metal supports and walkways. Along the walls of the vast yet bright and airy cavern, windows and walls that would look more at home on the outside of a building looked out upon the inside, while in some places lights jutted out, their yellow-white forms pointing downwards to illuminate the floor below. High above and breaking the clear view of the rooftop, a bridge-like walkway diagonally linked both sides, its unusual angle making it look like an afterthought despite it being an integral part of the building's inter-tower links.

* * *

"_**You greet me in such a friendly manner Yamaki."**_

"_**You can hardly expect us to be friends now, after what you did."**_

"_**Then, I should prepare to be surprised."**_

"_**Excuse me?"**_

* * *

For a building that had been practically destroyed a number of times, it was holding up well and looked immaculate. Government offices oddly always were this way even though they weren't actually trying to sell anything to anyone, unlike business offices with their plentiful plants and smooth, clean, marble floors which had to be all part of the package of selling their product, service or stock.

"_The government can hardly question me for how I spend money when they spend money on things like this. Regardless, appearances' sake I presume."_

* * *

"_**I would like you to return to our team here at Hypnos."**_

"…_**Rayleigh, I would think you were more mature than this."**_

"_**Oh, this is no joke Yamaki. No hard feelings. None at all. I have seen the error of my ways and I would like to reconcile, and I would hope you would see to do the same."**_

* * *

He tapped the elevator button, waiting as the display above slowly counted down the progress of the vehicle to his floor. The phone call about an hour or so ago continued to play through his mind, a phone call which had come out of the blue while he had been lying there on his sofa, left out of things and with Riley as his only access into the world of Hypnos. Of course, she was already here, and she would've been slaving away at keeping the city safe since daybreak.

* * *

"_**I get what you're playing at. Y**__**ou just want me to return to making the coffee."**_

"_**Hardly. I am making you head of Hypnos again Yamaki."**_

"_**What?!"**_

* * *

The lift doors slid open and Yamaki stepped forward into it, the marble-esque floor of the cavern matching that of the elevator. All perfect, all nice and neat and anal. Didn't the government realise that this building was such a common target that it just wasn't worth that kind of money? Inevitably, one day the other duties of this building would be transferred elsewhere, perhaps a good thing as it would allow the blonde to use this entire building for the purpose of defending the city and managing the Digital threats and friends.

As the lift rose through the floors, he smiled slimly. As much as he wanted to hate Rayleigh regardless, as much as he felt there was a deeper motive to all of this, he couldn't hide his relief that he had been rehired. When he was fired, his entire life had seemed lost, not only in Hypnos but also his connection with the Tamers and his duty to protect things. Standing by and watching as the Tamers fought away without being able to intervene was far too painful to watch.

Still, that wasn't to say he was going to give Rayleigh an easy time. He knew he could use this chance he had now to work out what Rayleigh truly had planned. Be it destroying the Digimon, superseding Hypnos or any number of other things, he would be one step ahead.

* * *

"_**Hmph…there must be some catch. Also, I surely don't need to **__**inform you that the Chief Cabinet Secretary and the Prime Minister are the only ones able to appoint people for this key position?"**_

"_**Of course. And, even though the papers won't be finding out about this until I and my superior the Prime Minister have finished dealing with the finer details, I would like to inform you that I am now Chief Cabinet Secretary."**_

"_**Wait, what?! How?"**_

"_**The Prime Minister saw my abilities yesterday compared to those of my predecessor and he saw fit to promote me."**_

"_Abilities? What abilities? You let that all happen yesterday for crying out loud!" __**"I see."**_

"_**So, will you be rejoining us here Mr Mitsuo?"**_

"_**Hmm."**_

"_**Why don't you pop over here in the next hour or so and we'll talk things through?"**_

* * *

The doors slid open, Yamaki stepping out into the very familiar hallway. He turned right, going through the motions as he headed down to the Hypnos control room. The doors slid open and he entered, the room looking completely the same as it always did. He wasn't sure what he was expecting anyway, although a bit more chaos ensuing would've been a reassurance that his hunch about Rayleigh was well-founded.

"Ah, Yamaki, I've been expecting you," greeted Rayleigh, swinging about on a large black swivel seat that he'd obviously only just had brought up and pretending to stroke a cat. He laughed as he stood up, the youthful and childish nature of his personality still shining through. "Sorry, it was far too irresistible a joke," he apologised.

Yamaki rolled his eyes in the dark, glancing up to where Riley and Tally were watching down from above, albeit pretending not to. He smiled to Riley who replied with a cautious one, evidently with the same doubts about the situation that he had.

"So, welcome back. I trust you've had plenty of time to think things through on the way here?"

"Of course."

"And, have you decided to take over this role again?"

"Hmm…I would still like to know the reason behind this dramatic change of heart."

"Call it a charitable move on my part."

"Hmm…"

"You seem doubtful?"

"I was under the impression that the Chief and the PM were close friends, so why on earth he would be demoted and replaced with a foreign national no less who is highly inexperienced and very risky is concerning me."

"I do not try to understand his reasoning. Personally, I like Mr Nakazawa too, but the Prime Minister has his reasons and we must trust him on them."

"Hmm…I still think there is something else though."

"When you work it out, be sure to tell me. That could be your way of repaying your debt you now owe to me. Plus, I'm sure the thin line you tread could use some widening with trust."

"I see."

"You still sound unconvinced."

"You are very perceptive."

"Well, if I can provide any more of an incentive, I would. Perhaps, however, you need to feel more needed in this role. After all, I wouldn't want you thinking you were simply a pawn in this game."

"The thought had never even crossed my mind," Yamaki lied, a slim grin making it clear that he was while maintaining pleasantries all the while.

"Well, I would prefer you in this role to the alternative. In fact, you seem to be in a better mood than he is regarding this potential new position."

"And who is he?"

The doors slid open, a far too familiar figure stepping through. There was a glimpse of surprise on Yamaki's face, one which Rayleigh revelled in.

"Excuse me," Eiichi Nakazawa asked, gesturing to a handheld PDA in his palm. "I appear to have lost the stylus."

Yamaki looked back to Rayleigh, able to see the wide smirk on the latter's face despite the darkness of the room. He was now stuck in a difficult position.

Take up the job and risk being the victim of whatever Rayleigh's plan was, or don't take it and risk the whole city being the victim to a mistake by Eiichi, a smart political and governmental mind but a pathetic technological one. He usually left his satellite uplink setup to his aides, and beyond a phone, a remote and an email he wasn't the most skilled person with electronics.

"Oh, no, wait, it's in this little slot on the back here."

"I'll take the job," Yamaki said, Rayleigh stifling a chuckle at the comedy of the situation. He put out his hand.

"Welcome back," he greeted, the pair shaking hands. "Oh, and Eiichi will be your second-in-command."

"Hmm…is there a light switch in here? I appear to have dropped my stylus now."

"_Crap."_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

**EDIT: I think I need to clarify things here: Chaos died the day Takato was born, not the day after. Newspapers wouldn't have covered the story until the next morning's edition. I've edited the text to make it a bit more obvious.**

Things are (slowly, I'll admit) coming to an end for Book Six. Only four or five chapters remaining though by my count, and then Book Seven will start quickly and explosively.

Speaking of Book Seven, you might want to check its wiki page for a very (depending on your point of view) amusing/amazing/pointless thing. I've added a theme music page to the wiki too which I'm sure people will find interesting.

Oh, and to fill in on who owns DC, it's Digidestined of Courage, who has given me permission to use him. Use him for what in particular, I hear you ask? Wait and see.

Until next time…

B.C.


	68. The Trick To Connections

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. Thanks to Kuroi Haruka for being the 500th reviewer.

**I think I need to clarify things here about the previous chapter: Chaos died the day Takato was born, not the day after. Newspapers wouldn't have covered the story until the next morning's edition. I've edited the text now to make it a bit more obvious.**

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

**

* * *

CHAPTER 62**

_The Trick to Connections_

* * *

**MONDAY, 25****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Souta Residence, Bunkyō Ward**_

_**16:40 JST**_

A groan of annoyance forced its way from the lips of the stirring creature as it pondered whether it was worth making an effort to open its red and green eyes, nothing quite being enough incentive to do so. Why wake up when you could appreciate that first moment in any day, a moment of total bliss which lacked any need to do anything?

Of course, in lieu of any self-given incentive to get up, Murphy took it upon himself to provide an outside one.

"He's waking up."

Dracmon's eyes snapped open. What was going on? Where was he? What had happened? Was he safe? Who was that?

His mind racking through his current situation, he sat up promptly, looking about in an attempt to answer at least some of his questions.

"_Hey, this doesn't look like the big place with all that metal falling. What gives?" _he thought, looking about at a place that seemed to be a home of some kind. Whatever he was resting on was soft and shaped sort of like an L shape with cloth bags on either end for a reason god-only-knew. Nearby, there was a screen which had been left off, and a smell of some sort of food wafting in from somewhere. Dracmon didn't particularly care what type of food it was, not only because he would eat anything, but also because something else, or rather, some things else, had caught his attention, cast under the strange orange filtering in through the large glass windows at the end of the room. Indeed, the orange light itself would've made him wonder, were it not for these things to distract him from the idea that the world outside was on fire.

"Are you sure it's wise to keep that thing dear?" asked one of them, a human female looking rather more grotesque and disfigured than the two in front who looked vaguely familiar. It took Dracmon a moment to work out why.

"Yes mom."

"Hey, didn't I fight you two?" Dracmon asked, not sounding particularly guilty at all for his actions.

"Yes, you did," interrupted another voice from out of view, Dracmon standing up and looking down to see Floramon. He took an uneasy step back.

"Hey…what the hell is up with abducting me like this? Geez, talk about a dishonourable battle and all that crap."

"We're not abducting you," insisted a blue haired girl.

"Kohaku, are you really sure about this?" asked his mother again, Dracmon not having realised that her supposedly grotesque nature compared to all the other humans he had seen close up (all two of them) was simply a result of age and not any deformation. She had black hair, and a concerned visage as she worried about her son's newfound toy. She looked to be in her forties, and their home seemed rather small.

"Yeah; I can handle him, I'm sure."

"What the…handle me?! You've got to be joking, right?"

"This says otherwise," Kohaku said, his voice half proud and half sighing as he raised his arm, pointing it vertically and displaying the grey digital watch like device on his wrist. Had he got himself into more than he could deal with? Or was this just the kinda thing every Tamer went through? Then again, Sakura evidently hadn't, or, if she had, it wasn't noteworthy enough to be mentioned.

"Geez, flashing your metal bracelet. I bow down before thee."

Kohaku's face turned deadpan. "It's a Digivice."

"A digi-wazza? Geez, do you even speak this language? Listen, I'm not into all that crap, but I'm pretty sure that restraints like that are meant to have two bracelets and not just one."

"Dracmon, do you know what a Digimon Tamer is?" Sakura interrupted Kohaku's conversation with his newfound partner, lifting her wrist to show her own D-Vice.

"Hey, there's the other half," Dracmon said, raising a finger to point before chuckling. "Hey, I guess that means you two have a fondness for…"

"Just answer her question," interrupted another voice, Dracmon turning to face Floramon with an irritated expression. Kohaku and Sakura just pulled a strange expression that was a combination between embarrassment and bewilderment, whilst Kohaku's mother looked rather shocked at the Digimon's mind and suggestive nature.

"Geez, for a plant you've got a temper," he grumbled. She continued to glare, and he sighed. "Fine. No, I have not heard of a Digimon Tamer. But, if you ask me, the Tamer part just confirms my suspicions about your habits."

Sakura ignored him and began to explain the concept. "Right, a Digimon Tamer is a human partnered with a Digimon who fights in order to protect and maintain order in both worlds."

"Christ, goodie-two-shoes aren't we? What's wrong with a bit of chaos?"

"We just don't want to see anyone get hurt."

"Aw, would that break your little heart?"

"Kohaku, I'm sorry but I have to ask again. Why do you want to keep this thing again?" Kohaku's mother asked her son, her concern about the demon-like creature rising throughout the conversation.

"Keep? Me? What? I'm not some pet. What the hell are you rattling on about?!"

"You're my Digimon partner," Kohaku explained. "And I'm your Tamer."

"Either I went mad and signed up to something again or you're lying because I DON'T REMEMBER AGREEING TO THIS!"

"Hey, no need to shout."

"No need to enslave me either."

"Hey, this wasn't my idea."

"Then whose was it?"

"No idea."

"Great, do you know anything dumbass?"

"This is either the beginnings of a great partnership or a great anecdote," Sakura whispered to Floramon.

"Listen, obviously neither of us wants to be involved in this but we will be either way, so why don't we just work together to make it easier?"

"What? I don't have to be involved in this," Dracmon complained, getting to his feet and wandering over to the glazed doors through to the balcony of the apartment. "I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want."

He began bashing on them, annoyance on his face as he bashed harder.

"Hey, leave my windows alone!" Kohaku's mother complained. Dracmon turned with a harsh look on his face.

"Then open the door."

"But we have to talk."

"Hey, I don't have to do anything!"

***Gruuuuhhhhhh***

Dracmon looked bewildered and embarrassed as he looked down to his stomach, confused as he felt a strange feeling. "What the...? Hey, what did you all do to me while I was sleeping?"

"Nothing, but it sounds like you're hungry," Kohaku's mother suggested.

"So what? I can eat whenever I want."

"You do in this world," Floramon said, amusement in her voice.

"Hey, that sucks. How do I get home?"

"Beats me," Kohaku replied, shrugging.

"Great, so I'm the prisoner of some stupid human world emotion and of you Mr I wear Black and Blue."

"Mr I Wear Black and Blue? That's a pretty lame insult."

"Yeah well…so are you!"

Kohaku sighed. "Listen, do you want food or not?"

"Fine…" Dracmon huffed. "But I'm still not happy about this," he complained. "Now let's eat!" he exclaimed, an odd sense of happiness in his voice.

* * *

_**Outside Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**17:51 JST**_

"God it's bloody cold," Ryder grumbled, shivering and pulling his coat closer to him as he and his girlfriend wandered out of their apartment block, heading towards that evening's meeting of the Shinjuku Tamers at the Nonaka residence. The Bunkyo and Minato Tamers could've been invited, but the sensitive nature of whatever Rey had to tell them, and the unfair distance involved made it a decision not to take. Whether Suzie would be allowed to the meeting or not was up to Henry, depending on how he perceived the potential nature of the subject of the meeting. By now, Ryder and Mari were just completely confused about what on earth they were going here for.

"Aw, here was me thinking you'd keep _me_ warm with a big hug," Mari complained. "So much for that being the point of a boyfriend."

"What, and emotional and romantic attention isn't important too?"

"Nah, it's all about the hugs."

"Fair doos. Shall we do the penguin thing and huddle together to keep warm?"

"Sounds better than freezing," Mari laughed, wandering over and wrapping her arm around Ryder's back as he did likewise, pulling each other close as they walked. MiniDonmon, on Ryder's head, simply pouted.

"Hey, what about me? I'm freezing here."

"Maybe DarkRenamon will keep you warm?" Ryder suggested jokingly. Thankfully, the shade of red was masked by MiniDonmon's natural colour. Unfortunately for him, it didn't protect his voice.

"S…shut up!"

Ryder laughed while Mari rolled her eyes, looking out into the darkness where she knew DarkRenamon followed. Of course, in a city of this scale and so full of lights, there was very little darkness to be found, but DarkRenamon made shadow-shifting and perception filters seem effortless.

"_Shame that telepathy isn't so simple," _Mari sighed, frowning and leaning her head on Ryder's shoulder.

Ryder smiled, continuing to wander and making sure they didn't just walk straight out into the middle of the road. He came to the end of the street, looking to a pedestrian crossing that lay in their wake and provided a convenient method to cross, or would've done were it not for the heavy evening rush hour traffic.

He glanced about, seeing an overbridge a fair old distance away. He groaned, not really wanting to walk that far just to cross over and really go straight on, albeit via a slight diversion thanks to the park closure. Sighing, he went to turn, taking one last glance across the road.

He froze.

"Ivy?!" he exclaimed in horror, not believing what he was seeing.

Mari glanced up, looking to him with a mix of bewilderment, shock and confusion. She looked quickly across the road, seeing a sudden glimpse of what he had seen: a blonde girl in a white dress with a black cummerbund about her waist. But, as quickly as whatever it was had appeared, and as quickly as whomever it was moved to raise her hand and shout to him, a truck rushed in front, blaring its horn as it passed.

When their view had cleared again, she was gone.

Ryder looked to Mari, a shocked expression on his face as his mouth hung slightly open, his mind refusing to contemplate what he had seen. She looked to him, back to the spot and back again, before irritation and annoyance flared in her features.

"It was nothing," she insisted, pulling free of his hug and beginning to storm off. She turned back to face him, the boy still frozen to the spot. "Just a trick of the light, that's all. I swear she's on your mind too much anyway."

"Yeah, but…hold on, didn't I…" _"…wait, I didn't tell her about the dream yet. And…I haven't mentioned the phone call either," _he thought, sighing.

"Yes?" she asked, rather ticked off.

"Never mind…" _"…best to stay quiet for now," _he decided.

"Whatever. Now, are you going to come with me to the overpass or are we going to play chicken in the traffic?" she asked, her calm mood now completely evaporated and her shoulders tensed up.

Ryder nodded. "Yeah, okay," he replied, his tone cautious and unsure. Mari turned, walking away before he rushed to catch up, taking just one last look across the road at where _she_ had been. _"Am I just going nuts or what?"_ he thought, frowning before deciding he'd need to be very cautious tonight around Mari. _"I wish she weren't so jealous but…I don't blame her either," _he sighed, groaning. _"Why does this sort of stuff always happen to me?"_

* * *

_**Souta Residence, Bunkyō Ward**_

_**18:00 JST**_

"So listen, if you need any help or anything, just call that number, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Sakura."

"No problem," she replied with a smile, the other one nodding in agreement and returning a smile. The pair paused, an uncomfortable moment passing when neither was sure how exactly to say goodbye to each other. They'd only met once or twice, they could hardly hug, and yet anything short of that seemed to cast down the events of that day.

Sakura finally broke the silence, giving a slight uncomfortable wave with one hand.

"Well, see ya," she said, ready to turn and walk away from the doorway at which they both stood, along with Floramon below who waved to the boy.

"Yeah, see you," he said, his voice rather pessimistic after the pair's moment. She nodded, turning and walking away along the corridor, Kohaku taking a glimpse outside before turning and pulling the door to behind him.

He looked about the apartment, oddly quiet now their guests had left.

"Geez, what the hell's in this stuff?"

Kohaku's mother replied with a galled expression, evidently not a fan of the demon's antics since he had arrived. "They are Onigiri, balls of rice wrapped in seaweed."

"Well I haven't the faintest clue what either of those things are but these taste great."

"Well…thank you."

"How'd you make them?"

"They came from a shop."

"So you didn't make them at all then?"

"No, but I can cook."

"Then let's see ya cook," Dracmon said enthusiastically, not realising how harsh and forward his words sounded to the older woman.

"Not right now," she huffed, turning to face her son as he wandered across the apartment back towards the living room. Dracmon simply shrugged, returning to his food. "Kohaku," she said, taking a step towards him and thus a step out of Dracmon's hearing (not that she actually cared whether he heard her complaints or not). "Can we talk?"

"Uh…" Kohaku mumbled, taking a glance to Dracmon and knowing what this would all be about. "Okay," he replied, his mother leading him into his bedroom while Dracmon continued to eat, unaware of the deep trouble he'd gotten his newfound partner in.

Kohaku's mother closed the door behind them, before turning to her son with a frown. "Kohaku, honey, I know I've supported you in a lot of your strange ideas but this is crossing the line."

"This wasn't my idea, this just happened mom."

"But you don't have to participate in it. He doesn't even seem that interested in being your partner anyway."

"Yeah, but in time…"

"Kohaku, I am your mother and I don't want you participating in such a dangerous game."

"I don't think it's a game mom, it's serious."

"Yes, but this is what the Tamers deal with, and it seems bad enough with the amount of damage they cause. My drive to work has been extended for weeks after one of their battles."

"Without them though, the damage would be a lot worse."

"Yes, I know, but someone else might not see it that way and might sue them or something. Since your father left we both knew things would be tricky, so we have to make sure we don't break us up even further."

"I know mom but…can't Dracmon be a part of our family too?"

His mother frowned. "Kohaku, to be perfectly honest, that…thing, is a rude, selfish, idiotic creature who I can tell will only bring trouble for us. Just now he told me to get cooking…"

"Yeah, I heard, but…you do realise he comes from another world?"

"Yes, but that's no excuse for rudeness."

"I don't think he was being rude mom, I don't think he knows that is rude."

"Listen Kohaku, all that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I think you're getting yourself into something far too dangerous and risky. I'm your mother, and I am not going to let you get hurt."

"I don't think I have a choice."

"You always have a choice Kohaku. You don't have to do things simply because something else forces to you. All you have to do is take off that device, throw it in the trash and we never need to worry about all this again. I'm sure Dracmon will find something else to occupy him, the only thing keeping him here now is the food."

"…mom, let me talk to him."

"What will that achieve?"

"Maybe, maybe I can reason with him. But, I'm going to need time to convince him. Give me one week."

"Mmm…"

"One day then. Please. I promise I'll bring him round."

"I'll give you this evening and this evening only, but this had better not hurt your grades."

"Of course not…I could even get Dracmon to help me study."

"Study what subject in particular?"

"Uh…you've got me. At least I'll stop the school from being destroyed."

"Or purposefully route the Digimon towards it."

"True."

"Come on then, we'd better get back in there before he raids the fridge," his mother sighed. "Remember what you promised."

"I know, I know," Kohaku sighed, the pair walking back into the main living room.

Dracmon sheepishly held up a small plastic device from the coffee table, the white numbered buttons embedded into it broken up by a large hole in the number **9**.

"Uh…I think I broke it," he said, waving the offending spiked finger.

"_How on earth am I going to manage this?" _Kohaku thought as he saw his mother's warning glares. This was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done.

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**18:11 JST**_

The door slid open, the warm light of the inside of the Nonaka household highly inviting to the freezing pair outside, who were no longer clinging together for warmth and instead had resorted to not talking. This had heavily been on both of their minds ever since _it_ had happened, but neither was especially ready to talk things through. MiniDonmon, on Ryder's head, found this silence particularly concerning, and boring too.

"Good evening," greeted Seiko with a smile, Mari breathing a slight sigh of relief she was still intact after being left with DarkBiyomon. As unlikely as she thought it was, it still had preyed on the back of her mind all day, as she knew it must have done to Rika as well.

"Evening," Ryder replied with a smile.

"Sorry that we're so late," Mari added, frowning. "We were delayed," she added, looking to Ryder. Seiko raised an eyebrow at this behaviour, before dismissing it to be thought about later and letting them pass.

"Please come in."

Ryder paused, waiting for Mari to enter first. She ignored his chivalry, instead awaiting him to go first. He sighed, going past first while dearly racking his mind for how to fix something he hadn't even done. Well, at least, what had happened today wasn't directly his fault. Why didn't she understand that? And why did she endlessly deny what'd happened too?

"_Not that I'd be open to accepting it if I were her," _Ryder sighed, looking up into the room and about at the various assembled Tamers. Some were chatting, and others, like Henry and Rey, sat around nervously, all the while Rumiko watching the full household with a rather proud smile at how many friends her daughter had. She, of course, was as clueless as the rest of them about what the evening would reveal regarding her daughter.

Meanwhile, behind him, Mari had paused, looking to Seiko. "By the way, we talked about finding a Tamer for DarkBiyomon today, but it seems like for now she'll be staying at ours. Thanks for everything you did."

"No," replied a new voice from the floor below, Mari looking down in surprise to see DarkBiyomon looking up at her, confrontationally holding out a wing. Her surprise was shared by Rika's grandmother too.

"Huh?"

"I want to stay with you Seiko," DarkBiyomon insisted, looking up to the astonished older woman. "Please."

"Well, uh…" Seiko began, looking up to Mari for advice. This was an odd sight to behold for the girl, not used to seeing someone normally so calm and so confident be so shocked.

"Please. Today I've been able to talk to you and I don't think I can talk to anyone else properly," DarkBiyomon pleaded, gripping her hands together, almost in prayer.

A small smile graced Seiko's lips, amazed by the huge difference between the DarkBiyomon she had met that morning, and, indeed, the DarkBiyomon she had seen before then, and the DarkBiyomon who was standing here now. "I would be perfectly fine with that."

"Hmm…I guess that's okay," Mari replied, the surprise of suddenly learning that this burden was off her hands catching her off guard but still leaving her concerned. "Rika," Mari called across the room, but needn't have bothered, the girl was already on her way across.

"What happened?" she asked, looking to her grandmother, the Second Angel and, of course, DarkBiyomon herself.

"DarkBiyomon said she would like to stay with us, well, me specifically," Seiko explained, DarkBiyomon falling silent in worry and hope.

"Really?" Rika exclaimed, surprised.

"I have no problems with looking after her Rika, but of course, it's up to you."

"Yeah, well…Renamon and Kudamon are here for a lot of the time so I suppose they keep watch, but…I don't know, can we really trust her?"

DarkBiyomon frowned, not liking being talked about as if she "were the cat's mother". She was standing right there, and they were talking over her head. "I promise you can trust me," she blurted, eager to press her case despite her reservations about talking to them after what happened.

"Rika, she seems pretty genuine," Mari noted, knowing that Rika would've already have made her decision by now on whether or not she was okay with the idea but hoping that her additional viewpoint might tip the scales in the redhead's mind if she were uncertain.

"Hmm…" Rika mumbled, glancing to the brunette before looking to Seiko again. Seiko gave a reassuring gaze, both granddaughter and grandmother aware of the strange nature of the situation, a child having to give permission to their elders. Finally, Rika sighed, closing her eyes briefly before looking down to the bird. "Okay, but if you try absolutely anything, you know what'll happen," she warned, DarkBiyomon nodding enthusiastically despite the threat.

"Thank you so much," she said, turning back to Seiko who smiled down at the bird, both out of happiness merely for seeing the bird happy for the first time in a while, and out of her own happiness at having a new permanent friend, companion, perhaps even family member. "I promise I won't let her get hurt," DarkBiyomon then added, turning and waving a wing to Rika.

Rika's mouth dropped open slightly, pondering something about this relationship. _"Hmm…" _she thought, the idea that this was more than just adopting a family member occurring to her. "_DarkBiyomon had taken to Seiko by the looks of it. I've only really seen this kinda thing before with…well…" _she mused, turning to look at Mari and knowing her partner, DarkRenamon, wasn't to be far from her in the shadows. _"This could get interesting. Although I suppose Jeri and Leomon had the same thing originally, not that he really reciprocated her eagerness to be partners at first."_

Mari turned, looking over the room. It was pretty busy, and they were evidently holding up proceedings, something probably taken as a blessing by Rey and Henry who anxiously sat on one of the sofa's with Jeri at the latter's side holding his hand reassuringly. _"Just what are we waiting to hear?"_

Takato, meanwhile, sat on the end of the opposite sofa, nearest to a large armchair which Rika had claimed and which would not be occupied by anyone else (even Takato in all probability) on pain of death. Alongside Takato on the couch sat Kazu and Kenta, whilst on the floor in the middle in front of the coffee table sat Kristy and Suzie, Henry evidently not having been able to convince his ten year-old sister to stay behind on this occasion. Ryder, meanwhile, having been last to arrive, had pulled up a rather plain wooden seat and put it in between the armchair and the sofa which their nervous speakers currently sat on. She glanced to him, periodically wondering where she could get another seat from but eventually deciding she would maintain appearances in where she sat, and wait until later to crucify him about what'd happened earlier. She frowned, feeling she was going a bit overboard on things but then recalling the sight she had seen.

A flash of blonde hair, a white dress…an impossible image.

She scraped her left thumb-nail along the underside of its corresponding middle finger, the idea making her tense. It couldn't be real. There had to be some trick here. Her being here…it was impossible. The card, all of that could easily be faked, or maybe were from her, but what mattered was that she wasn't actually here.

But now…this was just all too much. Ryder was hers.

Mari cursed herself for being so possessive before she wandered over to the boyfriend in question, who was currently gazing at her with a nervous and concerned expression. As she drew closer, he ended up more and more anxiously looking up and up, before finally looking surprised as she promptly and unexpectedly sat on his lap. A slim, amused smile flashed on her face but she suppressed it, recalling she was mad at this kid and wasn't meant to be laughing at his reactions.

"Uh…Mari…I can't see," he noted, having quickly abandoned the idea of holding onto her hips while looking round her.

She, amused, rolled her eyes before swivelling round to sit across him, looking down to his anxious face and somehow maintaining a concerned expression. _"Ugh, now I feel like a total bitch."_

"Thanks," he replied. _"Okay, this is definitely going to get awkward," _he thought as he gently looped his right arm around her back, holding her up and preventing a potentially bigger and more embarrassing catastrophe that could occur were she to topple backwards onto Rika later on. None of them would ever hear the end of _that_ for sure.

"_Hmm…" _she thought, feeling his hand wrap around her back, half of her wanting to make a point about how he could act like that before they even had a chance to discuss the earlier events and half of her thankful for his thoughtfulness. She mentally groaned, deciding to set those thoughts aside for now and concentrate what the evening would have in store for them.

"Rey, are you ready?" Henry agitatedly asked the redhead next to him. She looked to him, before shaking her head.

"Not even slightly. I mean, what we have to tell them…it's pretty grim."

"I know, but…I get the impression that what you have to tell everyone is far worse."

"You could tell us beforehand, you know?" Terriermon chirped from the seat-back.

"Terriermon."

"Okay, okay, sorry for being too blunt, but it would help though."

"Sorry, I just…don't want to have to explain things twice. It's difficult enough once," Rey sighed, looking down before feeling a hand pat her shoulder.

She looked up, looking to where Jeri was reaching round Henry to comfort her. "It'll be okay, I'm sure. Even if it's terrible, we'll help you cope with it."

"Thanks," Rey mumbled, sighing before looking up to where Rika, having finished with a short chat with her mother before everything started, was now wandering back over to her armchair.

Violet eyes met crimson, the former trying to probe the latter for what on earth today could possibly be for. Rey frowned, leaving Rika even more uncertain and worried as she sat down in her seat.

"_Well, here goes nothing," _the daughter thought, glancing to Henry and passing a nod to him as she anxiously tapped the printings and photocopies against the seat below with one of her hands. She took a deep breath, turning to look at the entire group who seemed locked in either conversation, impressions of Guilmon eating (in Kristy's case) or in an anxious and embarrassed pose with their girlfriend sitting on their lap.

This was it.

"Everyone," she began, conversations halting as all eyes turned to face her and Henry. "We have some bad news."

* * *

_**Hypnos, Tokyo Metropolitan Building, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**18:10 JST**_

"So, I shall see you tomorrow then Yamaki," Eiichi said to his newfound boss. "Are you sure that you do not need any assistance tonight? It seems that my schedule is now empty."

"No, everything will be fine. I'll call you in if things turn bad."

"Fine," Eiichi replied, turning and wandering out through the open doors. The burst of orangey light from the city quickly vanished again, and Yamaki frowned, breathing a sigh of relief and running one hand through his blonde hair.

"This is going to be unbearable," he groaned, before turning and looking up to Riley and Tally above. "Rayleigh has become both subtle and obvious in his actions."

"Yeah, next thing he'll be making us all wear pink uniforms," Tally quipped.

"Sir, what are you going to do about this?" Riley asked, a look of seriousness maintained on her face unlike her colleague.

"For now, there is little more I can do than wait and see what happens. I am infinitely reassured that the city is now safer with myself back in control of Hypnos, and so long as I keep the technophobic Eiichi on a short lead we should be able to lessen the risk somewhat."

"Let's hope so, else I think the Tamers may have a bit of trouble," Riley replied.

"You can't stay awake all the time though Sir. He's going to have to take charge at some point."

"Heh. Then I trust you will both be able to ensure this city stays safe at times like that?"

"Of course," Riley replied, a smile on her face

"Affirmative sir," Talley laughed.

Yamaki grinned. "Good."

* * *

_**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**18:20 JST**_

"_**This is it, she's going to say she's pregnant or something," **_Chaos laughed in Takato's mind. He forced himself to ignore, despite the possibility being rather disturbing, particularly since the nature of events so far implied the father would be Henry. Takato shuddered, not wanting to think of his best friend in that way. _**"Your imagination is hilarious but disturbing," **_Chaos said to Takato, watching his host's mental images with amusement.

Henry took his turn to speak, taking an anxious glance at his young sister and hoping what was to be said tonight wasn't too old for her and Kristy. "Guys, you know what we said about going to Nagasaki and all. Well, we didn't exactly tell you everything."

"**Oh god, you really did get pregnant didn't you Rey?"**

Shocked eyes turned to Takato, sheepishly looking out while despising Chaos. Rey had turned bright red, and Rika too, but from anger rather than from embarrassment.

"Chaos, if you don't shut the hell up then…"

"Rika, mind your language," Rumiko scolded her daughter across the room, the girl stopping, uncurling her fists reluctantly and frowning. Chaos snickered, the pair looking back to a frowning Rey.

"_They really do hate each other," _she mentally sighed, leaving Henry to take charge of the announcement lest her uncertainty and worry go properly noticed.

"We met someone, someone unusual."

"Come on then, tell us already. Who'd you meet?" Rika complained, sick of the "revelation" way that they were explaining all this. What happened to just telling stuff and that being the end of it?

"You."

Rika froze, blinking in confusion and being the extreme of a reaction shared by all unknowing in the room. "Excuse me?"

"Duh! We met Harmony!" Terriermon explained bluntly, leaping onto Henry's head.

"**You met…me?" **the aforementioned God stammered. **"W-What?"**

"When we were there, we were saved from some soldiers by a girl with a Renamon," Henry explained, noting as Renamon suddenly appeared nearby with a surprised look. "We didn't really make the link at first, but then we saw her D-Vice, and realised it really was your previous incarnation."

Rika stared across, shocked by this sudden revelation. Everyone looked to her, the surprise of it all catching them all of guard. Mari quickly grabbed onto Ryder as his arm fell limp, almost making her fall back onto the redhead behind. He laughed nervously as she glared at him.

"What was her name?" Kenta asked, curious about this sudden bombshell that had been dropped into their laps, something that had even silenced Kazu and Chaos. And that took a lot of effort.

Rey closed her eyes, imagining the face of the girl back when they first learnt her name. "Naoko Tamiko."

Rika sat bolt upright, her speed hindered only by the large bump in the way. "No…" she stammered, gripping onto the armrests tightly as she closed her eyes shot, suddenly looking to literally struggle with this newfound discovery. "No, that can't be," she exclaimed, her mind suddenly flooded with new memories as she shook.

She felt, almost distantly, a hand land on the back of hers as Takato tried to get her attention. "Rika!" he called, the sound almost echoing about the girl's mind. What was going on? Neither had even the slightest clue and both were scared.

Rika suddenly stopped, her tense arms stopping shaking and her eyes opening. She looked almost robot-like at first, her blank stares at her worried grandmother and mother disconcerting them as they paused in their rush across to her aid.

"Rika, are you alright?" Kristy asked, Rey by now just staring across with an uncertain expression at her mother. What was going on?

Rika glanced up, her actions looking unusual and surprised as she heard her own name. She looked with bewilderment at her sister before she registered the name again, nodding loosely.

"Yeah, I think so."

"What happened?" Rumiko asked, concerned for her daughter's well-being, and that of the child the girl was carrying within her.

"Uh…" she mumbled.

"Hmm…" Henry mumbled, looking curiously at Rika's rather out-of-character behaviour all of a sudden, almost feral and surprised. This evidently wasn't Rika, which gave him a strange suspicion about who it could be. "Naoko."

Rika suddenly looked across to him, reacting as one would to a dropping of their name. "Yes?"

As it occurred to the others what was going on, gasps of surprise went up. Takato looked worriedly at Rika, her newfound memories somehow having triggered that latent personality of Naoko. He dearly hoped this wasn't affecting Rika in anyway.

"Where is this?" Naoko, or rather, Rika, mumbled, glancing about at the house in bewilderment. She shook her head to herself, Rika wondering why on earth she was saying that. The flood of new memories weren't replacing her own memories, but they sat alongside in a fashion that left her unsure exactly what to think. "I know where this is, it's my house," Rika angrily said to herself, nails clenching into the armrest. What was happening? She had to stop it; she couldn't let these sudden new memories overwhelm who she was. She looked up, suddenly seeing Rey.

"Rey!" she exclaimed. "You're alive. I never thought I'd see you a…" she began, before cursing. "No, no, shit, no…of course she is, stop being stupid," she muttered, while Kazu gave a rather galled expression and passed a tactless comment to Kenta.

"I always said she was crazy."

Rika looked up, glaring across at the boy. "Kazu, I'm going to kill you!" she declared, beginning to move to her feet before oddly finding that her obfuscated memories had sorted themselves out, perhaps thanks to her anger. She didn't want to think that was the reason, however. She didn't want to have to thank Kazu of all people.

Kazu worriedly moved back, the sight of a crazy enraged pregnant Rika one he would have nightmares about for the rest of his days. Rika relaxed her tense arms, slipping back into the armchair but with a one more problem to deal with than when she had last laid back in it.

"Rika, are you okay?" Takato asked from her right. She glanced about, seeing concerned expressions from all around her, including from Renamon who by now was standing just behind the seat with a cautious expression yet one full of her own worry.

She nodded to Takato. "Yeah, I think so," she replied, frowning before looking up to Renamon. "Are you okay?"

"I feel it too Rika," Renamon said, looking curiously over her gloved paw like she had done all those days ago in the Eastern Quadrant upon originally pondering the question of her unknown past. "I remember more, even if it is hazy somewhat."

"Yeah…I guess…I guess that was Naoko."

"That name," interrupted Seiko, taking a step forward into the conversation. "I knew it sounded familiar. I knew her."

"What?!" Henry exclaimed, looking up to Seiko with shock before looking back to Rey, the girl sitting with a frown and closed eyes whilst she nodded understandingly. DarkBiyomon, by Seiko's side, gave her newfound friend a concerned look.

"What do you mean?" Suzie asked from the floor below.

"When I was young, my mother had cancer so she was often ill. Since my father worked, she was instead helped out mostly by a thirty-or-so year old woman who lived with us called Naoko Tamiko. She was very kind, but when I asked her why she helped out when she could've been spending more time finding a job and a home and progressing herself, she would simply say…"

"That I owed a debt to you," Rika replied, her tone of voice sounding off as if she were trying to copy a memory running through her mind.

Seiko nodded, the surrealism of the situation bewildering to her. "She survived the Nagasaki bombing, without any injuries either. We always said she had a guardian spirit of some kind, although now I get the impression that those sights we saw from time to time were more than simple tricks of the eye," she added, looking across to the tall yellow Kitsune standing behind Rika. The fox nodded.

"Yes, I had to stay hidden throughout those times."

"I think I know why I owed a debt to you," Rika began, feeling odd and disturbed by how she was reciting the memories of a (presumably) dead woman but knowing that they had to come to terms with this. "When Rey and Henry helped me escape the bombing, she gave me a note with your father's name on it. Without an address though, it was useless, so I started wandering, for days and days. The war ended, and I encountered a railway station full of trains moving people and troops back home from where they had fled to the country and had been moved all over. I took up the offer, and on the journey home I ended up talking to a soldier about the war. I decided to ask him about the name on the note, and, well, it turned out he _was_ that person."

"A note?" Seiko asked, looking to her great granddaughter curiously.

"I knew that I had to help Naoko somehow, I mean, come on, otherwise she'd have spent the rest of her life looking for SLEGNA. So, I gave her a name of someone I knew would help, my great, great grandfather."

"Wait…that's right…I did spend my whole life looking for…wait…doesn't that mean?"

"I'm sorry Naoko…uh…Rika…but…" Rey began, biting her lip in irritation at herself. Why had she told the girl that? There were about a billion other ways she could've explained everything. "Yeah, SLEGNA isn't real."

"What?!" Naoko exclaimed. "You mean sent me on a wild goose chase my whole life?!"

"I'm sorry," Rey replied, pained by the reality of what her simple lie had done to an entire person's life. "So I wrecked your life, huh?" she sighed, frowning.

"Well…not completely. I didn't let it get me too distracted that I forgot to keep living. The soldier, hearing that I had nowhere else to go and knowing that someone else obviously had chosen him for a reason, decided that he would look after me. I was pretty grateful, and I ended up helping his wife through her cancer to repay him. When she had a child…Seiko, that is, I began to watch her grow up, but by then I was already in my thirties and I realised that my life had been wasted away until now."

"Aw, that sounds awful," Kristy mumbled, frowning and making Rey feel even guiltier.

"The poor innocent child," Seiko noted, clutching a cup of tea sadly. "Your entire life had been one long struggle with little to show for it. But then, you met someone, didn't you?" Seiko asked, a smile on her face as she brought back the old memories.

Rika chuckled, but it looked so strange for her. Mari, sitting looking over from her raised position on Ryder's lap, felt particularly unnerved: at least Takato and Chaos, sitting the opposite side of Rika, were used to this kind of thing.

"Yeah," Rika replied, a distant wonder in her eyes. "It was…hmm…1963, and I was thirty-four. And he was amazing, and it finally felt like things were on the up. Unfortunately, Seiko's mother didn't live much longer, and she died in 1964. It was then that I did some soul-searching, and, well, he was there to help. The next year, after thanking Kichiro for his kindness over the years and for helping me through a difficult time in my life, I finally moved out. Seiko was only seven at the time, but I and Nobu moved into a home nearby so we saw them very regularly. And then, finally, I married him, and became Mrs Naoko Yuuna, and my life felt complete again after so long."

"Aw, that's so romantic," Jeri said, seeing the smile on Rika's face, or was it Naoko's? She wasn't sure at all anymore, but she couldn't help but be enthralled by the woman's words.

"Yeah. And then, we had a child, a son, Shiro Yuuna, in 1965, and life was just wonderful."

Seiko and Rika both turned from smiles to frowns as the same memory crossed their minds.

"And then there was the car accident two years later."

The group quickly changed to a collective frown, the change in tone in affairs rather dramatic. Rika, or rather Naoko, frowned, looking down as the painful memories flashed back through her mind.

"Nobu, he was driving, but then, out of the blue, a car darts towards us. I swear to this day he was trying to hit us, and then…" Rika said, a quiet sob escaping her lips as she recalled the impact of her former life. The present day Rika couldn't help but feel sad, and hated how she suddenly had to have all these former memories, an idea that was previously very appealing to her back when Harmony told her nothing.

"Your husband was killed, and you ended up in hospital for two years," Seiko sadly explained. Rika frowned, a tear dripping from her eye and both Naoko and her appreciating the arm gently wrapped around her back from Takato, now having moved to sit on the arm rest alongside her.

"I had to give up the child, because I knew having seen Seiko's mother that this child had no future with me. He was young; he could find a new place in life without the burden of a mother to look after, particularly one with such poor luck and with such potential for wrecking lives given who I really was, a God with the power to cause such destruction and potentially with so many enemies. It broke my heart to put him up for adoption, but I knew I had to. I never saw Shiro again."

"Do you think he was adopted?"

"I don't know. Back then, in 1967, I asked if I could know simply because it would ease the pain to know that he had found new parents, but in the end, no-one said anything. I hope he didn't just end up abandoned at the care home, but by the time I had recovered I couldn't track him down again. Not even Renamon could, to my sadness. He was lost in the system."

"Aw, that's so sad," Kristy sighed.

"After trying to live alone for a year and failing, I returned to see Seiko and her father again in 1970 when I was forty-one and by then she was eleven. I helped out again, and they were both grateful as it let her father work more to support them. It felt weird being back, but I just wanted to get my mind off things. I watched Seiko grow up, and when she was twenty, which was relatively young for the time, she got pregnant with Rumiko. She gave birth when she was twenty-one, but unfortunately never married the father. They did keep in touch and did live together for a short while, but he contracted cancer and unfortunately died soon afterwards."

Rumiko looked curiously into the conversation, the circumstances prior to her birth rather curious. She already knew about her parents' difficulties, and had acknowledged the irony of how similar (but better in her case) it was compared with her own marriage. Of course, one of the key differences was that her husband hadn't died.

"Seeing Seiko deal with her child despite her young age and the difficult circumstances of my life, and how the child reminded me of my own child I had lost, I decided to try to live alone again. I knew that otherwise I would never find true independence and happiness again. I got a job working in an office as a secretary. By then it was 1981 and I was lacking in any really useful qualifications or experience for that matter so I had to settle for it. I needed to fund my retirement also; I was already fifty-two."

"So how old were you in the end when you retired?" Ryder asked. "Must've been pretty relaxing to do so after your difficult life."

"I didn't retire."

Rey frowned, reaching for her group of papers and lifting them up. "Unfortunately, it's my turn to speak."

Seiko and Rika both looked up to this girl, frowns crossing their faces as they knew what was coming next.

Rey glanced at the sheets, reordering them before putting the newspaper photocopy from the day following the murder that morning at the front. She held it up, a grim and dour grimace across her face. "Naoko was murdered in 1994."

**WOMAN, 65, MURDERED BY ASSAILANT IN MORNING **read the relatively small internal headline.

The words triggered a gasp of surprise through the group, apart from Naoko, or Rika, or whoever she was right now, who simply sat there, frowning in acceptance.

"_Wait…this…no! That's horrible!" _Henry thought, suddenly realising why Rey hadn't told them about this all before.

Rey, from behind the paper, looked out to the group about her, all staring at the object in her hand. She felt so saddened by her revelation, coming right after they'd already heard about the mixed fortunes of the woman.

Trying to hold a blank expression for fear of breaking down, she reached down, retrieving the next day's newspaper article. "That day's, unfortunately, doesn't have much information, but the next day it was front page news.

**GUNMAN LOOSE IN TOKYO - POLICE INEFFECTIVE**

"So she was shot?" Kazu asked, an irritated expression crossing his face as he slammed one fist into a palm. "I'd like to get my hands on that bastard."

"Unfortunately, this is the point where it gets disturbing," Rey said, glancing across to Takato who seemed to be sitting silently, obviously in a deep talk with Chaos.

"_**Oh crap."**_

"_Huh?"_

"_**Well, you know how Rika just remembered a lot of things when she was told all that. Yeah, well, I'm starting to remember stuff too, and, well…you're not going to like it."**_

"There was only one witness to the murder, a police officer who saw two sets of monsters and both the attacker and his victim with sets of wings, before being knocked unconscious."

"Wait…you're not saying that?!" Henry stuttered, the facts quickly adding up in his mind and all of them pointing to a harrowing conclusion.

"Chaos murdered me," Rika explained, heads turning to face a now-sheepish Takato, lowering himself into his sofa-seat again and trying to look inconspicuous, but failing miserably.

"Uh…" was all he could reply, but to be fair, no-one was especially blaming him. However…

"Chaos, how could you?" Jeri argued, while another source of intimidation for the boy-god was the glaring visor-wearing brunette alongside him.

"**Heh…oh come on, you can't blame me. Anyhow, third time lucky and all," **he said, crossing his arms and looking aside indignantly.

"**Third time?" **Harmony asked, cocking an eyebrow at her eternal companion.** "You dropped a nuclear bomb on her and you murdered her, so I count two."**

"**Yeah, well, my car driving skills have improved massively since then."**

"You killed him!" Rika suddenly shrieked, the facts quickly adding up in her mind. She got to her feet, stepping across to strangle the god and finally get the revenge she knew she so desperately needed to cast on him.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE YOU TWO STOP!"

Rika and Takato both froze in their menacing and cowering respectively, all eyes turning to face a girl now breathing quickly and erratically as her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides. Tears of desperation swept down Rey's face.

"I hate you…I hate both of you!" she spat, her voice bursting out in between tears. "All this time, you just murdered each other, again and again. You didn't care who you killed, loved ones, the population of a city…neither of you ever knew when to stop! I HATE YOU!"

Staring at this redhead girl, taken to the brink of her limits and beyond by these revelations.

For the first time in their existence, Chaos and Harmony felt truly guilty for what they had done. But, rather than hell freezing over as could be expected, there was just…silence. A long silence, broken only by Rey's tears and breathing and by the comforting words of Rumiko as she put an arm around her granddaughter.

"Rey, it's okay," she said, Rey's eyes still burning with a desperate fire of anger and sadness as she stared at the source of her hatred.

Henry, trying to keep his mind off the situation at hand, had reached down to the papers Rey had brought with her and was beginning to read, knowing that the girl wouldn't go back to them now. Flicking through, he found death certificates, census data, newspaper articles, but one particular article drew his eye.

**NAOKO GUNMAN SHOT DEAD BY ARMED POLICE YESTERDAY**

"Hmm…" he mumbled, quickly reading through it. He frowned, only a slight bit of reassurance coming from the fact that the gunman had found justice. Terriermon looked over curiously.

"Hey, the day this newspaper was published rings a bell. Isn't that Takato's birthday?"

Henry shook his head. "No, Takato's birthday is the day before."

"Meh, close enough."

The facts took a short while to register in the boy's mind, but when they did, they gave him another shock.

"Wait…the day before, that's when the murder took place. And that's when Chaos died…and…Christ, no!" he exclaimed, beginning to flick through the other papers for the one regarding Naoko's death. His expression of shock widened further, his jaw practically on the floor.

"What's wrong Henry?" Jeri asked, looking over at the boy. Henry looked at her, a look of shock on his face telling her most of what she had to know. He quickly looked across to Chaos and Harmony, both of them unsure how to react given their daughter's crying.

"Chaos, you died on the same day Takato was born."

"**Huh?"** Chaos replied, looking bewildered at first. **"Really?"**

"Yeah, and Harmony, Naoko died on the same day Rika was born."

"Wait, so that's how it works then?" Kenta asked. "One dies and another's born on the same day?"

"**But, if we both died and were then reincarnated on that same day, then that means…"** Harmony began, pausing as the facts began to tally up in her mind. **"Wait, that means that Rika and Takato's similar ages are the result of that murder!"**

"But, if we carry through on that logic…" Mari began, the surprising nature of circumstance suddenly bursting into her mind. "This was always meant to happen."

"Huh?" Suzie mumbled. "What do you mean Mari?"

"Duh! We…" Terriermon interjected, but was promptly interrupted.

"Terriermon!" Henry complained, not liking his partner addressing Suzie as some kind of idiot.

"Henry, I've made a breakthrough. Momentai! We've always have known that Rika and Takato were born on those days, even before we went on our history lesson, which means that those murders happened anyway, which means that…"

"Rey didn't change anything," Ryder finished, the nature of time and events, something he was meant to understand, turning out to be a lot more complex than he thought.

"But…I did. I must have! I saved her!" Rey insisted, Rumiko letting go of her as she stood in the middle of the room, staring at the First Angel with disbelief.

"Yeah, you did, which means that this was always meant to happen," Henry said. "We were _always_ going to go back in time and change things. We just didn't know we were part of history like that."

Rey gripped her temples in frustration, knowing this was wrong. It had to be. She _was_ having an effect on time! She had to be. She was the Angel of Destiny. Otherwise…

"So I can't change things! What the hell am I here for?!"

There was a long silence, Rey looking down to Realmon for an answer she so sorely needed. Had her whole adventure just been one huge misadventure? Was there any point to her travels, travels that had brought so much pain and aged her ahead of her real age, if it just turned out that she was meant to be this way anyway?

"You can't change things in the past," Ryder interrupted the silence, Rey looking across at him. "That's it, that's how the paradox works," he said, things clicking in his mind. "All time travels into the past have already happened; the people who take them are just fitting into their own existence. That's how the grandfather paradox is solved, if you weren't meant to kill your own grandfather, you won't."

"I don't understand a word you're saying here," Mari mumbled, knowing that to most of the group he may as well have been speaking a foreign language.

"That doesn't matter. The point is, we're in the present here, and you travelled from the future. Events now are still happening, and you are still able to change them."

Rey stared at him, the words half registering in her mind and half being little more than gobbledegook to her, but it did make some sense. Indeed, it didn't have to make sense to her, what mattered was that it gave her some hope. Hope that she could prevent that war, hope that she could change the future and save so many lives. That was why she was here.

But all of these words about the nature of time and the inevitability of events still didn't change one thing. Chaos, and, lest anyone were to forget and think she were innocent in this whole matter, Harmony, had both caused so much pain, so much death. Could she ever forgive them?

As Chaos looked towards the girl, staring across at the pair of them with an expression of such sadness, such depression, such harrowed concern, he felt so guilty, and knew what he had to do.

"**Harmony," **he said, turning to face the current incarnation and doing something that surprised everyone in the room. **"I'm sorry."**

Harmony blinked in surprise, bewildered by how someone who had practically always despised her and had tried to kill her many times (and had done so successfully on many an occasion), could now be apologising.

Rey looked over the tense scene with a surprised expression, amazed that Chaos was now reconciling. Oddly, it gave her a splinter of hope, but she knew it would need to be reciprocated else it was worthless.

"**I'm sorry too, for, you know, killing you and those around all those times," **Harmony replied uncomfortably, contemplating how the situation could've been reversed before. She could very well have killed someone that Chaos had loved and who had been his entire world. She knew she couldn't take the higher ground here.

A slim smile graced Rey's face, watching the scene with growing hope in her heart. Sure, those lives could never be brought back, but at least it was clear they felt sorry for it.

"**I still hate you."**

"**Yeah, so do I."**

"Ugh." _"I suppose it was too much to ask that they would be friends now," _Rey thought.

"Hey, look. Here it says that that Chaos guy was a bit of a nut job. Let's see, Jiro Shiro…"

Takato suddenly froze up, the memories coming into his mind quickly of that former life, a harrowing and depressing one.

Fortunately for him, Rika had already been through that. She stood up, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Wake up Takato, just push it all down. It isn't you, got that?"

Takato stopped shaking, and instead looked out at the girl glaring him in the eyes. Both of them had had a set of bad revelations, and they both just needed to push the old memories down and get on with their own lives. They couldn't be expected to be two people at once, well, beyond the fact they already were to some extent even if themselves and Chaos/Harmony had very different personalities.

"Thanks," Takato mumbled, Rika nodding to him. She wasn't about to have Takato turn into, as Terriermon had put it, a "nut job".

"Right, well, as I was saying, he was killed by armed police, but the really funny thing…"

"Terriermon, would that be funny for us or funny for you?"

"Henry, don't interrupt me when I'm telling everyone this! Right, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, Jiro was a psychopath, and he stuck all these images of Naoko on his walls with things like "Kill", "Die", "Screw you Harmony", and, "RIP Dino-Buddy."

"RIP Dino-Buddy?" Kristy asked, bewildered. "What's that about?"

"Takato, is that me?" Guilmon asked, having sat aside to listen to the whole conversation so far but having very little in the way of revelations until Takato had had his just now. "Huh…I think I remember…hey, I was fighting Renamon, that was it!" he said, an odd sense of enthusiasm to the words.

"You sound happy about it," Elecmon noted.

"I am! I remembered something!" Guilmon replied, his tail wagging happily, bringing about a rolling of the eyes from a number of people in the group.

"You look confused dear," Seiko noted to her daughter with a slim smile, the pair having watched over the whole conversation and having shared much of the same surprise and shock.

"It's just a lot to come to terms with," Rumiko replied. "Rika killing Takato and Takato killing Rika, nuclear bombs and time…this is all way over my head I can tell."

"I don't think you're alone in being confused by it. I don't understand a word of what Ryder said about time but it reassured Rey so I'm happy."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

Meanwhile, there was one small mystery still left to be pondered by the only one who had noticed it. "Hmm…" Kenta mumbled, pondering the name he had heard earlier. _"Yuuna…why does that ring a bell?" _he thought, before his mind finally clicked. _"Wait…maybe…maybe that's Sakura's dad or something?"_

He nudged Kazu, wanting to confirm that he wasn't the only one with such a suspicion before he raised the point. "Hey, Kazu," he whispered. "Do you think that this Yuuna guy is related to Sakura at all?"

Kazu looked back, pondering it over before he shook his head and grinned. "Don't be ridiculous Kenta; I think we've had enough coincidences today. How many Yuunas do you think there are in this country?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Hey, Mari, did you find out what time we all have to be at the funeral tomorrow?" Jeri asked, words that particularly attracted DarkBiyomon's attention. They were all going to her funeral.

"At half past ten, so we get the morning off school thanks to Hypnos. I've already rung the Digidestined about it."

"Geez, after all he said yesterday Rayleigh is still friendly enough to do that? I just don't understand that guy," Kazu complained.

"Well, that's the thing," Mari replied, a curious and bewildered expression on her face. "It wasn't Rayleigh, it was Yamaki."

"Didn't he get fired?" Kenta asked.

"Turns out he's been reinstated, and Rayleigh's now the Chief Cabinet Secretary."

"I don't like that guy's thirst for power," Terriermon grumbled, crossing his arms. "Next thing you know he'll be Prime Minister."

"Still, nice to know that we don't have a malevolent bastard in control of Hypnos anymore," Ryder laughed.

"We don't?" Terriermon quipped.

"Oh ha, ha."

"Rika, remember that you have an appointment that afternoon at the hospital," Seiko reminded her granddaughter. Rika nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, both Takato and I here get the whole day off school," she said, waving the honour in Kazu's face rather unceremoniously.

"I hope everything is alright," Takato whispered to her. She nodded, placing her hand on her belly.

"Me too," she replied, having booked the appointment to ensure the previous day hadn't put too much stress on the child within her.

Ryder looked to Mari, the latter nodding in agreement. "Mrs Hata…" Ryder began. "I booked an appointment with Dr Imai to see if my legs have completely healed, and plus, I think she'll want to see what happened. So could you maybe give Mari and me a lift to the hospital too?"

"Sure," Rumiko replied, nodding.

"I bet Mrs Asagi blows a fit when she sees how empty her class is tomorrow," Kazu laughed.

"Yeah, the difference is, this time we've got an excuse," Jeri replied with a smile.

"You all seem remarkably eager to skip school," Seiko grumbled, before looking down to DarkBiyomon with a smile. "But we do have to honour her memory," she added, the bird nodding and smiling.

"_Even if she did turn on them," _she sadly thought, frowning.

* * *

_**Souta Residence, Bunkyō Ward**_

_**20:20 JST**_

"No way," Dracmon huffed. "I'm a free Digimon; I ain't being tied down to no stupid kid and his mother. What do you think I am, a pet?"

"No, but…we're partners."

"Only according to that stupid device and no-one tells me what to do."

"But, where do you plan to go?"

"I'm sure there's some way back to the Digital World."

"Yeah, but what happens there?"

"Meh. Same thing that always happens, daily struggle with death."

"Wait, so how's that better than this?"

"I don't get told what to do there."

"You're assuming you _can _get home, aren't you?"

"Huh? What are you implying?"

"If it were that easy I'm sure the Tamers wouldn't have to delete so many Digimon."

"Yeah, well, maybe they're just a bit trigger-happy. Or stupid."

"Face it, you're stuck here Dracmon."

"Stuck here?! Pah, don't be mad."

"Don't you want food?"

"I'm sure I can get food out there easily."

"Yeah, but would it be as nice as my mother's stuff?"

"Meh, I'm not a fussy eater."

"If the police or authorities catch you, you do realise that you won't be fed at all?"

"Yeah, I know, but here's the thing: I ain't letting them capture me."

"But, I can ensure you don't. Seriously, why don't you want to stay?"

"Because I'm free to roam this world however and whenever I want?"

"The cold, brutal, starving world."

"Meh, everywhere has its foibles."

"You're not telling me that absolutely nothing about the idea of free food, shelter and companionship appeals to you?"

"The first two maybe, but not the last one. Yuck, I'm not being part of your stupid lovey-dovey club, and nothing will make me change my mind."

"Not even Digivolution and all the battles we can find?"

"Hmm…"

"Please."

"Ugh, kid, you're unbelievable. What happened to your goody-two-shoes idea of a nice life?"

"Who said that was my idea of a good life?"

"Heh, like a bit of destruction do you? I have to say, blowing that big metal thing to smithereens was fun, but I'm betting you won't let me do that every day."

"God no, I'd get in enough trouble from that alone if I were found out. Still, I can't believe you're passing up the idea of free food. Digital Watch made you all sound like bottomless pits."

"Yeah, well we're not all fat asses. Talk about sweeping statements."

"Well, then let me get to know you then. Come on, I think you're really cool and even if you have a bit of an attitude problem I'm willing to work on it."

"Aw, how cutesy. I hate cutesy."

"Ugh, what would make you stay?"

"Let me be here but not be part of your stupid lovey-dovey club, and help me digivolve."

"Deal. Or, at least, if you do something first."

"Hey, I didn't agree to terms like that."

"I just want you to apologise to my mother."

"Huh? Geez kid, why?!"

"You insulted her food."

"Really? When? I loved it."

"Then just pretend to apologise."

"Now _that_ I can do."

Kohaku breathed a sigh of relief, thankful his "negotiations" were over, even if he knew that Dracmon's forthcoming apology to his mother would be an empty one. At least this meant he could keep the Digimon, and that meant that his life would change forever from now on. Be forever cooler, be forever more heroic, be forever more exciting.

If only he knew.

* * *

_**Stevens and Flynn Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**20:29 JST**_

The lights of the apartment flicked on as a hand pressed down onto the switch, the front door swinging open to reveal a pair of teenagers. Thanks to one of them being non-alcoholic and both of them having been to something that wasn't really worth celebrating, however, neither were as drunk as would normally be expected from a pair of teenagers coming home in the evening.

Instead, some bitter feelings hung in the air between them, all thanks to another teenager who, true to form, was absent.

"God, it's bloody freezing in here," Ryder shivered, quickly wandering across to the thermostat in the boiler cupboard, adjusting it upwards. Mari watched, putting her black jacket onto a hook, before walking towards the sofa, MiniDonmon fluttering over to land on one of the kitchen surfaces while DarkRenamon stepped into the darkness of the room.

A dour frown on his face, Ryder stepped back, closing the door to the cupboard and frowning as he looked across to Mari, the girl sighing as she fell down on the couch, lying facing away from him. "You okay?"

"…yeah," she replied, her voice a sigh.

"You seem pretty agitated," he noted as he walked over towards the kitchen, stopping only to drop off his own black coat. She rolled her eyes, tilting her head back to watch as he did so. She frowned at his now upside-down form from her point of view.

"It's nothing Ryder."

"Oh, okay," he replied, reaching into the fridge and pulling forth a bottle of cola. He placed it on the counter, watching up a glass from the sink while the silence continued to hang in the room, the drops of water tapping against the bottom of the basin the only thing that dared break the silence at first, followed by a hiss as the soft drink bottle opened and a washing noise as it poured down into its newfound container.

The boy bit his lip. What could he do? Mari had gone from looking ready to bite his head off to being reserved, staying silent and inclusive. Maybe Chaos and Harmony's arguments and their aftermath had struck a chord; maybe she didn't want to go in all guns blazing anymore whenever something like this happened? Either way, she still seemed affected by the day's earlier events.

He stopped again, letting the creamy foam rise up the glass before topping it up to near the top and returning the bottle to its rightful place in the fridge. He reached for the glass, but paused, reaching into his pocket and dumping his mobile on the top.

Picking up the glass, he wandered across the room to the pair of couches either side of the coffee table. Testing Mari's reaction, he dropped the keys down on the surface and placed the glass down sans-coaster. She glanced to it, before blanking him again as she continued to stare up at the ceiling.

He frowned, sitting up and reaching for the glass. He put it to his lips, drinking it down to the level where he knew it wouldn't spill so easily. He pulled it away, holding it near his lips periodically.

"You're mad at me," he said, before placing the glass down, promptly putting a coaster underneath beforehand. She looked to him, her eyes analysing his movements while she tried to suppress the urge to tell him to stick the keys on the top. He knew she hated when he did that, so why was he doing it now?

She crossed her arms, not giving him the satisfaction of a complaint, something he evidently wanted to clear the silence. "You're observant."

"Can we talk then?" he asked, his tone breaking from the calmness it had displayed up until now. "I mean, I didn't really do anything."

"Hmph," she mumbled, before sighing and breaking from her act as well. She sat up, swivelling round to face him. "Yeah, I know…I thought about it a lot, and I'm not really that mad at you anymore."

"So what are you mad about then?"

"I don't want to say," Mari replied, grimacing.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll only get irritated at me."

"I promise not to."

"I hate Ivy," she sighed, bitter tones to her words and her mouth a thin line. Her eyebrows ran straight, as a thumb coursed across its corresponding middle finger.

A silence fell as Mari watched for Ryder's reaction. In all truth, the rather blunt way she had said it was surprising him far more than the content of her words. "Hmm…I can't say I'm surprised," he sighed, taking a sip from his drink again. This was going to be a long evening.

Once the floodgates had opened, however, Mari decided it was time to let it all out. "I mean, what the hell? She spends all this time trying to contact you, doesn't she realise how she's going to wreck what we have by doing so? Uncaring bitch," she muttered, looking aside and not wanting to see his reaction.

Ryder's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the harsh words, before loosening as he exhaled through his nose, and then sighed. His mind cottoning onto an inconsistency in the situation, he raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't believe them."

"Huh?" Mari asked, her expression collapsing from bitterness into mere confusion. What on earth did Ryder mean?

"Uh…her appearances in this world, I mean. Earlier you denied them but does this mean you think they're real now?"

Mari paused, pondering the issue and finding herself not particularly sure what she thought on the matter. She couldn't tell if it was her just being a cynic that made her doubt the reality of that glimpse of Ivy, or if it were her hope that it wasn't real, that she had nothing to be worried about here. Hope which ignored reality.

Her eyebrows tightening in irritation, not wanting to answer his question directly. However, she then realised something, something far more important. "Does it matter if they are or aren't? The messages she's sent you are more than enough to make me think she wants to come here."

"But, you know I wouldn't leave you if I she came here," Ryder replied, knowing that that was Mari's real concern here. His expression turned to pleading, trying to get the truth of the matter through to Mari. "Mari…I love you so much…I do…" he said, his pleading intensifying when he saw Mari roll her eyes. "Really!"

"Yeah, sure…" she said, her voice cynical and sarcastic. "Like her innocent smile and golden locks aren't going to turn you. Don't kid around with me Ryder, we both know that you're obsessed with her. That's what crushes are all about, endless obsession that makes you ignore all else," she said, her words bitter.

"But crushes like that are so feeble and pathetic, I realise that now."

"So what, it's not going to change how you act about it all."

"Mari, please, listen to me. I love you so much, I really do…I don't know how to put it any other way than that. Why don't you believe me?"

Mari sighed, a saddened expression on her face as she felt the distant call of tears in her ducts. A grim chuckle escaped her lips. "I know you love me Ryder, I've got that loud and clear by now. You died for me and you seem to do anything for me at the drop of the hat. But, I don't think that's love any more Ryder…I think that's guilt."

"Guilt? What do you mean?"

"You know that you're one day going to have to make a decision between her and I, and I know you feel guilty that you might decide to leave me and this whole world behind."

"But, I won't."

"You still want to go home though."

Ryder hesitated. "No."

Mari continued on as if he had answered yes. His hesitation was enough to tell her that was what he was going to say. "You're stuck then. You have to choose between me and this world, a world threatened for disaster and doom and the loss of everything not least thanks to this whole war that Rey always talks about, or your world and your whole family, where you'll have a girlfriend who clearly loves you deeply anyway and live a great and happy life. How on earth can you choose this world over that?"

"I…I want to choose this world because I love you."

"How much do you love me? Is it really enough to keep you here even when the fires of hell are razing this world to the ground?"

"_I swear this is one of those trap questions that precedes a shopping spree. Apart from the fires of hell bit." _"Yeah, it is."

"Then you're an even bigger idiot than Kazu is," she muttered, averting her eyes in a mix of sadness and irritation.

Ryder's expression turned to one of surprise, not expecting her answer. "Excuse me?"

"Ryder, just like you feel guilty leaving me here, I feel guilty trapping you here," Mari replied, her eyes full with sincerity. "I don't want to ruin your life."

"But you're not. You really aren't, you don't have to feel guilty for that."

"Why do you fight for me like this Ryder? I'm not even that special. I'm a broken girl with dead parents and a quick temper. There's no hope for me…you should've left by now."

"Don't say that!"

"But it's true. Why on earth do you stay with me when there's another girl practically begging for you to be with her? What makes me better than her?"

"Mari, I love you because I've lost count of the number of times you've told me to shut up."

Mari gave an incredulous expression, mentally nominating what he had said for the award of most moronic thing ever said. "Huh? I fail to see how on earth _that_ makes me better than Ivy."

"Because I _need_ someone to tell me when to shut up, or to think straight, or to bring myself back down to reality, all things I so sorely need. I need someone to keep me in check. I need someone who's not just going to sit by and tolerate my crap, someone who's always independent and short-fused, someone who's more than a match for me, and, well…" he said, nervously smiling and looking down at the floor in a bashful manner. "…really really attractive."

Mari gave him a bewildered look, not really sure whether to thank him for the compliments or be angry at him for the other stuff that seemed more like insults. "Thanks…I think."

"It's true though. Mari, before I met you, I wouldn't have the confidence to ask anyone out, let alone you or Ivy. And then, as unexpected as it was, you entered my life and suddenly there was this amazing girl in my life every day, to help, be helped by, to care for, to love, everything, the most amazing girlfriend ever…uh, not that I have much experience with girlfriends."

"Thanks, but…I don't understand you…if you really do appreciate and love me that much...why do you always seem to look forward to Ivy coming here?"

"For starters, I don't look forward to her coming here," Ryder said, shaking his head and frowning. "I don't want my life right now just bulldozed away like that…but…at the same time, Ivy and I are friends, and I respect and am glad for our friendship. I have so few ties to my world right now that I can't afford to break any. You know what I mean?

"Yeah, I suppose I do."

Ryder chuckled quietly, as an amusing idea came to his mind. "Listen, as much as you seem to hate each other right now, I'm sure you'd like each other too if you were to meet. Of course, I'd probably be the one who all the jokes would be at the expense at but still…" he laughed, Mari giving a slim smile which was clearly a fake one too. Evidently, she wasn't in enough on the joke to find it funny.

Noting her reaction, he decided to avoid any further jokes right now and just get back to the topic at hand.

"Listen, Mari…I love you, so much, but Ivy's my friend too, and if there's anything I've learnt over the past year that's stuck with me it's how important it is to maintain good friendships and not just let them get destroyed through misunderstandings and negative emotions."

Mari frowned, sadly looking down at the table. "Yeah, I know, and I know what you're saying about all this friendship stuff and I agree…but…I still can't get rid of the impression that I'm just going to be swept aside if and when she arrives."

"Listen, Mari, I promise you here and now that I won't," he replied. "I want to stay with you, because you're…you're…perfect."

Mari laughed in disbelief, complete bewilderment coursing across her face as her eyebrows lined up across the top.

"Mari, I'm really being honest here."

Mari laughed again, "Perfect? I just spent the last few hours being mad at you for something I'll admit isn't your fault, and I sat on you. How on earth is that perfect?"

"Perfect for me," Ryder replied, the same look of calm seriousness in his eyes that he had worn for most of the conversation. "Which I'm guessing you probably think is imperfect then?"

"Yeah…guess so. But…really?"

"Mari, I'm being honest here. I'll always be honest with you," he said, before a guilty look crossed his face and he shied away. "Well, as much as I can be," he sighed deeply.

"Yeah, and I appreciate that so much but…I really wish I knew what it was you couldn't tell. With you here, to help me through whatever my reaction would be, how could anything be that bad?"

"I'm sorry but…"

"I promise I won't be shocked. Please, tell me."

"Mari, if I could tell you I would," Ryder said, his words carrying a bitterness to them beyond measure. He closed his eyes, sighing and running a hand through his brown scruffy hair. "Ugh…I hate the way things are."

"What?" Mari asked, a look of surprise in her eyes replacing her concerned gaze she had had after seeing his reaction.

"Sorry, I don't mean with you," Ryder quickly restated, holding his hands up defensively. Mari breathed a light sigh of relief. "It's just, I've thought so many times about telling you. Really, I have but…I just can't. I really can't do that to you."

"Oh."

"It's like…imagine you're a tax collector."

"This sounds like a boring analogy."

"Just hear me out," Ryder replied, smiling a slim smile. "Right, now imagine you're investigating old tax records of a billionaire who donates huge amounts of money to charity on a yearly basis. You find that one year long ago, perhaps when he was a lot more dishonest, he evaded his taxes. If you get found out to not report such a matter, you risk your job, but you could get a promotion and a bonus for yourself. Do you blow the whistle on him?"

"Hmm…if I blow the whistle, I secure my job and get a promotion, but the charities suffer and people get hurt. If I don't, I risk losing my job and I stay stuck in the same job for an eternity probably, but my conscience is clean, at least morally. That's a tough moral dilemma there."

"That's the same kind of situation I'm in. And I've decided that I'm not going to tell, because if I do people are going to get badly hurt."

"How can simple words do so much damage though?"

"The Doctor once said that the words "don't you think the leader looks tired" can bring down an entire government."

"You're quoting a TV show?"

"Heh, yeah. But, you see what I mean?"

"I guess so. But, I wouldn't tell, and I wouldn't let it affect me. I promise."

Ryder stared into Mari's eager eyes across the coffee table, the girl so desperately wanting to know this secret which was being kept from her. He frowned, looking down at the glass surface and the carpet below. "Sorry."

Her expression faltered, and a mumbled "oh" made Ryder only feel guiltier.

"If it helps, it's partly because I'm not even sure on everything myself yet."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, what I know could be completely wrong."

"Then why don't you tell?"

"Huh?"

"If it could be wrong, then why can't you tell me? That way, I would still have peace of mind at night knowing you could have got everything wrong and everything is really alright."

"It's not as simple as that. The thing that I know that's definitely true is the bit of it all that would ruin your life."

"Oh…but…you manage to live with it fine, so why couldn't I?"

"There's the problem, this truth only affects me indirectly."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't say."

"Oh," Mari uttered, looking down sadly again at the coffee table.

"Listen, I know I can't be honest with this unfortunately, so instead I'm going to be honest with you with everything else as much as I can. So, I have a confession to make, even though every time I'm honest it seems to blow up in my face."

"Yeah, I've noticed…but what is this confession about?" Mari asked, bewilderment and concern in her eyes as she looked up to him again.

"First of all," Ryder said, the pair continually locking eyes across the table apart from when it became uncomfortable for one or both of them to look each other in the eyes. "I need you to promise that you won't get mad, at least not before you've heard everything."

"Why? What happened?" Mari asked, worry becoming entrenched in her gaze.

"Promise?" Ryder asked, looking deep into her eyes as she looked deep into his, each trying to work out what the other really meant and what they were going to do.

"Yeah, okay," Mari sighed, nodding in agreement but only feeling more fearful about what Ryder could possibly be about to confess.

"Right, you know how I died again?"

"How could I forget?" Mari replied, a grim frown on her face.

"Yeah, well…remember the last time I went through all this death and coma stuff, I had all those visions of home."

"Yeah, I remember that very…wait…you're not saying that?"

Ryder frowned, nodding to confirm her suspicions, ones that surprised her greatly, as he "admitted" the truth. "Yeah…I saw home again," he said, before casting a confused gaze upwards at the ceiling. "Only, this time, it was a bit weird."

"Huh? What do you mean? In what way?"

"Well, for starters…in this world, wherever it was, please don't be mad…"

"I promised I'd hear you out, don't worry," Mari replied with a warm smile.

"Ivy was my girlfriend," Ryder said, closing his eyes and crossing his fingers.

Mari was about to react, but she restrained herself. "Sorry," she muttered as she sighed.

"It's okay; I didn't expect you to react any other way."

Mari gave a look of irritation, forcing Ryder to laugh nervously as he reiterated his statement.

"That came out wrong. I knew that you _could_ react that way."

Mari quickly forgave him, nodding to prompt him to "Continue."

"Well, you see the thing is, I couldn't quite put my finger on it when I was there, but there was something weird about that world, even compared to last time.

"In what way?"

"I didn't really feel in full control of myself this time. I mean, last time I was surprised about what was going on but I was still acting out things myself, most of the time at least, and when I wasn't I was just replaying memories in my mind."

"So what was it like this time round then?"

"I suppose it was like…like there were two people there, me and, well, another me."

"Wait, you mean kinda like Rika and Naoko today?"

"Yeah…yeah, actually, that's a pretty good comparison, thanks."

"So, come on, tell me, what actually happened in this weird world?"

"I woke up on Ivy's lap."

"That's weird enough to start with."

"Yeah. I got the impression this particular version of me was a bit of a narcoleptic. At the end, I think I fell asleep too. Ivy must've been so sick of me."

"Must've come as a surprise to have her waking you up."

"Yeah, although I get the impression that she had a fair bit of difficulty doing so. Turns out that I was a bit of a Sleeping Beauty."

"So she kissed you to wake you up then?"

"No, although that would've been interesting. Oh, and despite that I'm unfortunately still going to have to confirm your worries: we both kissed a lot."

"Oh."

"But, we were boyfriend and girlfriend, so you can't be too surprised, can you?" _"Please," _Ryder mentally pleaded.

"Yeah, I know, don't worry…did it feel real?"

"Huh?"

"Did it feel like her? Did it feel like it did last time?"

Ryder wasn't sure whether the truth would bring a bad or a good reaction from his real life girlfriend. "…yes?"

"Hmm…so that place does seem a lot more like your world," she noted, her voice very serious and calm. "Does she kiss better than me?" she asked, completely throwing Ryder off guard after he thought he'd got away with this particular part of the truth.

"I don't know."

"How don't you know? Which did you feel better in doing?"

"You both kiss completely differently! I'm not a girl; I don't know how to compare these things."

Mari laughed, chuckling to herself as she shook her head jokingly. "I know, fine. I love how you react."

"Oh, so you do enjoy the torture?"

"Only because you bring it upon yourself to the extent where even the slightest thing drives you into a cold sweat."

"Oh thanks," Ryder said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Mari replied in a forced cheerful voice. She smiled widely. "You do seem to enjoy the torture. Ugh, I do hope you're not like that, that'd just be disturbing," she muttered, looking heavenwards and rolling her eyes.

Ryder's eyes widened in surprise, and he blinked twice, before promptly casting the subject away when he decided that the torture had to stop before he went nuts.

"…so, anyway, masochistic suspicions aside…I woke up with my head on her lap and everything seemed so…calm. It seemed so different to what I had been doing before, but for the life of me I couldn't completely remember the battle I had been fighting."

"That's weird."

"Yeah, and she seemed so…angelic. It was kind of like a dream, but at the same time, it felt unbelievably real."

"Angelic?"

"Well, I did wake up on the lap of a smiling young girl wearing all white with long blonde hair; you can't blame me for making the comparison."

"Yeah, guess so."

"Still, I think I got her irritated by endlessly saying sappy stuff."

"I can imagine. Oh, "beautiful", "come here beautiful", "oh Ivy, where art thou," Mari said mockingly.

"Heh, yeah," Ryder said, sweatdropping in embarrassment. This conversation was taking a distinctly downwards turn. He wished he'd made her promise not to make jokes as well as not to be angry. "Still, as unsure on reality as I was, it was nice to see her again."

"I bet it was," Mari replied, rolling her eyes to show he had said the completely wrong thing given the situation.

"Well, as much as I know it is going to get me in the doghouse to say it, it was just really fun spending time with her again and not having to constantly worry about being killed or Demons or anything. Granted, that was because I had forgotten pretty much everything like that at the time, but still, you get what I mean."

"Oh, thanks, so we don't have fun when we spend time together."

"No, we do, it's just…ugh…listen, when the park's reopened, how about we just go there and lay on the grass for the whole day sometime, just you and me laying there and nattering to each other, okay?"

"What, Shinjuku Park, in the middle of the city, full of children and Tamers and people?"

"Uh, yeah, I do see your point; it's not the most ideal place. Alright, then we'll go to another park, just to relax and get away from it all."

"Ryder, where did this idea of lying down on the grass come from?" Mari inquired, tilting her head suspiciously.

Ryder frowned, admitting what he hadn't said about the origins of this supposedly fantastic idea. "Okay, Ivy and I…may have gone up to Wimbledon Common and lay on the grass too, but it's still a good idea and I don't want to treat you two any differently. Oh, apart from that fact that you're my girlfriend and she's a crush from the past who you hate so I should therefore be treating you…"

"Ryder, shut up."

After a brief look of surprise and worry, a grin crossed their faces in amusement at the in-joke.

"Done rambling?" she asked, smiling further when he nodded. "Good. Continue."

"Yeah, so, we went up onto Wimbledon Common and we lay on the grass, just relaxing and chatting about stuff. Everything seemed perfect, but the whole time I always felt something was weird," he said, a look of unease on his face as he went through his memories, inadvertently happening across something else in the process. "Wait…also…I remember now, we were talking about you too."

"About me?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow in surprise. Did Ryder just have a habit of telling every girl he liked about every other girl he liked or something? Did Ryder have a death wish, for that matter? She pondered whether those two questions were one and the same.

"Yeah. We talked about what you looked like, your taste in fashion, your measure…uh…"

Mari's expression faltered into one of interrogation. "What were you going to say Ryder?"

"Nothing," he insisted, trying to look innocent but failing miserably.

"My measurements, huh?" Mari answered for him. She got to her feet, put her hands on her slim hips and gave him an irritated eye as she tilted her head, the boy desperately trying not to move his gaze downwards from her eyes. He didn't want to make the situation a hundred times worse by doing so, even if she was now towering over him in a rather provocative pose. "When exactly have you been taking these measurements?" she asked, taking a glance down at her body just to make him even closer to having a mental breakdown. Or a nosebleed.

In reality, Ryder wasn't sure whether his girlfriend was taking pride in turning him through a hundred shades of red or not. Given his experience of girls, he wouldn't have put it past her.

"I haven't, honest!"

"Then what did she ask?" she asked, her pose still confrontational as she stayed on her feet.

"She…she sort of asked how big your breasts were and how large you were compared to her," he said, cursing himself for glancing down at those particulars as he said so. Her more formal clothing did little to cease the knowledge that he would be taken as a pervert in what he was doing, particularly thanks to how she had undone the top few buttons on her black and grey checked blouse, unfortunately revealing even more for him to be called out on if caught looking, albeit he could always pretend he were looking at her number "2" pendant if caught. That particular idea, however, was little subsidy. _"For the love of God, kill me now! Oh yeah, great, almost forgot, it's highly likely I can't die. Thanks a bloody lot God!"_

"Oh lovely, I hope you told her to f…wait, hold on…didn't I ask you the same questions before?" Mari said, changing her direction mid-sentence as she recalled a conversation between them not long ago.

"Yeah. Is that all you girls think about?"

"Not always, only when we're in competition with each other," she replied, a smirk on her face of amusement as she jokingly clenched a fist, something which only unnerved him further.

"_Why do I feel like I'm in a nature documentary? Or a social experiment? Or a loony bin?"_

"So how did you answer? How do I compare to her? In breasts and size, that is," she asked, gesturing to those particulars with one hand and giving conclusive evidence to his "social experiment" theory, before placing her hand back on her hip. Did everyone enjoy tormenting him like this or was it just girls?

"Uh…smaller in both categories?" he offered as his final answer, taking a brief glance over her form, still in the black and grey checked blouse, black skirt and tight-less legs she had had that morning, a morning which seemed so distant and foreign right now. At least it was safer, even if there was a bird wanting to carry out her revenge on him. _"Wait, no, it's exactly the same now then," _he thought, chuckling at what he thought could be his last ever joke. And an awful one it was too based on a terrible pun. _"Wonderful."_

"Okay, now you've left me unsure whether to punish or praise you," she complained, leaning forward and intimidating him further despite the fact he knew she had the coffee table in the way of any quick punishment. Whether it'd give enough time for him to escape, however, was another matter, but unfortunate experience the previous day told him that was unlikely. Indeed, if she really wanted him dead, she would've shot him with ease. Somehow, that gave him confidence that she was just toying around with him and didn't mean any real physical harm. Permanent mental trauma, on the other hand, was still a risk he knew he had to avoid.

"Does the fact I said you were prettier than her until I realised I was saying the wrong thing help with your decision at all?"

"In the case of a stalemate, it will be considered as evidence," she said, a tinge of amusement laced in with her seriousness as she folded her arms across her chest, a move that Ryder pondered the significance of after his previous questions about her chest size.

He quickly decided he'd had enough of psychoanalysing for one day, and was deeply thankful as she fell back down into her seat. Sure, when he was older he might have enjoyed a situation like that a bit more, but right now it was just being used as a weapon, one that the whole of human invention had found no permanent and painless solution to.

"So, what about fashion?"

"What about it?"

"What did you say I liked in terms of fashion?"

"Uh…those tops that are cut off and show the midriff…"

"Crop tops?"

"Ah, yeah, finally, that's it. I couldn't remember back then."

"What else?" she asked, rolling her eyes at his complete inability with fashion. She knew she would have to get him a new outfit soon enough given how, once again, his old outfit had been destroyed in battle.

"Jeans and trainers, with your hair hung loose."

"So what does she like then in terms of fashion?"

"Well, she wore a white dress with a black big cloth thingy around her waist."

"A cummerbund Ryder, a cummerbund. Unless it was a belt?"

"No, it was definitely a cummerbund."

"Okay, so what else besides that?"

"Black tights," Ryder said, dearly hoping Mari wouldn't ask about the close attention he evidently paid to such a thing.

"Speaking of which, we really need to get you a new outfit," she instead said, throwing him for a loop in an entirely different way.

"_Okay, what the hell? How did she get from tights to my outfit? I hope she's not implying something."_ "Uh-huh."

"So, what else did you say about me?"

"Uh…that you were nice and that you are really attractive and that you were my perfect girlfriend."

"Your perfect girlfriend? Come on Ryder, I know you think I'm great but I've already told you, I'm not perfect."

"But I kept saying you were, and…well, also that you were my dream girl too."

"Okay, you're turning into Takato now so please make this next sentence a lot clearer," Mari said with a confused expression.

"It's funny, Ivy said a similar thing," Ryder noted, before noticing Mari's rather irritated expression after that comment. He hurriedly continued. "And, well, what I mean is that, I thought this whole world was just a dream I had before I woke up on her lap. Meeting you, fighting all those battles, everything."

"Geez, that's just stupid. It's that world that's the dream, not this one."

"…yeah."

"So, after all this talking of me and how I was your perfect girlfriend, you have to tell me something and I don't care how bitchy it sounds…did she get jealous?" she asked, a disturbing eagerness in her voice to find out.

"Of course."

There was an odd smile, perhaps one of pride, on Mari's face as she heard that and savoured the idea. Ryder rolled his eyes. Sometimes, he wondered if the fairer sex were an entirely different species, one that preferred solving their arguments subtly and in far more painful methods in the long run than how guys would be more likely to just fight, get hurt, go to hospital and then return to being either mates or enemies.

"So, I'm curious still, do you think this was real this time just like it was before?" she asked.

"Yes…and no."

"Well, you're helpful."

"Heh," Ryder chuckled, glancing aside to the large windows and the city beyond. His mind began once again musing over the theory he had concocted throughout the day. He looked back to her, a frown on his face before he answered. "I think it was her, and it was real, but that wasn't my home."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her curiosity plagued by this sudden turn in the conversation. Did he know more about what was going on than he had told her? Did this have to do with his secret? She hoped it did, every clue to it counted.

"If that was my world, then what happened to all that funeral stuff? If that was my world, then why is Ivy coming here still? And if that was my world, then why did everything in it feel so…wrong?"

"Huh? Wrong?"

"Yeah. No-one acted right, everyone acted like nothing had ever happened, including me. MiniDonmon especially, you were a big giveaway," Ryder explained, looking up to his partner as the bat fluttered over from his watching position nearby to land on the seat back, thankful he wasn't being scolded for listening into every single word so far. He tilted himself relative to the sofa.

"I was?"

"Yeah. You hadn't matured; you still acted a bit childish."

"Oh thanks," MiniDonmon complained, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

Mari looked puzzled still. "So, I still don't understand. If it wasn't here, and it wasn't there, where do you think it was then?"

"I think it was a third universe," Ryder explained, finally revealing his big theory about everything.

"A…third universe?"

"Yeah. You know, one that isn't these two universes…"

"I know my ordinal numbers Ryder."

"Yeah, but this is the interesting bit. This third universe is parallel to my home world, different in only one way. It's a universe that I never left."

"So that would explain the whole girlfriend stuff?"

"Yeah. Maybe, maybe if I never left, Ivy and I were going to end up together."

"Oh, thanks, that doesn't make me feel even guiltier," Mari huffed, frowning sadly. Ryder just seemed to be on a roll tonight when it came to saying the wrong things.

"Uh, I didn't mean it like that."

"But I know exactly what you did mean Ryder. Anyway, how did you even get to this stupid world?" she asked, her voice harsh and saddened.

"I really don't know."

"Ugh…if your theory is true, then that's just one more thing I don't understand. Great," she complained, sighing and looking down at the table before resting her elbows on it, placing her head on her palms above and over her eyes. This was just getting to be too much, what happened to a normal life?

Seeing her like this broke his heart, and this was the very reason why he knew he couldn't tell her. This is how she, this is how anyone, would react to this, and god-only-knew how badly she would react to the whole truth. He knew he had to comfort her.

He frowned, standing up and wandering around to sit next to her, now sure that such a move wouldn't bring ill, death or any other punishment that could be worse. They'd got past the anger, and the irritation, and back into the calm and loving yet highly disturbing chatting.

He gently put his arm round her, placing his hand on her checked black and grey bloused hip as he lifted her back up to be seated again. He pulled her close to him, noticing her frustrated expression. "Come on, you think I understand all this either?" he comforted.

"You seem to know more about it than I do," she said, her eyes closed as she leaned against his neck, his arm still about her. Her eyebrows were coursed up, trying to relax but becoming more and more tensed by the stress of everything.

"That's only because I spend so much time thinking this stuff through I drive myself mad in doing so," Ryder laughed, continuing to hold her close.

"Sounds like you need to relax," she said, slipping her arm around him to match as her tone lightened somewhat, a slim smile beginning to appear on her face as the situation felt somewhat comforting to her.

"Yeah, I do. I naturally won't, of course, but ah well."

"So, any other wild theories you have?" she asked, finally reopening her eyes and looking up into his. "I'm sure if we ring these all together we could make a science fiction series," she said, her tone becoming happier with every word as she relaxed.

"Heh, we'd make a fortune."

"Ryder Stevens' Fantastical World of Crap," Mari suggested, smirking with an odd and unfortunate level of enthusiasm about the joke as she waved her arm across in front of them, gesturing as if to magic up a title logo in thin air. She looked to him in amusement for his reaction.

"Up until the last word that title sounded pretty cool," Ryder laughed.

"Yeah, I'd watch that," MiniDonmon agreed from across the room.

Mari shook her head in a mix of amusement and disbelief at the Tamer and his partner, sighing. "Ugh, it was a joke. Seriously, where on earth would we start with something like that?"

"Lots of money would help."

"Nah, I'll just call Jimmy Savile," Ryder laughed, getting only silence from his two companions as his laughter continued uncomfortably. He stopped, looking at the other two in bewilderment.

"Who's that?" Mari asked, bewildered by his random reference. Even MiniDonmon hadn't a clue what he was talking about.

"British entertainer, did this program where…look, never mind."

Mari rolled her eyes in amusement at how Ryder could forget her origins despite her clear accent and behaviour.

"Alright then, what television shows and culture references do you have then?"

"Well, there's the X-Files."

"Can't beat Doctor Who."

"Robert Ludlum and Bourne."

"Ian Fleming and Bond."

"Mickey Mouse."

"Thomas the Tank Engine."

"Don't we own him now?"

"Okay, now it's getting personal," Ryder said with a grin, gripping Mari more tightly around her back in a jokey fashion.

"America's better," she replied, doing likewise as she pulled off a wider grin.

"Oh come on, Britain's my home, of course it's better."

"Your home? It must be worse then."

"Oh ha ha very funny."

"Well, it is just a tiny island with no empire any more, and plus, it's full of tea-drinking nutters with bad teeth."

"As opposed to a huge country, in several definitions of the word "huge", that barely looks beyond its borders and when it does it thinks that Hungary is the capital of France."

"What's the state capital of Minnesota?"

"Uh…um…M?"

"Well done Ryder, you've proved that it's not only Americans who don't know much about places outside of their home count…"

"Wait a sec," Ryder interrupted, pausing in their comic argument and raising a finger. Mari was about to object to being so rudely interrupted, but it turned out he was talking about something completely different to the subject at hand. "Home? Ring? Science fiction? Where on earth? Britain? Call?"

"Are you just naming random things that we've said in this conversation?"

"Yeah, but it's all linked, because I just remembered something extremely important that happened today."

"Huh?" Mari mumbled, watching as Ryder practically leapt to his feet, forcing her to let go of him quickly to let him rush across the room. "Remembered what?"

"The phone call this morning of course!" he exclaimed, an odd look of enthusiasm on his face as he turned to face her bewildered façade. "I think I can get some answers with this," he added, picking up the handset.

"The phone call? Wait, was that the one you asked me for the last caller lookup about?"

"The very same," Ryder said, falling back onto the couch with the phone in hand. He began dialling the number, a grin permanently on his face.

She put her arm around his waist, leaning over to look down to the phone display, and being surprised in the process. "You remember it off by heart?"

"Unfortunately so," Ryder replied, frowning once he had put in the whole number. He paused, looking to her sadly as his enthusiasm dampened. "You see, when that phone rang…well, you're not going to like me for this…but…it was Ivy."

"Ivy?" Mari said, her eyes widening in surprise and irritation flooding into her mind as she sat up straight again, her arm coming away from his back and worrying him. Hadn't they finished discussing that for today? Did everything have to be about her? Why was she endlessly trying to contact him? Couldn't she let up just for one day?

He nodded in response, a nervous frown on his face at what her reaction would be. To his relief, she suppressed her jealousy and feelings of annoyance, before prompting him to continue explaining.

"What did she say?" she asked, frowning at him.

"Just…"hello," and then, if you recall, I dropped the phone."

"Well done."

"Thanks."

"So what number was it, and how did you remember it so easily?"

"It was my home number."

"Wait…what?! Your home number?! How?!"

"I don't know, but…somehow, she was calling me from my home phone in this universe."

"If it's Ivy…then…that means she's here."

"If she's here, and she's at my home though, how did she appear in this city earlier?"

"Yeah, good point. So, what do you think it is then?"

"I don't have a single clue, but it could be anything." he replied, before frowning. "Even something that could harm our relationship," he began, before looking up into her eyes. Their gazes met, brown eyes unto brown eyes, as she tried to read him. A worried expression graced her face as she found herself unable to, before a confused one appeared when he held out the phone to her.

"What are you passing it to me for?"

"It's up to you whether to call her back or not."

"Huh?"

"I want you to decide."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't want to risk our relationship without asking you first," he explained. She nodded, taking the phone from him and holding it in one hand. She stared down at the handset, the start of the number displayed on the screen, all ready to be called.

She scrolled across it anxiously, chewing the choice presented to her over in her mind.

**+442079460929**

Part of her wanted to press delete, clearing the number from the memory. Why did she have to live like this, in constant fear of someone who'd missed their chance? This was like having to put up with an ex-girlfriend of his, only worse since this ex could apparently destroy the entire world. Ringing her back could help her to arrive, and find out where they were. What if she managed to talk Ryder into leaving her? She hoped it wasn't possible, his words that evening had reassured her as such, but at the same time…she didn't want to overlook the possibility.

But…her burning curiosity also wanted to be satisfied. Maybe there was something to discover this way; maybe she could even get a clue to Ryder's big secret. If she knew it, maybe they could become closer, or at least she could know more about why the universe existed. She partially didn't want to know, both her mind and Ryder telling her that such knowledge was dangerous. She was still curious though, even despite this. Would she open Pandora's box?

She looked to Ryder, the boy eagerly awaiting her reply. She still wasn't sure: to ring or not to ring. What did he want her to do? At first, she had expected him to have wanted her to call, but now, even when looking more closely, she just couldn't read his expression. Did he want her to do so and thus satisfy his own curiosity, or did he have the same reservations she did about learning something disturbing?

"I don't know what to decide," she replied, frowning as she held out the phone again. "You choose."

"No, I really want you to decide, because I want to show you that I trust you with big decisions like this and all."

Mari grimaced in annoyance, turning and throwing the phone the short distance to the tabletop where it slid for a short way before stopping. He looked surprised, before she turned completely to face him, trying to understand her irritation and confusion in all of this.

"Ryder, stop ticking off boxes for "how to be a good boyfriend," please," she complained, looking deeply into his eyes. He simply looked confused at first, furrowing his brow.

"Huh?"

"You go on endlessly about trust and respect and everything Ryder…but…I know you trust and respect me, and I appreciate that. I don't need you to tell me it all the time, and I don't want you to be some textbook perfect boyfriend either."

"But, I was just trying to be good enough for you," he explained, his voice pleading.

"Listen, Ryder…I know that we're both as afraid of losing one another as each other. You're afraid that you are somehow not good enough for me, and I'm afraid that I'll lose you to a person from your past."

"Yeah, that's true."

"So…can we just promise that together, we'll both stop worrying about those things? Promise that we'll stay together and won't lose each other over that find of thing…we're a couple, we're partners, we love each other, and so we do things together."

Ryder mused her words, taking them in and all to heart as he listened intently to what she had to say. "Yeah, I promise I will."

"And I promise so too."

They sat there, staring one another in the eyes, something that before a relationship when people were mere crushes was captivating enough (and socially unacceptable too), but now was almost completely inescapable. The lines on the face, little imperfections, all were just parts of attractiveness, of who the other one was.

And, as such a moment so often ends, they leaned forwards into each other, pressing their lips together in a kiss as arms ran round each other's backs, pulling one another into an embrace. Even the awkward look on MiniDonmon's face as he watched went unnoticed as they became absorbed in their own world of tongue-touching and hip-holding, something so disturbing when viewed by outsiders but so captivating when one was involved.

Being so close, seeing so deeply into someone even when one had their eyes closed…both knew that nothing in their lives so far beat when this happened. As they continued for a time which seemed like an eternity but for their thankful observers was but a dozen or so seconds, they began to think.

"_I know that regardless of what happens, we can make this work. Mari's stuck with me through everything that's happened so far, and if she's stayed with me through all that I have nothing to worry about. That's why I love her."_

"_We've each only got each other, and so we have so much to lose if this all goes wrong. We can't let it end, because we work so well together. Sure, as much as he insists I am, I'm not perfect, but no-one is. I can't keep thinking he's just going to up and leave just like that, because he really does love me for who I am. And that's why I love him. And that's why…that's why we have to do this…"_

They finally pulled gently away, a subtle signal passed between them that it was time to stop. Ryder stared into Mari's eyes at first, but they fled his vision as she pursued another, more important goal.

All of a sudden, waved in front of him with a smile of happiness from the girl, tinged with eyes of determination, was the phone handset, the number still in the display whilst her thumb sat over the call button.

"We do everything together…we do this together."

Ryder looked to her, into her eyes as he tried to read her motives and saw nothing but sincerity. He nodded, reaching to place his thumb gently over hers.

"Here goes nothing."

They pressed.

**Doo doo doo doo doo dooo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo**

With little more than a burst of electrons the call began to trace its way across the world, changing from things as advanced as satellite signals and pulses of light to simple, old fashioned copper wire, all making up the various telecommunications networks of the world which their lives revolved around so much thanks to the Digimon.

Taking advantage of the long wait, however, an amusing irony given how fast telecommunications normally were compared to sending a letter or going somewhere personally, Ryder tapped the speakerphone button, held tightly onto Mari around her back (a gesture returned by the girl) and uttered an anxious few words to her also.

"Here goes nothing," he said as the ringing noise became louder thanks to his move.

"Yeah," she replied, looking down at the glowing blue display. Any second now, someone would pick up that…

"_**I'm here."**_

Mari and Ryder looked to each other in surprise, a bewildered look passing between them. That didn't seem like a normal way of starting a call. "Ivy, is that you?"

"_**Ryder, can you hear me?"**_

"Yeah, I can," Ryder called back, thinking she was replying.

As much as she'd grown to hate this girl on the other end of the line, Mari couldn't help but be amazed by what was going on. "Oh my god it's working. Ivy, can you hear me?" Mari called down the line. "It's me, Mari."

"_**Ryder, please…can you hear me…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please don't die."**_

"Yeah, I can hear you."

"Ivy!"

"Wait…die…die from what?"

"_**I'm here Ryder. I'm going to be here until you get better. I promise, I'm not leaving you there."**_

"Leaving me? Leaving me where? Do you mean here?"

"Ivy, can you hear us or is it a bad line? Hello?"

"_**The others' have given up hope, but not me. I know you'll pull through. You can't give up now, you have to fight Ryder. Please, fight, do it for m…"**_

"_**This number has not been found. Please check you have the correct dialling code. Press 0 to be put through to an operator."**_

"Huh?" Ryder mumbled, shaking the phone in frustration at the sudden cutting out. Unfortunately, his rudimentary attempts at fixing things came to no avail, and merely frustrated him further. He hung up, groaning. "Great…"

"Try ringing back," Mari quickly suggested, MiniDonmon nodding in agreement as he landed behind them on the sofa back. His curiosity had been deeply plagued by all of this.

Ryder nodded, quickly dialling the number back in again and hitting the button, before switching to speakerphone to hear it run through and dial in the pre-entered numbers.

**Doo doo doo doo doo dooo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo**

Once again, the pause gave them a chance to prepare for what was about to happen. "You know, I think that really was her, but…what did she mean by "until I get better"?" Ryder asked, confused by this surprising turn of events.

"I don't know, and I don't think she could hear us either," Mari replied, a worried expression on her face. Was something wrong? Were they in trouble now? Had something cut them off? Or was it just a bad line?

"I don't remember her being that deaf either," MiniDonmon added, as bewildered by this new turn of events as the pair of Angels.

"Yeah, so that means…" Ryder began, before being interrupted by a disappointing and far too familiar sound.

"_**This number has not been found. Please check you have the correct dialling code. Press 0 to be put through to an operator."**_

"Meh, what the hell," Ryder said, shrugging before he pressed the button.

**Doo**

"This is going to cost a fortune," he groaned, waiting for the line to connect again. Long distance calls were not cheap at all, and certainly not ones that were the telephone equivalent of a wild goose chase.

"Let's hope we find out something useful then," said Mari, the boy nodding in agreement. "If this fails, we'll find another way, okay? If you're investigating this at all, you'll be investigating it together with me."

Ryder smiled. "Wouldn't have it any other way," he replied, the girl smiling back at him as they began to lean into each other for a kiss again, getting closer and closer and…

"_**Hello?"**_

The pair, startled, sat up straight again, Ryder's voice sounding forced and overly serious afterwards as both looked very flustered about their interruption from a faraway land. "Yes, this is Ryder Stevens and Mari Flynn, we're calling from Japan."

"_**Would you like international services then?"**_

"No, we need you to check on a phone number in the UK."

"_**Okay, and what phone number would that be?"**_

"Do you want the international code?"

"_**No thank you, the national number alone will do fine if you have it to hand."**_

"Okay. Zero, Two, Zero, Seven, Niner, Four, Six, Zero, Niner, Two, Niner."

"_**One moment please."**_

"Okay."

Ryder raised his crossed fingers to Mari, dearly hoping this would provide some sorely-needed answers to them. She smiled lightly in anticipation, hoping this would give them more information than the phone call preceding it had, one which had done little more than give them more questions.

Alas, their hopes were not realised.

"_**Right, I have that number down as belonging to a house in Wimbledon, but it hasn't been paid for or used in a long while. Were you given this number to call by someone?"**_

Ryder frowned, shaking his head to Mari as they resigned to their failure. "Yeah, but, never mind, I'll get the right number off of them now," he replied, a pessimistic tone now laden in his voice.

"_**Okay. Will that be all?"**_

"Yes, thanks for your help," Ryder replied, hanging up the phone and throwing it down onto the coffee table in annoyance.

He fell back with a sigh, Mari joining him quickly. They crashed onto the sofa back, enjoying its soft embrace but feeling extremely frustrated. Both turned, looking into one another's eyes, locked in a shared emotion which Ryder summed up with one, simple, quintessentially British curse.

"Bugger."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Yeah, that's more than 20,500 words, with enough surprises to leave your head spinning. Hope you enjoyed it.

If you're interested in expanding your reading further, why not check out another new writer I've been mentoring, TheMightyBlues. His first story, `United', of a planned trilogy has begun to be published, and he can be found via the `favourite authors' bit on my profile page.

Until next time…

B.C.


	69. The Trick To Funerals

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 63**

_The Trick to Funerals_

* * *

**TUESDAY, 26****th**** OCTOBER 2010

* * *

**

_**Funeral Ground, Itabashi Ward**_

_**10:30 JST**_

Funeral grounds are never meant to be nice places. Almost permanently coated in the sort of gloom seen before a heavy storm, the only smidgeon of colour in the dull radius is the flowers left by a number of graves of varying shapes and sizes, and even the flowers seemed to have the colour drained from them on a bad day by the cold wind running through the trees and stones.

Every so often, another gravestone would be added, another resting place for flowers, tears, and memories of the pour soul it related to. The last resting place of a life, a (hopefully) permanent memorial to their achievements, even if usually in Japan the person would already have been cremated, and so their ashes would be left beneath it instead of the body itself, or alternatively scattered to the wind as would happen today.

This particular funeral was well attended, even if none of those attending were members of her now-extinct family. About the grave stood the majority of the Tamers, apart from those too far away to visit but who had paid their respects in advance. DarkBiyomon stood in the middle near the Priest as she listened intently to the words, holding onto the urn containing the ashes of her late Tamer. To one side of her, placed down while she paid her respects, there was a small device, grey in colour and with a purple ring about its screen. It was lifeless, its source of energy gone along with the power that binded it to Chiyo's wrist. DarkBiyomon had been given it by Riley, the sole Hypnos member in attendance at the funeral due to the fact that Yamaki would not leave Eiichi alone in charge.

"And so we are gathered here today to mourn Chiyo Suzume, who unfortunately passed on before her time. She was unlucky in life, losing her parents earlier this year in a tragic accident, and yet she found others to stand by her. She managed to rebuild her life, and despite her passing her story is one of hope, hope that people who go through such tragic circumstances can still recover from them."

Ryder frowned, knowing that the Priest had little knowledge of the reality of Chiyo's life but also knowing that few did. The priest, pausing to give a nod and a prayer of respect to the deceased, stepped aside, leaving the group to their thoughts. Ryder looked sadly down at his black suit, white shirt and black tie, the tradition for such an event in Japan and worn by all of the men, albeit with slight variations on some of them.

Glancing across, his eyes surveyed the form of his girlfriend standing respectfully alongside him, garbed in the traditional dress of a black kimono, her brown slightly red tinged hair tied back behind her head. Unlike with the males, there was more variation here, some of the girls wearing kimonos, like Mari, Sora, Seiko, Rey, Kristy and Rika (the last particularly using the disguising nature of it to her advantage) and others wearing more modern plain black dresses, like Jeri, Mimi, Suzie, Yolei, Riley and Kari. The Digimon wore nothing special in particular, but Ryder couldn't help but reflect on the coincidental significance of DarkBiyomon's feather colouring.

The worst thing of this all, the thing Ryder still couldn't get off his mind, the concept that was so permeated into his conscious, was that this was his fault.

"_I know that Chiyo sort of brought about this all herself, but I'm the one who pulled the trigger. And…even if it was to save someone, that's suggesting the end justifies the means, and I just don't think things are that simple. We're both to blame here, but…I can't help but feel more to blame. Ugh, I really need to talk to Mari more about this. I'm sure she could cheer me up, or, at least listen to my depressed ramblings," _he thought, sadly glancing aside to the girl standing silently beside him. _"God, she looks beautiful right now with her hair like that and…" _he began, mentally stopping himself before he ended up rambling on an entirely different subject. _"Have to keep my mind on things…"_

Mari took a glance across to him, completely unaware of the fact his mind was currently on the subject of her herself. Her mind was wrapped up in other things, as it continued to search back through her memories of the girl they had come to commemorate. _"I'm really not sure whether to mourn her or not. She was a friend I suppose, but…what she did…I just can't forgive her for it either, even in death, even if it was due to her being a Demon. She killed Ryder, and he's lucky to have returned. And, after all we did to try to get through to her, to get her to open up…I thought we'd succeeded when I saw her on holiday and happy even if it was in the process of tormenting people. Sure, she could be a bit mean at times when we got back to school but I really did think she had changed."_

Mari chewed her lip, the cold air coursing across her face and causing her to frown further, not that anyone would exactly be smiling at a funeral.

"_I wish I knew who she really was. I kept getting the impression that she was really just a normal person underneath, even during that battle, a nice girl who'd just gone through some bad things and had an overpowering influence from the fact she was a Demon, but…even when she had the chance to change she still stuck at it. She apologised on her deathbed I suppose, but is that really enough?" _she sighed, her mind wandering to the subject of how some of the others would be reacting, particularly those who had become close to her, or, as in the case of one brunette with a visor, had at least tried.

Kazu stood, the surrealism of the situation, mourning a friend in a bleak and windswept cemetery whilst wearing black and remembering how she had supposedly been their friend before betraying them, strangely not reaching his mind as it usually would. No-one, not even Terriermon, daren't make a crack about the situation, not least he himself. Right now, rather than his mind being occupied by the situation itself, it was locked in memories and contemplation, his eyes glazing over. _"Hmm…I really don't know what to think about her," _he mused, frowning further before he put his hands in his suit pocket, looking aside almost as if he were talking to her right in front of him, as if he were being judged by his every thought. _"She hated me so much, but I guess I can be kind of a jerk at times. God, I never thought I'd be admitting that. Maybe she changed me? Hmm, I don't think so though. But, after all that happened, I thought she might be our friend, even if not mine, but…I heard what happened, and I just don't know what to think now. She attacked my friends; I've killed Digimon for that before, but her…she's a friend…I think," _he thought, his mind going about in circles. _"I feel like Chumley. At least he's never had to deal with this. Or maybe he has…I did get a crush on Chiyo after all, but…she continually crushed my hopes. And then, when she screwed me over in Okinawa, I felt like it was a turning point. Not going to be screwed again and all that, but...it's hard, harder than I thought, to lose a crush. And then, she died. I mean, that's just my luck. Given another month or whatever…I might've come to terms with things more, but with this…hmm. I just can't forget that sight either, seeing her dying. I thought I wouldn't be that badly affected by seeing my first death, even if I did see a few people die from a distance in our battles. And I missed it all; I didn't even have a chance to change things. Seems like I never do."_

He glanced aside to the rest of the group, before paying a grimace to his robot-like partner. Guardromon gave him a confused expression, but made no move to speak given the circumstances. Kazu made a mental note to tell him later.

"_I have to change things," _Kazu decided, looking over at the grave, reading the name of a girl he had been interested in and it somehow inspiring him to do better. _"As much as she was a total cow towards me, as much as I fawned over her when it was hopeless, as much as I always arrive in the spotlight a bit too late, I know I can change things. The feeling of being in the action is great, and the feeling of being in love ain't bad either so…maybe I'm ready…maybe I should try to get a girlfriend or something, and mature a bit in battle. But, still…I do like being able to do what I want and have a laugh, serious people are no fun. Do I really have to sacrifice one for the other though, or can I have both? Geez, I hope I can, `cause while Cody may be a good friend and all I'd hate to be like him, way too serious for his own good."_

As for Cody, one of the youngest of the group, at twelve, and one who in his own opinion was lucky to avoid the chaos of the previous day. _"I still feel sad that I missed my chance to stop her death though, or at least be there when she died. When my father died, I would've liked to have been there, but I suppose Chiyo wouldn't have noticed much difference really, unless I had managed to save her that is. I didn't manage to make much difference with saving Oikawa though, and he hadn't even been shot, even if he did sacrifice himself in the end," _he thought, grimacing at the memory of another enemy who had repented in their last moments. _"I just can't agree that this is the only way…I don't care what Davis says, we can't kill anyone, even if they are evil. But…what about Digimon?"_

Cody sighed. He hated the world at times, simply because it was unfair. Of course, it was childish to have a fit over such things and he had maturity far above that of a child, a fact proved many a time.

"_But, still…I wish we could just talk to these Demons. Seems like if we could just get through to them…but…I know that's not possible. But, if we have to face another seven of these guys, we're going to have to be ready with everything we've got. I hope no-one else gets hurt even if we have to hurt the Demons themselves," _he mused, sadly resigning himself to the fact, a resignation perhaps spurred on by the bleak nature of the world around him dashing his hope. _"I wouldn't want to be Ryder right now. I hope the government doesn't go too badly on him, he did something wrong but I can understand why he had to make a split-second decision like that to save someone. Just like my father I suppose, although the loss of life wasn't him. Not permanently at least. I'm sure with Yamaki in charge and with people like Riley and Tally running Hypnos he'll be safe, but I'm not sure about Rayleigh higher up," _he sighed, looking to Riley who stood, standing out amongst the youngsters.

"_I knew this job would be risky when I took it up, it was a secret organisation after all, but I never imagined having to go to a teenager's funeral. But…that doesn't change anything, I've had plenty of chances to quit and yet I still stay on in this job. I suppose once you're opened to a world like this, for all its faults, you can't ever really leave. Yamaki was out of it for just a day and it drove him mad not being able to know what was going on. It's addictive I suppose," _she thought, pondering how it could be compared to Yamaki's former addiction to smoking, something symbolised by his persistent lighter. Perhaps he had replaced that addiction with an unorthodox one, the obsession with work. Riley didn't think it was exactly good for her partner, a partnership in professional, roommate, romantic and sexual capacities. Regardless of her close bond with him, Yamaki was a difficult person to second guess, something that was meant to be a natural ability of the female in a relationship. But, then again, it was hardly a normal relationship, particularly in the realm of free time which thanks to their seemingly 24/7 careers seemed to be limited. Of course, they spent most of their time together, but work was hardly a romantic setting. Still, they both knew what they were in for when they signed up for the job. _"I don't think this Eiichi thing will give Yamaki any more free time either; I think we'll always end up baby-sitting. Rayleigh may appear to be trying to lessen the workload but he's really just making life difficult for Yamaki. Ugh, I don't know, men never settle their problems with each other. Then again, neither do we I guess," _she mused, before turning her attention back to the scene in front of her, and the main topic in the air and in the minds of all there. _"When I arrived to see that dying girl, a teenage girl no less, I just couldn't prepare for that. Even with their best efforts, she still died, and I saw it in their eyes that they were determined. I hope that serves them well in the future, but I know they'll need it to go through this kind of thing again. I don't pretend to know what this Demon business is about, but I know it's going to be trouble for them. Even with us at Hypnos backing them up, most of the time they're on their own," _she thought, glancing about again to see Sora standing nearby, her mind going back to what she had seen of the previous day's fighting. Even if it wasn't their own fault, they still were involved and they still hurt each other. _"I just hope they can stay as a team, because voluntarily or involuntarily I know that a lot of teams get split up by infighting. They're going to need each other to win through this."_

Sora grimaced, fingering agitatedly at a small ring on her finger, a present from long ago which she still wore to this day, even when she was wearing such unusual clothes as the black Kimono that graced her form. _"We're never going to forget this," _she mused, looking about at her group, and at Tai especially, the memories of attacking him still brutally fresh in his mind despite having had two days to stale. _"We always thought we were so powerful, so unwavering and moral, and yet all it took was a girl younger than me to make me try to kill my boyfriend and best friend. I should hate her, but…I don't really know if that's the right thing to do. Did she mean to attack us, or was she being controlled, and what about the others? God only knows what powers they could have…I really hope they don't succeed. If someone had died today; if I had killed Tai today, I don't think any of us could've lived with that, controlling influence or not," _she thought, frowning even more deeply. _"He's taken it so well but I know that he must be scared. If Chiyo could do this to us, what could another one do? Make us forget each other? Make us _all _kill each other? Or hurt our families,"_ she shivered involuntarily, prompting Tai to look at her with sudden concern in his eyes. She briskly shook her head, frowning as she waved off the worry in his mind. _"I hope not. I couldn't stand seeing anyone I love get hurt, and I know none of the others could either. With Rey on the way for Rika, it looks like the risks are about to get even higher, and I can't get rid of this worry that none of us will be able to deal with what's to come in the future," _she thought, frowning as she looked across to the 21-week pregnant girl.

"_Poor DarkBiyomon," _Rika thought, her eyes drawn to the bird by the grave, looking sadly over the urn and the ashes within, no doubt contemplating how this could be all that remained of her Tamer. In a society where cremation was the norm, no doubt someone who had never heard of such a disrespectful-sounding custom would be horrified by the prospect. But, nonetheless, it was still more than remained of the vast majority of deceased Digimon. Frowning deeply, Rika looked down at the solid ground, frozen stiff by winter's curse. Her emotions downed even further as to do so she found she had to look past her bump, an eternal reminder of what was to come as a result of an innocent, or as it has been traditionally seen, not-so-innocent, mistake. She glanced about the group, the contrast between new life and the dead world about them being poetry in motion for any budding romantic but being deeply depressing for the pregnant teen. She looked over Rey, the girl also deep in thoughts, indeed, they were all deep in thought, from the smallest of Digimon like Calumon clinging to Jeri's head (whose thoughts perhaps would've been rather simplistic) to the oldest of humans like her grandmother, who admittedly was far younger than the vast majority of grandmothers thanks to her daughter and her having had children at young ages. She certainly didn't lack the wisdom that her older counterparts would have had, wisdom that Rika hoped one day she would have, something that would calm her and give her confidence despite the sweeping changes in her life and future. _"I know I could look to Naoko's memories for wisdom but…they still feel so alien."_

"_**They're not your memories Rika, it's to be expected."**_

"_Yeah, but…I thought the idea of being to access that kinda thing would be great, or at least pass some time or give me some answers. Seems more like they just ask more questions."_

"_**Rika, you don't need to go back to those memories again if you don't want to. You've isolated them; you **_**had**_** to isolate them or else you simply couldn't work."**_

"_Hmm…I just still find the idea of my grandma at that age really strange."_

"_**I have to admit, even though I have lived through them before it is still interesting to see people in a new light like that."**_

"_Have you been looking through them?"_

"_**Yes, and you shouldn't mind since we're one and the same anyway. As I was saying, it's particularly interesting seeing Rumiko grow up, she was one of a new wave of…"**_

"_Is my father in them?"_

"…"

"_Is he?"_

"_**Yes, he is Rika, but…Naoko didn't see much of him. Do you want to know what she did see?"**_

"…"

"_**Rika?"**_

"_I don't know."_

"_**Then you shouldn't unless you're sure. There are some things we simply shouldn't know."**_

"_Yeah, but you're a God. How can _you _say that?"_

"_**Rika, do you really think I've ever been omniscient?"**_

"_Huh? What do you mean?"_

"_**Rika, I don't know where I came from, I don't know how I ended up this powerful and I know very little beyond my own experiences. There is no perfect, unwavering God. Then again, perfection is overrated."**_

"_Probably boring too," _Rika thought, no smile coming to her lips despite the slight amusement in her idea. _"I just need to take my mind off of him."_

"_**You'll meet him again one day Rika, I'm sure."**_

"_It's not that. I know that if I wanted to I could ask mum or grandma and she could track him down, but I don't know if I want to or not. After he left like that, do I really want him back in my life?"_

"_**That's something for you to think about."**_

Rika sighed, looking to her grandmother once again, her mind now drawn to the subject of what secrets could be held within that mind, perhaps secrets unknown to even her bank of Naoko's memories. Perhaps that was the source of wisdom, an assumption that the unknown meant knowledge beyond fathom.

"_I don't know what to do now," _Seiko thought, her reality of mind completely opposite to what Rika would've expected. Her eyes were stuck on the bird, DarkBiyomon currently staring endlessly at the ashes as if they were precious stones. Only, most beings would be amazed and entranced by jewels, and DarkBiyomon was merely entranced. _"She looks so lonely now. Poor thing, she needs a chance to get away from these problems, or at least to talk to someone more about it. I wish I could help but…these problems are far beyond me. I would ask my daughter to explain, but sadly I doubt even she knows. It is a shame what has happened in any case; it's taken a Tamer from her partner, it's taken the conscience from the one forced to pull the trigger, and it made all of them fight the ones they loved most dearly. When I was younger I'm sure I would have berated Chiyo for her actions, but now, I'm not so sure. From everything I've heard, she seems like she wasn't truly involved. This thing that Rika does with Renamon, biomerging. She said that Chiyo couldn't, and yet, that boy Ryder was forced to also kill earlier this year - he was like her, and yet he was able to. Maybe that is the proof I need," _she thought, looking sadly over at DarkBiyomon. _"She needs some hope."_

"_This is her," _DarkBiyomon thought, staring on at the loose collection of carbon in her hands.

The remains of her Tamer, a rather gruesome set of remains too, all deposited in an urn below. As horrific as it seemed for DarkBiyomon, she didn't shudder. She was far too curious about the item itself, the concept that this was what remained of a human after they had died and were (for some reason) incinerated being a bizarre one to her. Sure, it was more than a Digimon, but Digimon recycled their data as part of other Digimon usually. What use was this dust?

"_It's her. I don't know how, but it's her, and it's all that she is," _DarkBiyomon thought, a tear creeping down her face as she felt the carbon tingle in her fingers, bits cluttering back into the urn below. Her eyes glancing down, she began shifting the ashes from both wings onto only one. She stared down at it, as if talking to it. _"I love you so much Chiyo…so much. You were taken from me due to something terrible, something that controlled and suppressed the real you that I always knew had to be there deep down. I miss you so much, I don't want to have to let go."_

A gentle breeze of wind swept a few grains away, DarkBiyomon watching them spiral away from her.

The ashes in her hand turned soggy as a tear permeated them, followed by another.

"_But I know this is the only way you'll ever be free now," _she thought, breathing in and cupping her wings together. She looked out of the hillside, the many buildings stacked away beyond the tree cover about the hilled crematorium. The wind continued to gently drift around, stroking through the bird's feathers. For a moment, she felt like Chiyo was there, coursing her plumes and comforting her in her moment of grief. For a moment, everything seemed like it could be better. For a moment, she had hope.

Alas, nothing but a moment.

"I love you so much Chiyo," she whispered to the ashes. "Goodbye," she cried, before closing her beak and blowing into it from behind.

With a sharp blow of air, a collective frown and a drop of a tear into the ashes, the selection of carbon was whisked away upon the wind and breath, the black dust evaporating from her sight before she turned back to the gravestone, placing the urn back into the pit below. She took one last glance over at the scene, a miniscule gap breaking through in the clouds overhead, showing a burst of blue through the grim just long enough to reaffirm DarkBiyomon's actions, Chiyo's future, and how they would never be together again.

"_She's free. But I'm not."_

* * *

"Ryder was complaining that he came here to get away from this kind of weather."

"…"

"Ah, apologies, perhaps not the best thing to say," Seiko restated, staring down at the bird below her with a frown as rain gently tapped down upon the grass, barely more than spitting. Drizzling was perhaps the most apt term, a term from a language with plenty of words to describe bad weather.

"Mmhmm," DarkBiyomon replied, crossing her winged arms even further across her chest in an attempt to keep warm. It failed, the Digimon shivering uncontrollably. "I'm freezing."

"You should go inside like the others did."

"I don't want to."

"Out here, you'll catch your de…on second thoughts, never mind," Seiko said, retracting her words quickly before she got to the presently inappropriate part of the idiom.

They stood there, winds gently coursing through feathers and Seiko's now-normal clothes, the older woman having changed out of her kimono along with the others. The situation looked even bleaker, the rain not significant enough to be completely worth going outdoors but still enough to depress badly, as if the grim greyness of the world wasn't enough to do that.

"Do you want me to leave too?"

"No, you can stay," DarkBiyomon mumbled, clinging an item even closer to her chest than she had before. Seiko looked curiously at the bird, wondering what on earth she could possibly be cradling. "You're nice."

"Thanks, but…the others are too."

"Yeah, but they hate me."

"I don't think they do."

"They hate Chiyo."

"I don't think they do that either. They're just, unsure about her."

"She attacked them…we attacked them. They won't ever truly be able to forgive either of us, and I feel like I just wrecked the lives of others. I burnt the bakery, I attacked them all, and I never stopped Chiyo."

"DarkBiyomon. We talked through this before, you can't blame yourself forever."

"I may as well. I have nothing else to do," DarkBiyomon sighed, clinging even more closely onto whatever it was. "Now that she's gone."

"What is that DarkBiyomon?" Seiko asked, bending down to the bird's level as the Digimon turned to face her, a wariness still in her features despite the long and friendly talk they had had the previous day. The bird frowned, unveiling a grey and purple D-Vice.

"It's all I have left of her," she moaned, sadly looking down at the feeble item. "She's gone, her body is gone, even this thing is useless. I've lost her completely," she sobbed, a tear glinting down and tapping onto the small screen with barely a sound.

Seiko frowned, putting an arm out carefully before extending both as she became condiment her comforting wouldn't go unwanted. "Come here," she said, DarkBiyomon blindly wandering forward into a hug.

"I lost everything," the bird continued to weep, at least now with a shoulder to cry on.

Seiko gently patted the bird on the back comfortingly, her mind absently noting how remarkably soft the bird's feathers were. This was, aside from the occasional incidental hand contact with Renamon when they were preparing food in the kitchen, the first time she had actually made physical contact with a Digimon. They felt surprisingly real, indistinguishable from a human or an animal to the touch. "Okay, let it all out dear," she encouraged, knowing that if the bird bottled up these feelings of sadness and distress they would only come back to haunt her more in the future.

DarkBiyomon continued to cry, at the back of her mind feeling comforted by how there was at least someone making sure she was alright, and at least one person to cry on the shoulder of. "I lost her so long ago, all to that Demon that…that Demon that _was _her."

Seiko frowned, deciding to give the bird some hope that she had already worked out beforehand. She gently pushed the bird away, her hands still holding onto the winged hands of the bird as she looked into her wide green eyes. "I disagree DarkBiyomon," she insisted, before explaining her reasoning to the confused bird. "You two never biomerged. Granted, that means you never had enough of a bond to do so, but if you consider it, it also means that the Demon wasn't completely in control of her. It wasn't her; she was simply overpowered by it. That other boy, before Chiyo, Taiki his name was. He biomerged, but from what I have heard from my daughter and the others, he was not a nice person at all and his bond couldn't possibly have existed naturally."

"So…you think that Chiyo was always resisting?"

"I think so yes," Seiko replied, before looking out sadly upon the bleak direction in which the ashes had been scattered thanks to the bird. "Unfortunately, it seems it was too strong for her."

DarkBiyomon frowned sadly, looking back down at the D-Vice in her hands whilst a silence broke out between them.

"I wish she was still here," the bird finally sobbed.

"What would you say to her?"

"If she was still here?"

"Yes…if you don't mind saying, that is."

"Hmm…" DarkBiyomon mumbled, chewing with her beak as she thought back through her memories, dredged through the overwhelming emotions right now and searched for the right words. A frown crossed her face, before with a slight dismissive shake of the head she looked up to Seiko and answered "I…I'd tell her I loved her I guess."

"Would you have any questions for her?"

"Why?" DarkBiyomon quickly replied, Seiko's probing question having uncovered the real thoughts that had been lying underneath just now, ones she had initially denied the mentioning of. "Why did she do it all? Why didn't she listen to me? Did I even have a chance?"

"I see."

"I'm never going to know though, am I? Even if I use every second I now have without a partner to think about it I'll never come to any answers," she sobbed, looking sadly back down at the D-Vice. "I'm alone."

Seiko frowned, sadly watching this poor, future-less creature with overwhelming pity. She bent down, gently placing a hand on the bird's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find something worthwhile."

"I know you're trying to help but I know it's hopeless," the bird replied, grimacing as she clutched the device tightly. "I just want hope again."

The screen flashed, before fading. DarkBiyomon glanced down, her tears ceasing periodically in order to accommodate her surprise. She clenched an eye in bewilderment, trying to work out what she had glimpsed. "What's the matter?"

"I thought I saw…never mind."

"Oh, okay," the older woman replied, racking her mind for what on earth the bird could've been startled by. "As much as I'd like to stay out here and keep you company, I don't have your nice warm feathers so I'll have to be heading in now. Are you coming with?" she asked, pulling her arms around her for warmth. This area must've been permanently blighted with this appalling weather. "I'm sure you could do with a nice warm cup of tea," she suggested, a warm smile on her face.

DarkBiyomon frowned, looking back to the headstone, reading the words inscribed in it with care.

**HERE WE REMEMBER**

**CHIYO SUZUME**

**LOST BEFORE HER TIME AND LOVED BY THOSE THAT REMEMBER HER DEARLY**

**BORN 3****RD**** OF FEBRUARY 1994**

**DIED 24****TH**** OF OCTOBER 2010 AGED 16**

**MAY SHE REST IN PEACE WITH GREATER FORTUNE IN HER NEXT LIFE**

The bird stepped forward, placing one hand on the top of the stone and looking sadly at the name inscribed across it. She glanced down to the D-Vice in her hand, before down to where the ashes urn had been placed under the stone. "Goodbye, Chiyo," she uttered, looking back up at the name before turning to face the older woman, an outstretched hand there to comfort her.

Feathers met skin as DarkBiyomon accepted the offer, Seiko giving a grave smile before the pair began to walk. DarkBiyomon pulled the D-Vice close to her chest, the cold of the dead piece of technology doing nothing to comfort her.

No words were said, none were needed to be said any more. DarkBiyomon cast an eye back on the grave, looking lost amongst its many similar brethren. Just another dead person, only this one would not be remembered fondly by most. She sighed, before a strange feeling began to radiate from her chest.

Or was that, a strange heat.

She paused, before sharply pulling her arm away from her chest in scalding pain. Seiko stopped in surprise as the D-Vice clattered to the ground, vibrating wildly in a manner most accurately described as "insane". Edges blurred and the screen flashed erratically, DarkBiyomon looking on in shock and horror.

"What's going on?" Seiko panicked, not expecting the inactive device to ever do anything again. She took a cautious step back, one mirrored by the Digimon near her as both decided they didn't want to be near what could very well be an explosion.

But an explosion it wasn't, although what it did next hit them just as hard.

It ripped through the air, levitating and striking a course straight for the older woman. DarkBiyomon panicked, leaping for it at the last moment but just missing. She crashed to the ground, fear and panic coursing through her mind as she slid through the mud and grass, her mind wondering what the device had done to the woman who had shown her such kindness. It could've electrocuted her, injured her or knocked her out. The thing looked like it could've done just about anything.

But, alas, all she heard was a gasp.

Blinking in surprise, she breathed a sigh of relief that Seiko was evidently still conscious and alive. She rolled over, before standing up, now facing the older woman who held up her grey watch-laden wrist with a look of extreme shock, one quickly transferred to DarkBiyomon when she saw what the fuss was all about.

"_What?!"_

* * *

_**Heading towards Shinjuku, Itabashi Ward**_

_**11:29 JST**_

"Well, it looks like it works," was all that the best of Rika and Harmony's technical knowledge about the D-Vice could surmise as they sat in the rear of a limousine which their modelling mother had hired, one of the perks of her career (but also a quick method of allowing that same model to continue onwards to work after the appointment) and rather convenient right now considering their additional passengers, three human, three Digimon.

Regardless, the limo was full, on one side sitting Rika, Takato, Seiko and Rumiko, whilst on the other sat Mari, Ryder, Rey and Kristy. Guilmon sat against the wall watching events with an amazed curiosity, and Renamon and DarkRenamon were presumably either making their own way or sitting in the darkness, a truth only known by their Tamers and Rey, who sat with her own similarly-able partner on her lap. MiniDonmon sat on Mari's head for a change, probably messing up her hair but the girl being too concerned about other things to care right now. Kudamon was curled around Kristy's neck, perching on her head to watch events unfold, whilst DarkBiyomon sat silently opposite Guilmon on the opposite wall of the limo, having been almost completely silent since the events of earlier despite the probing of others into her current feelings. Seiko had been the only one who'd really been able to talk to her about anything, and they'd still talked about little since the incident in question, deciding that Seiko would consult the others on this newfound situation of partnership.

"I still don't understand…it's exactly the same device," Ryder said, trying to understand how a D-Vice could be transferred.

"I thought they were tied to one person," Mari noted, glancing at her own. It felt rather cheap that they could just be requisitioned like that.

"Is DarkBiyomon really your partner then?" Kristy asked, confused deeply by this turn of affairs.

Seiko looked to the still silent bird, not really sure how to answer that question. She didn't want to battle, and the pair of them had only just met. DarkBiyomon seemed gripped by her past too, and Seiko was hardly a child. What possible reasons could there be for this?

"I think so dear," Seiko replied, knowing it wasn't worth denying the reality of the situation, even if it did seem to be beyond reason.

"That's so cool!" Kristy cheered, her ceaseless optimism, naivety and innocence reigning strong and prompting a frown on Rika's face, the girl not wanting to break to her sister how complicated this would make things. "Don't you agree DarkBiyomon?" she quickly said, unfortunately making the situation more tense than it needed to be.

DarkBiyomon continued to stare off into space, her mind distracted from the dully-lit car around her, the light from the world outside still grey. _"What is this all about?" _she wondered, looking down at her wing-like hands and arms. _"How can I suddenly belong to someone else?" _she thought. _"Even if Seiko is nice…she's not my partner, she's not Chiyo! How can I be expected to just accept her like that?"_

"DarkBiyomon?" Kristy asked, her tone changing into one of confusion while DarkBiyomon was pulled from her mulling. Kristy simply couldn't understand; what was wrong with the bird? Wasn't she happy?

"Are you okay?" Kudamon said, echoing his Tamer's thoughts.

DarkBiyomon looked to him, briefly giving a confused look before remembering where she was and nodding. "Yes," she said glumly, not giving much more of a response. Seiko frowned at her supposed partner, a glance of mutual concern passing between them.

This was not going to be easy.

* * *

_**Shinjuku General Hospital, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**12:03 JST**_

"Good morning," greeted the familiar doctor, who despite her work and stress-ruffled blue hair still had a look of enthusiasm in her eyes, probably thanks to the fact that two of her favourite and most interesting patients would be visiting her today, one probably for the last time. The long white coat she wore covered a pair of pale blue scrubs, everything as clinical as the hospital room about her. An ultrasound machine had been set up alongside the bed.

"Good morning Dr Imai," Takato greeted.

"Hey Fumiko," Rika echoed, her less formal nature echoing how Takato felt about the unusual situation compared to her.

Fumiko continued to smile. "How are you feeling Rika?"

"Well, I'm glad the morning sickness is over, and I generally feel pretty good…but…I'm a bit worried after the other day."

"I can understand your concerns, stressing yourself in your condition isn't exactly the most advisable thing even though obviously you do need exercise."

"I just hope she's okay."

"You seem pretty set on the sex of the baby," Fumiko noted, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. Rika laughed nervously, glancing aside to a silent Takato, the nature of what was going on evidently shying him away. "Well, even though we weren't able to figure it out last time, I'm sure that by now it, or, if you wish, she, will have developed enough."

"Okay," Rika replied, nodding as she wandered over and sat up on the bed. "Let's get it over with," she sighed, the experience of an ultrasound not being a pleasant one for her even if the amazement about the child within was still pretty strong for her.

Fumiko nodded, looking across to the quiet boy who also occupied the room, currently lacking his red dinosaur-like partner. "Are you staying to watch or…"

"He's staying," Rika insisted, sending a glare across to the boy, one that carried only a tinge of worry but enough for Takato to see. He nodded in agreement, continuing to stay silent as he glanced about at the medical equipment and pregnancy models and posters placed about the room. With a silent gulp, he made his way over to the bed where Rika now lay down, Fumiko beginning to prepare the equipment.

"_I hope the baby is alright; from what I saw on the television of the other day, it was a harsh battle," _the doctor thought, frowning as she plugged it in. She turned back to the girl, only now noticing a glint of blue from the girl's finger. A surprised expression flashed on her face, quickly dismissed as she remembered the task at hand. _"Brave move Takato, but I do hope it wasn't a shotgun marriage. Then again…I think they're too close for him to need to be forced into something like that."_

Rika began rolling up her white top and unveiled her stomach, a bump coming a short distance out of it and making it clear enough that she was pregnant, not that anyone in the room needed that reiterated. Takato's eyes cast away quickly on sight with a reddish tinge to his cheeks as he took a guilty step back. Rika simply rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, Takato, it's not like it's something you haven't seen before," she quipped, Takato chuckling nervously as Fumiko cast a warm smile in his direction.

"_You know, I'm getting the impression that they broke tradition here with who was meant to propose," _she thought as Rika thankfully took Takato's reassuring hand, the boy finally mustering up the courage to get past the initial bashfulness about seeing part of Rika not normally seen. Dr Imai chuckled to herself. _"Come on Fumiko, be professional here, you're a doctor, not a gossip," _she noted, turning on the equipment.

Rika looked nervously on as it flashed into life, clenching Takato's hand. _"Please be alright."_

* * *

"Tat, tat, more tat, ooh, something useful…no, it's just more crap," Ryder mumbled, fumbling through the gift shop at the hospital in the vain hope of finding anything remotely interesting within. "I bet hardly any of this stuff even leaves this building," he continued to mutter, moving onto the next object in the Spartan and dull store, a whole unit full of "Get Well Soon" cards, all humourless and all dull.

He paused on an "I'm sorry for your loss" card, rolling his eyes at how late people would buy cards. Then again, he would inevitably be guilty of the same sin if he was in such a situation, but he dearly hoped he never would be again. He'd had enough of death recently.

He glanced around at the jumble of characters about the shop, all drudging about in the manner people only did in hospitals, a place where laughter was strictly limited to parents with newborns and those learning they had been cured of a terrible disease. That wasn't, however, the only thing they had in common in Ryder's currently darkened mind.

"_They can all die," _he thought, glancing over to the bored shopkeeper, a number of shelves containing special items like aspirin, something rather ironic for a hospital, and cigarettes, something extremely ironic for a hospital.

In his mind's eye, he watched it cavalcade downwards, smashing into the man's skull and putting an end to it all in a loud cacophony of chaos.

Shuddering, Ryder quickly pushed the thought aside, turning to look over a number of flowers. He was joined in his browsing by an anxious husband, evidently not having picked up any of the aroma-filled plants beforehand. The man glanced over them, not having a clue what on earth he could get.

He looked up to a number of glass vases along the top, all rather simple and none striking at all. The man stared blankly at them.

Suddenly, Ryder reached out, grabbing the base of the vase and smashing it across the man's head. It shattered with a crash, bits of glass clattering across the shop onto the floor, onto flowers and onto cards. The man fell to the ground unconscious, head bleeding and embedded with glass shards. Ryder stared down at what he had done, a horrified expression on his face.

In disbelief, he shook his head sharply, looking out again to the man who stood completely intact, staring at his confused, dreaming form with a bewildered expression. Realising that he had once again had a deathly fantasy, he promptly turned, heading towards the exit of the store whilst running a hand through his forehead and groaning.

"_I hate my imagination so much."_

"Ryder?" interrupted his thoughts, the boy looking up to see a brunette with a concerned expression across her face and her brown, deep eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," he sighed. Mari opened her mouth to reply.

A pair of hands quickly clasped about her throat, her eyes sweeping open in panic as she began to frantically gasp for breath. Her hands ran to those around her neck, desperately trying to pull them away. Ryder's eyes widened, as he looked up to see a familiar blonde standing behind the girl with a mix of regret and anger on her face. Mari, the oxygen finally dying from her, fell aside, whilst Ivy smiled to a frozen Ryder.

"Ryder," she said, her voice warm and welcoming. She frowned slightly, cocking her head at the boy as he cast a glance down at the corpse of his girlfriend. "Ryder," she called again, drawing his attention back to her blue eyes.

"Uh…yeah?"

"Ryder!" she said, her voice suddenly different to her own yet remarkably familiar. With a jolt, his mind jumped back to reality, as Ivy was replaced by an irritated Mari, still intact. "What on earth is up with you? You just seemed to phase out on me there."

"Nothing, don't worry," he mumbled, going to take a step past. She watched him pass by her side with an incredulous expression on her face, before calling out to stop him.

"Ryder?"

Ryder frowned, turning to face the girl with a depressed expression. "I need the loo, sorry," he apologised, Mari casting him a look that was a mix of confusion and sadness. What wasn't he telling her? He didn't exactly look okay.

"_I hope he didn't see Ivy again," _she thought, before regretting doing so, even if it did match her own feelings on the subject. Watching him wander towards the toilets, she sighed, before heading over and sitting down in one of the many rather uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. She looked aside to where the others were, Rumiko talking to Kristy, DarkBiyomon talking to Seiko and Rey, Realmon, MiniDonmon and Guilmon talking amongst themselves. Rika and Takato were still in their appointment, and Mari pondered whether Ryder would want her to come with to his. As much as she felt it would be nice to talk to Fumiko again, she also knew that Ryder's appointment was only short compared to most other ones, having been accommodated within the schedule rather late and not being a particularly high priority for the doctor. _"I just hope he's really okay. God knows what his death could've done to him."_

* * *

"Mum, are you going into work again today?"

"Not today," Rumiko replied, shaking her head with a slim smile. "I know that if there's anything wrong, Rika will need us by her side."

"What could be wrong then?" Kristy asked, her optimistic expression dropping as she looked to her mother sitting on the plastic seat next to her. Kudamon sat opposite, the dullness of the room, from the endless gloom to the old television which had lost all meaning to its now burnt-in pictures thanks to a use of the mute button about four months prior and the fact it was endlessly left on.

Rumiko frowned. "I don't know Kristy."

Kristy frowned too, looking down. "I hope Sis is okay."

Rumiko sighed, realising how her words hadn't been entirely appropriate at a time when she should've been encouraging the girl to continue with her usual optimism. She was meant to be a good parent, she'd been working on it a lot since she realised how absorbed by her career she had become, but she still made mistakes. Then again, she knew she wasn't the only parent who did that sort of thing.

She pushed a strand of loose blonde hair away from her eyes, before doing the same to her daughter, bringing the girl's eyes back to her mother's face. "Kristy, you know that Rika is very resilient and that even if anything were wrong she would fight through it no matter what it was. I think she's amazing for that, and she's far better than me at staying on her feet."

"Yeah, in battle she's always fighting even if things are going badly."

"Not just in battle Kristy; in real life, even if she has her hiccups she still manages to find her way past things. I admire her for that really."

"She's got Takato and the others to help her," Kristy said enthusiastically.

Rumiko smiled, pointing down to her daughter and casting a glance across to Kudamon nearby. "And she's got you too."

"Yeah," Kristy replied, nodding and smiling as Rumiko kissed her.

"Just be careful out there, okay? I couldn't stand to lose you or Rika."

"I will mum."

* * *

Water splashed up against the boy's face before he scraped his hands across his eyes. He looked up into the mirror, thankful that the disabled toilet had a lock on it. He sighed, looking down and watching the drips cascade into the basin.

"Ugh, what's wrong with me?" he mumbled, his mind flashing back to the three catastrophic deaths he had imagined. Naturally, Mari's death had scared him the most, particularly the way he had envisioned it being thanks to his crush Ivy. The idea of the two girls he loved being at each other's throats, especially literally, was terrifying for him.

Was he just imagining these deaths because he couldn't die himself?

He turned off the tap, turning around and placing his palms on the sink rim before leaning backwards against it and looking across at the dull white tiles on the other side of the room. He breathed out deeply, slouching down.

"_If I smashed my head into the wall right now until I got concussion would it matter in the end? It'd hurt but I'd just die and then recover just like that," _he thought, looking aside to a carton of hand cream on the side of the sink, a glorified name for soap. _"I bet if I drunk all of that I'd die, or at least be ill for ages."_

He frowned, the odd dark enthusiasm he had about the concept not being the cause, however, as much as it disturbed him to think that way.

"_The thing is__ why would I want to?"_

Ryder sighed, moving away from the sink and leaning against the opposite wall, fighting the oncoming claustrophobia of being trapped in a small room and knowing that as soon as he left he'd be subjected to a barrage of questions from the girl he loved.

"_If I really can't die…then…what's the point of anything? Everyone else who goes into battle knows that they're putting themselves and their friends at risk by doing so, but me…if I really am immortal, then I'm completely safe regardless of what happens. I could lose everyone and I'd still be left behind, alive. What happens when everyone else dies and I'm left alive? Can I die naturally? I have so many questions…and no way of getting any answers without testing myself to my limits, and I don't want to put the idea of that burden on Mari or anyone, even MiniDonmon. It's not fair on them at all…and it's not fair that I just ignored Mari just now either. She reached out to me to see if I was alright, and despite all we talked about I just pushed her away."_

He closed his eyes, pushing down the rising lump in his throat and hoping he hadn't done anything to damage their recovering relationship. They seemed to be in better stead than ever; now wasn't the time to wreck that.

Glancing to his watch, he realised he had no choice anyway but to leave the room. Fortunately, he knew he would be able to quickly escape the questioning thanks to his quickly-approaching appointment. He frowned, acting to regain his composure and wipe the water from his eyes before he stepped forward and opened the door.

* * *

"Well, you'll be pleased to hear that everything seems alright with the baby, and I can see no signs of stress trauma from your battle the other day. I'd still like you to take it easy though," Dr Imai said, filling in a chart with a pen.

"Thanks doctor," Rika replied, sitting up and promptly trying to wipe away the jelly with a towel. Once done, she let her shirt drop back down over her bump, before breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad that everything is okay."

"You'll also be pleased to hear that you guessed right about the sex of the baby," Fumiko said to the couple, placing the chart down on a table with a smile as she expected the pair to mirror and even exceed her expression of happiness.

But, to her surprise, Takato said nothing while Rika simply nodded in acknowledgement. "Okay," she answered.

Fumiko paused for a moment, expecting some of the usual surprise that came whenever she had been responsible for telling prospective parents about the gender of their child, but nothing came. It struck her as extremely unusual for them to take this quite so naturally: surely they'd at least express gratitude?

Brushing it aside, she moved onto some business which was unfortunately a fair bit less cheery. "As you know, you're currently in the second trimester and you can expect to seriously gain weight as you move into the third in a few weeks time. Your due date is at the end of February, as you know, so as we discussed our appointments will become two-weekly rather than monthly from the twenty-eighth week, and then for the last four weeks you'll be visiting me on a weekly basis."

"Okay."

"Unfortunately, this is likely to be a difficult and painful time for you," Fumiko said, imparting the bad news that she was sure Rika would already have been concerned about. "Along with the weight gain, you can expect back pain, bladder weakness and general frustration."

"How wonderful," Rika groaned, rolling her eyes and sighing deeply.

"I'm here to support you throughout of course, so you won't be alone through any of it," Fumiko reassured, before looking to the boy near her. "And I'm sure Takato will be able to help too," she said, making Takato snap out of a blank distant gaze and to reality. He looked about, seeing Rika and the doctor looking at him.

"Even if he hasn't said much the whole time we've been here," Rika noted with a touch of bitterness to her voice.

"Mmm, yes, I suppose that's true," Fumiko mumbled, not particularly liking how Rika had sounded just then. Takato was clearly still struck by the prospect, and the room about them and the subject at hand was clearly one that would alienate any father-to-be, let alone one of such a young age and lacking experience with such a hugely serious matter. "Well, I look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks time for our usual appointment then."

Rika's bitter edge dropped, and she turned, nodding to the doctor. "Okay," she said, standing up off the bed with a slight stumble. She turned smiling to the doctor. "I'll see you then," she replied, the woman guided them both to the door.

"See you again soon," Takato said to her, Fumiko smiling and nodding to the still-nervous boy.

"See you," Rika repeated, as the doctor wandered away along the corridor, heading to her next appointment which would naturally be in a different ward. The pair watched her go, before Rika turned to Takato and punched him in the shoulder. "It's all your bloody fault!"

Takato's eyes widened in surprise as he noted how hard Rika had punched him, even if it still felt like a playful punch.

"All this crap I'm going to go through in the next few months is all…" Rika began, before stopping and frowning as she looked to Takato's shoulder. "Oh…sorry," she mumbled, her mood flipping back on itself as she nervously tried to avoid his gaze.

"_**WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?! Takato, for God's sake tell her off for it!"**_

"Uh…" Takato began, still unsure what to say. Today hadn't exactly been a charismatic day for him, and he certainly wasn't about to follow Chaos' suggestion. Rika just didn't need that right now.

"I hate these stupid mood swings," she complained, a saddened tone to her voice. "But it's just becoming all too real."

Takato, still unsure exactly how to react, simply moved next to her and put one arm around her back. The pair began to walk back towards the waiting room while Takato finally attempted to vocally reassure her. "I'm sure it'll be okay."

"No, you're not sure at all."

"Uh…yeah, I know, it's just…that place is weird."

"It's just a hospital room."

"That creeps me out enough."

"Ugh."

* * *

"The tea they make here is nothing compared to what you make Seiko," DarkBiyomon finally broke the silence, sipping from a cardboard cup while sitting on a hard plastic chair next to her newfound `partner'. Seiko nodded, frowning as she looked down into the light brown liquid in her own cup.

"Thank you," she replied, a slim smile on her face as she drank again from the container. Returning it to be nestled between her hands, placed on her lap, she looked over to the bird. "So, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know at all," DarkBiyomon replied, looking back to the woman and the grey and purple device now strapped to her wrist. "Do you want to be partners?"

"The concept has never crossed my mind before. Indeed, I've never even heard of any Tamers older than twenty years of age."

"So why are we partners then?"

"I was hoping that you could have come up with an answer to that."

"I see. But, what do you want to do then?"

"It's entirely up to you. Whilst I know I couldn't do most of the stuff that my granddaughter does in battle, I also know that having a partner has made her happy beyond measure," she said, looking off into space with a warm smile before looking back down to the bird. "What do you want DarkBiyomon?"

"I really don't know anymore. I guess…I guess it's nice to have you as a friend, but…I never asked for this."

"Destiny has a funny way of surprising us, doesn't it?"

"You're telling me," DarkBiyomon replied, a dour tone to her voice. She sighed deeply, frowning and looking to her Tamer. "I suppose that it doesn't really matter what we think about it all though."

Seiko frowned, nodding in agreement as she held up her arm with the D-Vice on it. "My daughter's activities over the past few years have given me the impression that the bond this device makes is unbreakable, apart from, you know, death," she said the last part uncomfortably, and sighed when she saw the frown on the bird's face.

"If we are stuck like this, we may as well make the best of it I suppose."

"Yes, true. I would've supported you regardless, of course, but this gives me just another reason to do so. I would be proud to be your Tamer."

"True. And…thanks, for helping me out today and for wanting to be my Tamer, even after everything I did."

"No problem," Seiko replied, smiling as she looked into the bird's large green eyes. This was going to change their lives, for sure, but she knew that so long as they worked together they would each be able to find happiness through it.

* * *

"You look like you've seen a ghost," dryly said Ryder as he walked into the surgery of Dr Fumiko Imai, the woman staring at him with a look of disbelief as she watched him walk unhindered about the typically dull and grey room. She couldn't even say a thing at first, instead simply blinking and standing up from her seat before wandering around to him. MiniDonmon fluttered away from his head, landing on the end of the pale blue sheeted hospital bed in the room.

"Do you mind if I take a closer look?" she asked, the boy nodding and smiling before sitting up on the bed and rolling up his pant leg to unveil his scratch-less and bruise-less (if rather hairy) legs. "Well…I'm not really sure what to say," she stuttered, not needing much more of a look to see that he was fine.

"I'm making a habit of this, aren't I?"

Fumiko nodded in agreement. "As a doctor I've been surprised many times but you are setting a new record. Have you felt any pain from it since you found you didn't need the crutches anymore?"

"Nope, none at all. And, I didn't exactly find that I didn't need the crutches anymore either."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you know how I died before and then recovered."

"Yes, I still wonder how you did that to this day."

"Yeah, well, turns out that those two occasions weren't just a lucky fluke. On Sunday, during this big battle, I was shot several times, including in the arm, here," he said, pointing to the area where the possessed Mari had fired a very painful shot. "I got shot in the legs too, and it was so painful I sort of wanted to die to get it over with."

"Christ, what happened then to make all of that occur?"

Ryder frowned, not sure if he could really tell the woman, even if she had been a great help to him over the past few months. Plus, telling her that his girlfriend had been the firer of some of the bullets wasn't exactly something which would reassure the woman as to his relationship with Mari, a relationship she knew all too well was a difficult one at times. "Well…I don't want to go into details but one of our friends turned on us, and, well, unfortunately they ended up paying the ultimate price…" _"…thanks to me."_

The woman's eyes widened in surprise. "Is Mari okay?" she asked, fearful that the girl who she had learnt a while back had a gun at her disposal had been killed.

Ryder nodded quickly, realising why the doctor would suspect such a thing. "She's fine, if a bit shaken. But, this friend…they killed me, literally."

"Huh?"

The boy frowned again, pointing to the body parts as he explained. "A bullet in the left arm, left leg and right leg, two in the stomach and one straight through my skull," he explained. "Plus the one in my arm from before and the one in my leg, the fatigue from the battle and the heavy sustained bleeding. I must've been dead before I even hit the floor."

"What?!" Dr Imai exclaimed, her eyes widening with each new piece of information. "How on earth…how on earth are you still alive?" she stuttered, looking the boy over and glancing about to check she wasn't dreaming all this.

The boy simply shrugged as Fumiko's world stayed real, much to her amazement. "I haven't the slightest clue, but…I know I did die, and then, I just…came back to life, fully healed."

"This is just…impossible."

"I thought it was too."

"But, the thing is, the last time you died, the last two times you died, you kept your injuries."

"I know. It's been bugging me too."

"Ryder, maybe there was something different about your death last time?" MiniDonmon piped up, gesturing towards Ryder.

"Like what?"

"Well, you were asleep, your injuries were harsh and full-body and you were under the effect of a number of drugs drip-fed to you that were meant to heal you. I don't know, maybe we overdid it given you healed anyway, like taking too many of the same drug and killing the patient even when a small dose would heal them?" Dr Imai suggested, trying to apply what little relevant medical knowledge she had on a subject way beyond medicine.

"Uh, maybe…but…I don't know, at all."

"Hmm…there was another thing though Ryder," Fumiko said, her mind throwing up one very key fact about the events as she clicked a pair of fingers together. "Both times I gave you defibrillation."

"So…uh…wouldn't that just make my heart go again?"

"Ugh…yeah, true…I am getting the impression we may never know the truth," Fumiko replied, frowning before her eyes gleamed with a new prospect. "If we could only work out what causes it, this could be a breakthrough for medical science."

"Yeah, I guess it is, but…I really don't know what's causing it, and I doubt that even dissecting me would work as every time you killed me I'd just magically heal up and wake up."

"Hmm, yes," Dr Imai replied, before taking on an awkward expression as she wondered how to phrase what she wanted to say next. "Ryder, I'm not sure how to ask this question, but, as your doctor, I would like to know: is there something…different about you that you simply haven't told me?"

Ryder frowned, recalling how despite his many chats with this woman, and the number of times she had helped him (even if it was also her job), he had never actually told her the truth about his inhumanity. "Unfortunately, yes," he sighed, glancing to MiniDonmon who watched with intrigue.

Fumiko's eyes widened slightly in amazement that she was actually on to something here. He really was hiding something, and it was obviously more than the fact that he was a Tamer because he would always make that pretty clear to everyone. Indeed, just the sight of his partner and the regular comments from the media and from websites like Digital Watch had made that pretty obvious too.

"I am not entirely human, you see," he replied, the doctor cocking her head in curiosity.

"So what are you?"

"Well…it's strange but you are going to have to just believe me. I am the leader of a group of ten Angels, these beings who are…well…I would say holy but we're not omnibenevolent."

"Uh…come again?"

Ryder restarted, realising he'd just confused the issue and left the woman even more bewildered. "Right, you know how all these religions have gods and stuff. Well, there are a pair of Gods, only…they're not really the kind of all-loving and kind Gods that the religions invent. I'm not even sure if they made the whole universe either, but they are linked into this Digimon thing."

"I can't tell if you're telling the truth or telling me about a novel you're writing."

"Truth, and you're just going to have to trust me on this. These two Gods, they made a number of humans with augmented DNA who would have abilities beyond other humans. They would forever be a part of society, reincarnating again and again but until I arrived in this world none of us incarnated."

"Arrived in this world?"

"Yeah, you know, from the universe I came from before this government project to make a portal went haywire and pulled me here."

"Hmm…as much as you tell me to believe you, this is just getting beyond belief."

"Believe me, I find it hard to believe myself."

"So, is this why you're unable to die?"

"I haven't a clue really, but I don't think so, no."

"Huh?"

"Well, Mari is the second Angel and Henry is the third, but…I get the impression that neither of them could do this."

"Wait. Mari is the second one?"

"Yeah, she's known since before my accident, and Henry discovered his Angelhood only two days ago."

"But…none of you have ever told me any of this."

"It's hard enough to explain when we want to tell it. We don't want people getting the wrong idea; we're not evil, or sinister, or anything, we're just like everyone else."

Fumiko sat down on the bed, finding the concept remarkably hard to grasp and believe despite the fact that she already knew Ryder wasn't exactly normal, and neither were his friends. But, she also knew they weren't alien; that much was clear. "Don't worry; I've already got that idea from seeing you all together."

"Heh, well…it's not exactly something that doctors would know how to deal with."

"But we can learn," Dr Imai said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "You wouldn't believe the number of medical articles I have to read every week and the number of lectures I need to attend each year just to keep up to scratch on how we're treating parents right now. Medicine changes all the time because we're always researching new things and trying to work out why random stuff like this happens."

"Yeah, my immortality sort of is a one finger salute to the whole of medicine."

"True, but, perhaps, through you, we can bring a revolution to the world of medicine. If we can work out how you can survive death, maybe we could use it to cure so many diseases? Even to cheat death itself in the worst circumstances," she said, a look of optimism in her eyes only seen before when she first started in medicine all those years ago as an intern, eager to help patients and yet to be demoralised by the reality of hospital life.

Ryder frowned, looking down at his hands as he sighed. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, curing a cancer, or even the common cold or flu would be great, but…I don't want to give immortality to anyone. It's what makes us human and living."

"But what about people who don't have a chance to live? And surely, the absence of death would only make the world a nicer place? No need for war, no more suffering from disease, and even if we ran out of food it wouldn't matter because we wouldn't need it anymore."

"Only the rich could afford whatever it could be, so they'd be able to amass vast wealth while the poor died. It'd hardly be a world without war either, simply a world where the army with the immortal soldiers always won, and if two sides with them went up against each other, they'd simply take an endless wave of devastation with them and kill everything about them, even worse than what they do now, and nothing could ever stop them. The world would be stripped bare of resources simply to house the people who did exist and cater for all their wants and needs."

"I see what you mean."

"Plus, I wouldn't wish this sort of punishment on anyone," the boy sighed, looking sadly down before looking across to Dr Imai. "I'm going to live forever, and so I'll just have to stand by and watch everyone I love die, including Mari. I'll go into battle after battle with no risk apart from losing all of them, and if the world ever ends, I'll just be left alone on a cold rock."

Fumiko nodded and frowned, agreeing with the boy's words. It saddened her to see anyone have to deal with a situation like this, especially someone young, but Ryder was showing maturity beyond his years.

"Death gives us size," Ryder said, looking towards the ceiling with a frown. "Without death, what's the point of life? The whole struggle becomes meaningless."

"Yeah, that's true. I'd also be out of a job."

Ryder chuckled, doctor and patient both laughing. "Yeah, very true. Still, I suppose I won't have to worry about getting killed by anything. The problem is, if I can't die, can I still age?"

"Ah, I see your point. Naturally, I don't know."

"Heh, I think that my relationship with Mari would get very strange if I was eternally stuck as a seventeen year old."

"God, imagine if you had kids. They'd end up older than you."

"Plus, I'd never be able to rent eighteen-certificate films."

"Better hope you can age then."

"Even that would have its problems too. If I could live forever, I would end up just being…well, a crumpled mass of bones."

"But would you? If each time you die, you heal; you could just avoid arthritis and everything. You'd be old, but you'd also be healthy."

"Hmm…but maybe I would die of old age anyway?"

"I haven't a clue, but it's an interesting concept to talk about."

"Yeah. It's a shame really, because now that I'm healed I don't really have any reason to come here anymore other than when I get the sniffles or tagging along with Rika and Takato."

"That is a shame, because I would like to keep track of your progress. You're an interesting case of mine, and whilst I wouldn't for a second consider writing a medical paper on you given the amount of attention it'd get and how secretive you need to be, I would still like to keep in contact," she noted. She pulled a pen from her top pocket along with a notebook. Pulling off a sheet, she began scribbling down a series of details, before passing the paper over to Ryder.

"Huh?"

"That's my phone number and email address. I'm pretty busy but I'm sure that I could find a chance to talk to you, both about this and about life in general. I'm registered as your doctor anyway, but just consider this a personal service for a special case. Oh, and tell Mari she's free to contact me too."

"Thanks," Ryder replied, nodding and smiling. "I'll keep you posted on…my condition," he mumbled, frowning as, thanks to being given the contact details and connecting with another person, the thought came back that he couldn't die. Dr Imai would die before him even though she was a lot older. So would Mari. So would everyone.

Sighing, he stood up, turning to the doctor and putting out a hand. She returned the handshake, smiling to try and give the boy some optimism as she did so.

"Thank you Doctor Imai."

"Fumiko."

"Heh, you sound like Rika's grandma," Ryder replied, a dour look on his face as his mind began to run through the same old arguments over death, one that he knew he would have again and again for the rest of his life. And that was clearly going to be a very long time.

"Call it patient-doctor informality," Fumiko quipped, failing to cheer the boy up. He gave little more than an empty smile as the pair wandered towards the door of the surgery.

"Yeah, suppose so," he replied, as he opened the door. He turned to face her. "I'll see you soon then," he said, frowning.

"Yeah, see you," she replied, saddened to see him go before she could help him deal with what was currently bothering him, even if she knew that even with her qualifications it was well above her level of expertise. MiniDonmon waved goodbye with a small hand, before following his Tamer out of the room. Fumiko replied with a slight wave, before staring at the door once it closed. _"There goes the strangest case I have ever had," _she thought, knowing that nothing in her career from now on would ever mirror this. At least it made life a bit less boring for a while, and had opened her eyes to a thousand other mysteries, most of them probably unsolvable.

She chuckled, lightly, rolling her eyes before turning and heading back towards her desk.

"_Bring on the next one," _she thought, instilled with new vigour in her medical career once again as she picked up the phone.

* * *

Ryder closed the door behind him, taking a deep breath before opening his eyes to see a familiar figure in the dull and dreary hospital corridor, her lips fallen as far as her hair.

"Are you okay then?" she asked nervously, concern laden deep in her voice. He nodded, before wandering forward and putting his arms around her, confusing her periodically as to whether his nod was a lie. Was he really okay, or was he just saying that?

"I'm just so worried."

"Did she diagnose something then?" she asked, worry darting across her expression.

"No, I'm completely healthy, and I always will be," he sighed, the pair finally letting up on their tight embrace but still holding each other loosely by the shoulders. "That's what's scaring me."

"What do you mean Ryder?"

"If I never die, one day I'm going to lose you," he said, his hands tensing up as he pulled her closer in. "And I don't want that to ever happen."

Mari frowned, wrapping her arms further round the boy and trying to put on a reassuring tone despite her own concerns about the same subject. He pressed his head into her shoulder. "Ryder, Ryder, come on now…don't get upset…we can spend our whole lives together, make the most of the time we have. We don't want to waste it with crying when we can be laughing, and happy, and in love."

"Yeah, I know, but…when it's all over…" he asked, looking to her again with as-yet tearless eyes.

"We'll deal with that then," Mari replied, not liking being put on the spot when she wasn't ready to deal with things herself. "Right now…I think you need a cup of brown liquid," she said, turning to look down the corridor the same way he was and putting her arm over his shoulder as he nodded. Smiling bravely to him, they began to walk along the hallway back towards the waiting room. Ryder looked to Mari, recalling how he had once told her about how railway station coffee and tea in the UK was never real tea or coffee but still for some reason had its own charms as a brown liquid. Hospital tea seemed to be an eerie clone of this. Ryder gave a slight frown.

"Hmm…you remember everything I say far too well."

"Uh, thanks."

Coming to a crossways in the hallways, they didn't bother to look the either way, too wrapped up in their own world to consider what could be fast approaching.

Something hit Ryder in the side, the pair of them tumbling together to the floor with pained shoulders and surprise. Ryder's arm, still gripped onto Mari's opposite shoulder, found itself under her and numbed in the process, the only relief being that perhaps he broke her fall somewhat.

Ryder looked up, his blurring eyes quickly clearing enough to see a mass of blonde hair and a worried expression on a girl bending over the pair of them and nursing her own sore head.

"Ivy?!" Mari exclaimed, sitting up with a start and confirming it wasn't just Ryder's imagination playing tricks on him.

Mari stared on, never having seen the girl this close up before. Regardless, she knew it had to be Ivy, given Ryder's reaction and the fact her clothes were exactly the same as the ones Ryder had described and that she had seen before. Ivy continued to look shocked, opening her mouth but failing to say a word. She looked over the pair of them while she, for some reason, endlessly tapped her middle finger and thumb together on her left hand at a regular interval.

"How…what…what are you doing here?" Ryder asked, dearly hoping the girl would finally answer his questions.

"What's the finger thing about?" Mari asked, raising a hand and pointing across at it. Ivy glanced down, looking up and finally opening her mouth and going to speak.

Then, she faded from existence once again.

Surprise faded to irritation for the pair staring into thin air as Ryder promptly got to his feet. He reached out to where she had stood, putting his hand through it to confirm she hadn't just gone invisible. She had really vanished again, without even a trace. What was going on?

"I…I…just, ugh…" Ryder began, stuttering for how exactly to express his emotions at that moment. Pissed off, frustrated and bewildered simply didn't do it justice. He turned back to face Mari, the girl now back on her feet. He half expected her to get annoyed at him and Ivy for pulling such a stunt on her again, but instead she described Ryder's feelings far better than he could.

"Damn it."

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out, I've had a long, busy and arduous two weeks. Regardless, only two chapters left. I actually feel pretty nostalgic and sentimental actually, the next chapter is the last one to be set in 2010, and the last "proper" chapter in this book.

Until next time…

B.C.


	70. The Trick To Endings Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

Yep, I was at 27,000 words of this chapter when it hit me that no-one could possibly hold such an attention span, so once again, we have a multi-part chapter to be published over the next few days, and once again, I count this as a single chapter.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 64**

_The Trick to Endings_

**Part One

* * *

****TUESDAY, 26****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Outside Shinjuku Upper High School, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:19 JST**_

There was a cheery mood to the air as teenagers finally escaped the repressive prison they considered to be school, a mood quickly dampened when the dark skies overhead were seen; the tinges of the earlier and earlier evenings that were rolling in clear to see.

Sakura was one of those many children, wandered aside of the school gate and stopped once she had exited. Glancing to her gray D-Vice periodically as she reached down into her pocket, she saw nothing notable enough to draw her attention. No flashing warning, no red screen, just normality.

"_Lovely," _she thought happily, before she frowned and looked to her mobile she had pulled out of her pocket. _"Now if only I had as much luck with confidence," _she added, flicking through the contacts and hesitating over the dial button once she reached the most recently added one.

She sighed, wondering why she had so much difficulty with talking to him. Knowing that she was simply denying the reason, she looked to the heavens and rolled her eyes at herself.

"_It's just a stupid crush, get over it Sakura," _she thought, a burst of confidence making her press the dial button. She put it to her head, beginning to play with her blue hair nervously as it rang.

"_**Hello?"**_

"Hey, Kohaku, it's Sakura."

"_**Oh, hey," **_he replied, a tone of happiness to his voice.

"_**Hey, bozo! What are you doing to that thing? Geez, I think you're losing your mind you stupid…"**_

"_**Dracmon, quiet! It's a mobile phone."**_

"_**A wazza?"**_

"_**Never mind."**_

A slim smile crossed Sakura's face as she listened to the sound of his voice, so much so that instead of replying she simply ended up staring dreamily off into space.

"…_**Sakura…Sakura, are you there?"**_

Blushing, she chuckled nervously, snapping from her trance. "Yeah, sorry, got distracted but…uh…yeah."

"_**Uh, okay…so, why did you call?"**_

"Oh, I was just wondering if…you know, if you're not too busy and if you haven't been given a detention again by your evil teacher, would you like to, you know, meet up somewhere?"

"_**Yeah, sure…where?"**_

"Uh…um…the park?"

"_**Isn't it closed?"**_

"Oh, yeah, right. Um…hey, do you know where the tunnel comes out?"

"_**The big one under the park. Yeah, I think I could find it."**_

"Good, I'll see you there, okay?"

"_**Yeah, sure. I'll be there in twenty minutes or so."**_

"Great. See you then,"

"_**Yeah, bye."**_

Sakura hung up the phone, before grinning and cheering silently to herself as she clenched a fist and shook it in front of her face in celebration with her eyes closed, her hair shaking and falling down over her face but not stopping her wide smile.

"Sakura?" asked a new voice, a plant-like creature suddenly protruding from the tree only a few inches above her. Sakura froze up, chuckling nervously as she looked up into Floramon's eyes.

"Yeah Floramon?"

"What's up? You're acting weird."

"Uh…nothing," the blue haired girl stuttered before quickly changing the subject, her eyes darting about the area. "Have you checked that no-one is around to see you first like I told you to?"

"Nope," Floramon replied with a blasé expression. Sakura rolling her eyes and slapping herself in the forehead in disbelief at her partner's quick actions.

"_So much for subtlety."_

* * *

_**Akiyama Residence, Kyushu**_

_**15:30 JST**_

The door to the small yet adequate home opened as the key pulled back the bolt, a brunette stepping in dressed in clothes that looked rather medieval, even if they weren't the same clothes he wore originally. Onto his belt was clipped a blue D-Arc with a white circle about the screen, whilst a pack of cards was faithfully clipped to the other side.

"Monodramon, I'm home," he called out, a touch of concern in his voice as it echoed slightly in the home. Getting no reply, he wandered forward, looking worriedly up the stairs before turning into the living room where he sighed a breath of relief at seeing the sleeping form on the dull blue couch.

However, seeing the crease marks in the pillow Monodramon was using rather concerned his Tamer, and his concerns were confirmed when the dragon groaned in annoyance and turned over, before uncomfortably turning back again. Ryo frowned; Monodramon hadn't been sleeping well for months, indeed, ever since he had hatched again from the egg.

Sitting down on the end of the sofa, he dropped a hand onto his partner's purple foot, stroking it caringly as the Digimon slowly came to, his old friend's yellow eyes looking worse for wear as they fluttered open.

"Ryo," he uttered, achingly pushing himself up. The boy smiled bravely, nodding. "How was school?"

"You don't look so good buddy," Ryo replied instead of answering the Digimon's question, Monodramon clearly not wanting to raise the subject of his rough sleeping and concern his Tamer further. It pained the boy to see the Digimon like this.

"Just the usual sleeping problems. I could do with some food though."

Ryo chuckled, nodding in agreement and standing up with a brave smile. "One fridge raid, coming up," he said as the Digimon turned himself around, dangling his purple legs and grey claw-like toes over the edge of the sofa. He turned to watch as Ryo headed through the door into the adjacent kitchen, flashing a concerned glance to him as he did so.

The bottles of milk, beer and water on the shelves on the fridge door clattered as the teenager opened it, looking in and pondering what he could make to cheer up the poor Digimon. Deciding that he wasn't up to much more than microwaving some premade pancakes, he took the packet out of the fridge, placing them on the top and closing the door.

"_So, Milleniummon isn't letting up at all," _he mentally noted as he pulled forth a plate and took a momentary glance back into the living room. _"Suppose I was being optimistic in hoping that he would."_

Putting two pancakes on the plate, he went to put the packet back before pausing. Chuckling to himself, he added a pair more, knowing that Digimon, particularly reptilian ones, were bottomless pits. Replacing the packet in the fridge, he went back up to the plate, putting it into the microwave and setting the time. With a press of a button, it whirred into life, unfortunately giving the boy a minute with his tremulous thoughts.

He turned, leaning up against the counter and sighing quietly, not wanting to concern his partner. This was just getting to worry him; what was Milleniummon waiting for? If he could escape, why hadn't he by now? Did he just want to torture him and Monodramon for now, and if so what had happened to dreams of conquering the world?

"_He's probably just waiting for the best moment, which'll be our worst moment. Great," _he mentally, sighed, running a hand through his upward-gelled hair and doing little to disrupt it from its solid sweep up. It'd been his haircut for ages, both in the Digital and Real Worlds, only in the Digital World it seemed to self-maintain without him needing to do a thing.

For all its faults, if it were a bit safer, the Digital World would be a picturesque and perfect place to live. Not that safety there would be an easy road to drive down. If it wasn't the natural creatures there letting out their aggression (particularly in the Southern Region) that endangered you, it was the evil overlords who caused chaos throughout every plane, like Milleniummon himself. Or, of course, there were those random, terrible destructive events like the D-Reaper. All three were pretty damaging on their own, and even more so together.

"_Milleniummon makes the D-Reaper actually look like jelly with his huge ambitions. The D-Reaper deletes you from now; Milleniummon would wipe you from eternity if he could. The worst thing is, he won't kill me…I don't think he can…but he'll kill my friends without a second thought. I have to stop him before he even gets a chance. Right now he's weak…but…" _he thought, looking across to his partner still looking tired and distressed in the other room. _"I know that Monodramon's weak too. If he goes berserk again, then what do I do? I don't want to kill him, but I know we'll have to fight him. Milleniummon wouldn't miss that chance to hurt us. What's worse is that once I fight him, I'll have to deal with telling everyone else about everything. Even if they don't take offense that I didn't tell them all this time, the knowledge of the stakes could put a lot of pressure on them when the Demons and Rey and everything are already crushing them."_

The microwave pinged, the boy taking the plate out with a sigh. Quickly pouring a glass of water and sprinkling sugar and lemon over the top, he carried both back into the living room. He smiled cheerfully and falsely to his partner, before placing the pair down on the table.

"Here you go buddy."

"Thanks Ryo," Monodramon replied, sitting up and looking eagerly over at his prepared meal. He paused, looking to Ryo with concern, his worry about his oddly smiling Tamer overriding his salivating for the food in front of him. "Hey, Ryo, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You never smile like that."

"Oh. Well, just a bit worried about…you know…" Ryo replied, this smile dropping as he realised that Monodramon knew him too well.

"Oh, _him_," the dinosaur replied. "I know it won't be too bad."

"_Hmm, sure. I just think he's trying to reassure me," _"Hope so."

"You really need to talk to someone Ryo if you're feeling this bad."

"Yeah, but who? I could talk to Ken but he's got enough problems in his past and we've talked about Milleniummon tons of times before without coming to any solutions, and right now I really don't feel like telling this any of the Tamers let alone the Digidestined."

"What about Ryder? He seems to know about it all from his other universe anyhow."

"Yeah, but, I don't know what he knows. And I don't really want to involve anyone in this; anyone I involve will just get hurt by _him_."

"You've always got me Ryo."

"Yeah, true." _"I hope."_

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park Tunnels Entrance, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:46 JST**_

The sunlight began to die from the park, but the darkness which came with it made little difference to those playing within.

Or rather, would have made no difference if there were any, since, for the first time in perhaps a decade or two, the park was silent, all thanks to a mile or so of yellow tape around the outside, closing off all entrances. Of course, the yellow tape alone wasn't exactly going to stop someone who wanted to get in from doing so. The threat of police action, and, indeed, the unknown nature of what could be inside, prevented all but the most curious Digital Watch members from doing so, and even they had been caught on occasion.

So, the children of the neighbourhood, absent their usual playground, were forced to resort to other ways of passing the time, ranging from meeting up outside, playing video games at home, or, god forbid, doing homework thanks to strict parents.

An example of someone doing the former, in this case, was a blue haired girl who had only come to this particular area of Japan a few months earlier. She stood outside one of the exits of the large tunnel running underneath the park, which had surprisingly also been taped off, evidently the police knowing what tricks kids could pull. Sakura knew that a number of police officers were patrolling the perimeter to, an unnerving sight of both the government's worry about the digital threat and of the concern about the problems teenagers could cause without such a central place to meet up.

She sighed, leaning back on a short wall and glancing aside along the pavement, one earphone from her MP3 player in one ear and the other chatting away to itself where it hung down by her side, not aware that it wasn't being listened to. Seeing nothing of who she was waiting for, and feeling embarrassed for doing so, she quickly shied back, a thin veil of blush on her cheeks. Floramon stood near her, oblivious to her Tamer's fluctuating infatuation thanks to her continuing amazement at this new world about her. It was something which Sakura was sure would eventually cease but for now it proved useful to allow her to listen to her music without feeling she was ignoring the plant-like Digimon.

As a song came over the speakers, her active imagination linking the most irrelevant of lyrics to her current situation, she began to ponder about it all. Or rather, have her mind wander from pillar to post.

"_Maybe he doesn't really like me? Am I just being stupid? Am I just rushing into this too fast? But he seems nice, and he does seem happy to see me. Maybe it's just because we're both Tamers, or just because we're friends. He saved me and I saved him, but…it's not like we wouldn't have tried to save anyone else in the same situation. Ugh, what am I thinking? I can tell he doesn't see me in that way at all. Why would anyone want to be with me?" _she sighed, attracting the attention of her partner._ "This song is so right," _she thought, before the player quickly moved onto another song which she would see just as much nonexistent relevance.

"Sakura, are you okay?" asked the plant Digimon, head tilted in curious concern at her partner's strange and random sigh.

"Yeah, don't worry," Sakura said, frowning and simply making the Digimon worry more. As Floramon went to open her mouth, Sakura smiled instead, confining the Digimon to silence for the time being. _"I hope he gets here soon."_

_**

* * *

Perimeter of Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:46 JST**_

"Okay Dracmon, can you please promise me something now? Please?"

"Ugh…you could at least tell me what it is _before _you tell me to promise it. I'm not agreeing to anything without knowing what it is," Dracmon complained, irritation on his face where he stopped on the concrete wall alongside the boy. "Geez, is this how you humans manage to get people to agree to stuff?"

"Can you, you know, _not_ embarrass me?"

"I don't know, you seem to be embarrassed by a lot of things."

"Please," Kohaku pleaded, gripping his hands together in a mix of a beg and a prayer.

"Ugh…okay," Dracmon sighed, rolling his red and green eyes. Kohaku still had to get used to the fact this Digimon had different coloured eyes, and that was the least of it. At least animals looked vaguely normal and non-grotesque; as cool as Dracmon was, he wasn't _exactly_ the cuddliest thing ever. Certainly, a Digimon that was a bit cuter and a bit nicer could've made the black haired boy a lot more attractive to girls in his mind.

Of course, he himself knew that perhaps right now it didn't matter how cute his partner was; he still had the feeling one blue haired girl in particular was making just a few too many looks and smiles and gestures to simply have intentions of friendship.

"_Ugh, but what do I do about it all?" _he pondered, frowning. At least he could attempt to ensure Dracmon wouldn't mess everything up for him before he even got a chance to work out how he felt, although he doubted that, short of the most catastrophic prank or mistake, Dracmon could break Sakura's growing crush on him. "Good."

"Okay, but what on earth is embarrassing for you? I swear Mr Black and Blue, you get embarrassed by everything I do."

"Maybe because you have a habit of doing tactless things? And also, that's not my name. It's Kohaku. Ko-ha-ku. Got that?"

"Fine as your mum's store-bought riceballs Kuhako."

"Kuhako?" he began about to be offended before he realised it wasn't a battle he could win. "Ugh, close enough," Kohaku groaned, rubbing his hand into his forehead and through his hair as they resumed their walk. Why did he have to have all the luck? He just hoped that Dracmon would stick to his promise.

Dracmon grinned slyly. "So, you interested in this gal then?"

Kohaku stuttered, surprised by how Dracmon so easily raised the topic. Part of him yearned to be that carefree and unhindered by social taboos, but he also knew it'd probably ruin every social link he had to be so. "W-what?! No, of course not, what gives you that idea?"

"I may have only been here two days Kuhako but I ain't stupid. Hey, I'm guessing that whatever the hell it is, ya wanna do that sex thing with her, dontcha?"

"W-waaah?!" Kohaku exclaimed, stopping in his tracks and looking at his partner in shock, so much so that probably for the first time Dracmon actually had genuine concern for his partner, the Tamer's jaw practically on the floor.

"Uh, what's wrong Kuhako?" Dracmon asked, a sweat drop slowly dripping down his face.

"Where did you hear _that_?" he exclaimed. "I never told you about all of…you know, that," Kohaku added, his tone anxious and uncomfortable about this particular matter. He barely talked about that kind of thing with anyone, let alone a creature who acted like a child, was shorter than a child and was as immature as a child (even if his foul language strayed into very adult realms). It wasn't something people discussed openly, certainly not when they had only just met. Indeed, even with his close friends it was normally only for joke purposes.

"Why, what is it? Come on buddy, let me in on the secret here, there's only so much TV tells ya."

"_Ugh, I knew it was a bad idea to leave him there all day with the television on," _Kohaku thought, running his hand through his hair. Finally brushing up some determination to face off his partner, he shook his head and crossed his arms. "No, I'm not going to," he insisted, a downcast look quickly crossing the Digimon's face as his Tamer continued to walk without him.

"Aw, come on," Dracmon said, a disappointed tone dominating his voice. It was quickly replaced with anger and irritation as his Tamer made no attempt to reply, practically ignoring his partner for all it was worth as he continued his indignant walk away from his partner. "Fine, be that way," he huffed loudly, crossing his arms before proceeding onwards along the wall after the boy. "I'll just find someone who _will _tell me," he swore under his breath.

* * *

_**Streets of Shinjuku, Shinjuku Road**_

_**15:46 JST**_

The crowds of people swarmed along the pavement, some heading to shops, some having got out of work early, and some, as in the case of a particular dark haired woman and her black-haired six-year old son, walked their kids home from school. The night was gradually making its mark, but darkness was still a while away from settling.

As for this particular son, garbed all in black and being hidden amongst the far taller crowds about him, the oncoming night made little difference.

"_Stupid bullies," _he thought, recalling another run-in with the pair again that day at school. Thankfully, it'd ended far more fairly than last time thanks to a well-timed ring of the school bell and hence a return to class for all three, but he still hated them for what had happened. It was their fault - he hadn't done anything! _"But I still got the blame,_" he added bitterly, crossing his short arms.

He glanced up to his mother, oblivious about her son's thoughts as she walked alongside him, taking occasional glances to ensure she hadn't lost him in the swarm.

"_She probably thinks I'm a really bad kid now for punching those bullies. I hate the Principal, why did he have to call mummy? Aw, I hate this all," _he thought, taking brief notice of the fact that his vision had suddenly improved greatly, going from shadows moving all about him to a nice clear bright light shining from all around. _"I want some good luck!"_

"DC!" shrieked his mother.

DC's eyes snapped open, his mind clicking back to reality from his mental wanderings to see a shadow fast approaching from one side, headlights glaring at him as he froze up in horror.

Brakes screeched as he clenched his eyes shut and waited for the end.

END OF PART ONE…

* * *

Heh, I know this is becoming a bit of a regular occurrence (along with long delays between chapters, for which I apologise) but here goes: I suggest you check out Tamers West by Roguespirit, which is an interesting fic with an interesting idea behind it. You will also want to check out United by TheMightyBlues if you haven't already, Chapter Three is a massive improvement and I am very proud of my young protégé. Anyhow, whatever you end up reading, I hope you enjoy it.


	71. The Trick To Endings Part 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 64**

_The Trick to Endings_

**Part Two**

* * *

**TUESDAY, 26****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Streets of Shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:46 JST**_

Of course, unlike DC, not all kids coming home from school walked with their mothers, particularly not once they reached adolescence, like four of that difficult age who currently also walked through the swarming crowds. Unlike most teens however, two of them were a bit more than your typical teenager, or, indeed, a bit more than most people in general.

Demonstrating that fact, a rust-coloured robot buzzed over the crowd above, the partner of a swept brunette-haired boy in the crowd below, while floating above the shoulder of a shorter boy next to that one was a small pink fairy, which, unknowingly to most, was actually more powerful than the mechanoid by far, even if his usual uses were in far more of a supporting role.

"Kazu, stop complaining! If you really didn't want to go to school, you should've come up with an appointment or something," huffed the taller of the two girls who had joined them on their walk, caramel hair tied in a fallen ponytail at the back, the hair just touching the top of her red sweater, an essential garb given the cold autumnal breezes.

"Mrs Asagi would see straight through it all though," noted another girl, her indigo hair longer than it had been back when she was a child, yet still untied, so it stopped at the base of her neck. Unlike her companion, her clothes were more feminine, a dark blue dress giving way to a pair of greyish tights further down.

"Miki's right - she'd call your doctor to make sure you weren't lying!" quipped the dark green haired boy, his height about the same as that of the caramel-haired girl and far below that of Kazu who had gained in height greatly over the past few years, and like most adolescent males had shot well above his companions.

"Pipipi!" chirped the fairy floating next to him in agreement, a smile on his little mouth.

"I bet she's still just amazed at how a sixteen year old can still be so immature," the caramel-haired girl added with a bitter tone.

"Meh, I'm sure I'll grow up a lot more by the time I'm seventeen."

"In three weeks? Fat chance of that. No wonder you've never had a girlfriend."

Kazu stood still, a frown materialising on his face. Ayaka and the others quickly stopped, and as the caramel-haired girl watched the boy look sadly down at the pavement and contemplate the harsh memories, she had a rare instance of feeling guilty about something she had said to the boy who had almost eternally acted as a counter to her ever since their first day at school together all those years ago.

"Oh, sorry," she replied, knowing that the memory of the one girl he had a crush on would still be fresh in his mind.

He exhaled, quickly continuing his walk before his friends could make an attempt at doling out sympathy to him. Kenta paused, going to reach out a hand but being unable to do so. The trio remaining glanced at each other, before quickly proceeding after him.

"What did you say that for Ayaka?" Miki asked her best friend.

"I didn't mean to, I just…" she started, but was unable to explain herself. Her insults towards the boy, playful and usually not taken personally as they were, were but a force of habit, and right now were particularly badly timed too.

"Kazu, wait up," Kenta called out to his friend, the boy having stopped at the corner of the block they stood on, still not facing his friends. As they caught up to him, Ayaka quickly made an attempt to make up for what she had said.

"Hey, Kazu, I'm sorry, okay?" she apologised, the boy not yet turning. Guardromon floated down, hovering over them with concern at his saddened partner.

Kazu turned, his look of sadness quickly changing to one of irritation as unconsciously a fist clenched by his side. "You better be," he spat, a glare in his eye as he looked into those of the tallest girl. Kenta and Miki looked warily on.

"Hey, don't get like that! I apologised, okay? It was a force of habit."

"Yeah, and you call me insensitive," Kazu replied, their poses both confrontational.

"At least I'm not an immature moron who acts like he's better than the whole world and doesn't accept apologies!"

"Fine, be that way," Kazu huffed, turning around and preparing to cross the road, cursing the heavens when he found the light still told him not to and stifled his dramatic exit. He huffed, simply facing away from his friends and crossing his arms with his eyes closed as the traffic whooshed past one by one.

Why did he have to deal with all this? Why did everyone seem set on sending a few more punches his way?

"_Everyone else has so much better luck."_

Ignoring the calls of his friends behind him and his partner (who had now moved to be alongside him, still hovering in the air slightly), he opened his eyes to check if the signal had changed yet. It hadn't, but as he went to close his eyes again, something else caught his attention.

"Shit!" he cursed, one of his arms shooting out and pointing at a little kid wearing all black who had wandered into the street. "Guardromon, quick!" he exclaimed, the robot not needing to think twice.

With a blast of the jet engines on his back, Guardromon shot forth, flying over the boy's head and interposing himself between a quickly approaching car and the boy at the last second. Metal hit Digital Metal as the car's front crumpled up, the jet engines on the Digimon blasting away at full pelt as the car screeched to a halt barely centimetres from tragedy.

Airbags exploding from the sudden halt and cushioning the momentum of a startled driver onboard, the sound of more brakes from behind as a stream of red brake lights poured along the road, and a collective breath of relief made it clear to DC that he wasn't dead.

"Are you okay young one?" Guardromon called, the boy simply looking up in wonderment at his saviour. Before he could reply however, and certainly before he could even attempt to recover his lower jaw from the floor, footsteps pounded closer to him as voices called out.

"DC!" called his mother.

"Is he okay?" called another voice, the kid not sure where to look. To one side was his mother, gripping him quickly in a bear-hug and not letting go, and to the other was four teenagers along with a number of drivers and pedestrians who had come to see what had happened, the road now blocked up in both directions and surely creating a major tailback.

"Oh my god, he just walked out in front of me!" stuttered a hyperventilating female driver. "Is he okay?" she quickly asked DC's mother, the woman nodding amongst tears and a reddened face.

"Mum, are you okay?" the black-haired boy asked, the hug finally loosening enough for him to see more of what was going on.

"Yeah, but…DC, you scared me!" she exclaimed. "Never do that again!"

"Okay mum," the boy replied, worry in his tone at his mother who had reacted so badly to what had happened. He was still simply amazed to be alive, and was deeply thankful at the timing of a group which he looked up to as heroes. _"I wish I was a Tamer," _he thought, remembering how he had probably missed his chance a few days ago when he had seen that Floramon. _"I'm not brave enough though," _he added, recalling how he had run when the blue-haired girl had arrived. _"I couldn't even stand up to those bullies properly."_

"Thank you so much for saving him," his mother said, standing up to look at the four teenagers and two Digimon who still themselves seemed startled at what had happened, especially a brunette with a visor.

"_Did…did I just save someone's life?!" _"Uh, well…no problem, I guess," Kazu replied, near speechless, both at what he and Guardromon had done and at how he somehow didn't feel like boasting about it as usual. _"Maybe I am changing."_

"All in a day's work my lady," Guardromon said in his typical gallant voice, for once actually fitting the situation rather well.

DC blinked widely, looking up at the large metal Digimon with an astounded gaze. "Wow," he mumbled, his mother gripping onto his hand very tightly in fear she could lose him again.

Kenta pretty much mirrored the boy's expression, but instead looking at the crushed front of the car. "Wow…did that really just happen?"

"Yeah, Kazu just saved an adorable little kid from getting hit by a car," Miki said, a gasp in her breath.

"No, I mean, he just caused two-hundred thousand yen worth of damage to a car," Kenta replied, Miki finally noticing the cracked windscreen, squashed metal and exploded airbags in the vehicle thanks to Guardromon's rather abrupt actions.

"You okay buddy?" Kazu asked his partner, finally considering the concept that the actions could have injured his partner.

"It'd take more than that to harm me," Guardromon replied, Kazu nodding loosely. "You acted quickly Kazu, I'm very proud."

"I didn't do anything," Kazu replied, still astounded by what was going on, and how he was suddenly getting so much praise when Guardromon had actually done the dirty work. Did people just lump them together? What was surprising him more even now was the fact that it wasn't going straight to his head.

"You alerted me to everything; we saved him just in time."

"Yeah…yeah, I did!" Kazu said, a grin creeping onto his face as he contemplated what he had just done, something perhaps on a grand scale more important than what had happened over the weekend. That Sunday, two people had died, people had been hurt and injured, and it had only brought pain. Today, he, alone, had saved someone from death, a child no less. He was a true hero.

Ayaka frowned, watching the boy as he grinned widely, her mind stuck between wanting to make a snide comment on his ego and everything going to his head, and knowing that the previous conversation made that highly inappropriate right now. What was actually amazing her the most, beyond the ego, beyond the heroism, was just how Kazu had swung about from depression and anger to happiness and boasting in a matter of moments. _"God, just when I thought he could've changed," _she thought, bending down to look at the little child who still seemed to be staring at his big, rust-coloured hero with an amazed expression. With a smile, she tried to draw his attention. "Are you okay now?"

DC suddenly became aware - in amongst all of his fantasies of getting a Digimon and changing his entire life for the better (at least in his opinion, a sentiment that certainly wouldn't be echoed by his mother were she to know about it) - that someone was talking to him. His head darted around, catching glimpses of police officers tending to traffic, herding people onto one side of the road so the other lane could be reopened and the traffic could begin to pass through.

"Uh…" he mumbled. "Mmhmm."

Ayaka cursed herself for her lacklustre abilities with children and simply nodded. She promptly turned her attention elsewhere to where a couple of police officers were now talking to the driver of the vehicle about the crash, whilst a medic arrived to ensure that she wasn't injured. As the medic began checking the woman for whiplash and any other consequences of the near-tragic accident, the police officers made their way over to the group, joining their colleague who was interviewing DC's mother.

"We're going to need some assistance to move the car, and we were wondering if your…robot, thing, could help?"

"Certainly," Guardromon replied, Kazu nodding to him with a wide grin on his face.

"_Oh great, now it's really going to his head. We'll never hear the end of this," _Miki thought, pushing a hand up through her indigo hair and sighing as Guardromon's thrusters propelled him across to the car.

DC stared on in awe, whilst his mother finished talking to the officer and turned to her son, interrupting his viewing of the amazing display. "Come on DC, we need to get home so I can put dinner on and have a nice long bath," she said, blocking his line of sight. He fidgeted, trying to look about her but to no avail as he heard the sound of metal against metal and the squealing as the car was pushed sideways onto the sidewalk.

"_Aw, but I want to see the Digimon," _he thought, once again life dealing him a bum hand in luck. Why didn't his mother want him to see such a cool thing? Didn't she like cool things?

"Thank you for saving my boy," his mother said, ignoring his lack of a response beyond a frown and looking back to the brown-haired teenager.

"Hey, no problem. All in a day's work for a Tamer," Kazu boasted, as Guardromon touched down once again next to him, police officers behind scratching their heads in disbelief at what he had just managed to do.

"I know this may sound strange, but I have recently been getting rather bad impressions of your group from the news, but…perhaps I trust the media too much on this," DC's mother reflected, Kenta nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, some of us may be a bit childish but we're still the good guys in all this," he explained, MarineAngemon chirping in agreement.

"Regardless, I should be getting DC home. Thank you ever so much again," she said, feeling pangs of tiredness from a weary and scary day. She turned, pausing only to let DC nervously wave goodbye to the Digimon.

"Goodbye Guardromon, bye MarineAngemon," he said, making Kenta and Kazu's faces drop in surprise.

"No problem young boy," Guardromon replied, waving a rusty hand.

"Pipipi!" chirped MarineAngemon cheerfully, waving a far smaller pink hand as DC was led away by his mother, checking both ways before they crossed the road this time.

Kazu looked to Kenta, both sharing the same look of annoyance and disbelief. "Hey, what about us?" they both complained together once the woman was out of earshot.

Miki and Ayaka simply groaned, rolling their eyes and praying to the heavens that somehow the pair would change for the better after this incident. Of course, their prayers would inevitably go unanswered.

"Well, you didn't _actually_ physically literally really do anything," Ayaka said, stressing her qualifiers in order to avoid her previous mistakes.

"Yeah, but…Guardromon wouldn't have known about it were it not for me," Kazu replied, crossing his arms.

"It was a team effort," Guardromon echoed, attempting to mimic his Tamer but failing due to his far more rigid arms.

"Now come on, let's go to the park and celebrate our victory," Kazu said, beginning to walk and grinning again as Ayaka just stared on in disbelief, finally venting her irritation at everything as she crossed her arms and took a step forward to follow.

"Firstly Kazu, it's still closed, and secondly, what happened to all that hating me just now?" she interrogated, the boy stopping and looking back.

"Wait, you _want_ him to hate you? You're worse than Rika," Kenta asked, confused about why Ayaka would want such a thing when she was effectively just handed a get-out-of-jail-free card.

"No, I think Rika _just_ hates Kazu full stop," Miki mooted, Kenta quickly nodding in agreement, and even MarineAngemon chirping for the same cause.

"No, I don't _want_ him to hate me, I just want to know how you could do a complete one-eighty like that," Ayaka asked, looking into Kazu's eyes and trying to find some semblance of reality and sense within them. "You were depressed just now, and now…now you're over the moon."

"Meh," Kazu replied, putting his arms behind his head with his elbows out. "I just saved somebody from dying, I'd call that a good day, wouldn't you?"

"Just think, that kid will grow up knowing how good you guys are as a group," Miki suggested, Kenta nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, sort of like free advertising."

Kazu frowned for the first time since the events of only a few minutes ago reached his brain and generated a fit of bragging and pride. "We need it right now," he said, the events of what he had seen the previous day flashing through his mind. As murmurs of agreement passed about the group, neither his Tamer friends nor his non-Tamer friends wanting to say too much on that particular subject right now, he glanced up, seeing the rapidly-darkening sky above. "Ugh, it's getting dark already. I hate these short days. I need to sit down and have a nice cold soda, but we're out at my house and my dad will only use Guardromon as a table again, so Kenta, we're going to yours," he said, turning to his friend with a grin.

"Ugh…I love how you just invite yourself over," Kenta groaned sarcastically, his tone making it clear he wasn't exactly as fond of the practice as his words implied.

"Meh, your house is closer anyway," he shrugged, before turning to the pair of girls. "Hey, do you two want to come over too?" Kazu added, a grin on his face despite the fact it wasn't really his role to ask that question.

"Sure," Ayaka replied, rather used to the practice by now. She also felt a need to find out what Kazu was truly thinking, and at least attempt to understand his mindset right now.

"If it's okay with your parents," Miki said, far more politely than her friends.

"Meh, sometimes I think they prefer you guys to me," Kenta said, chuckling lightly as the four began to walk towards the edge of the road again. There wasn't much need to give any more details to the police; all they needed to do was to ask Hypnos if they had any inquiries or any officialdom regarding events like this, and Kenta was pretty sure he'd already seen Miki give her details anyway.

"They've had to put up with you constantly for seventeen years now; that'd make anyone get bored of you," Kazu explained, shrugging as the accident scene passed out of sight, the group immersing itself in the thick crowd.

"With how often Kenta says you're there, they practically have to put up with you constantly too," Ayaka quipped.

"Poor Kenta," Miki said, putting a hand playfully on his shoulder and speaking in a comforting tone. "Don't worry; I'm sure they prefer you to him. You're the quiet, nice one."

"Yeah, but he's also a whiny hypochondriac," Kazu said, catching a glare from Miki which he replied with a patronising pat on the head. "Only joking."

The others simply groaned, as two Tamers, two normal humans and, of course, the two Digimon, vanished from sight around a corner, leaving only a frowning small white fairy-like Digimon sitting on a shop marquee.

"Aw...did I miss all the playing?" he asked, the crowd bustling around below him. He looked about, a smile quickly returning to his face as he began drifting in a new direction. "I'll just have to start a new game!" he said cheerfully.

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park Tunnels Entrance, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:00 JST**_

"Kohaku!" called Sakura, smiling and pulling her headphone from its resting place in her ear as the boy and his partner walked up to her and hers, the latter looking rather disgruntled and following a short way behind.

"Hey Sakura," Kohaku replied, pushing away his downcast tones at the sight of the girl. He didn't want her to think he was miserable or anything, although in reality he was more irritated than actually miserable. "Sorry for being late. We got delayed."

"Don't worry, I'm just glad you're here," the girl replied, the tone in her voice reminding Kohaku of one of his present concerns: her rather obvious crush on him.

"Good evening," pleasantly greeted the plant-like Digimon by the blue-haired girl's side, Floramon looking to their new companions, and, in particular, one disgruntled demon, with intrigue.

"Hey, it's a shame we can't meet up in the park, isn't it?" Kohaku said, glancing to the long stream of yellow tape.

"Yeah. The amount of kids I saw on the streets…it can't be safe at all with all the traffic in this city," Sakura agreed, frowning. "Still, I'm sure it'll reopen soon enough."

"I still want to know why it closed in the first place. You went to the school of all those Tamer guys, have you heard anything?"

Sakura frowned, shaking her head. "Nothing in particular. They were at a funeral this morning and some weren't back by the afternoon, but whatever happened they're not exactly shouting from the rooftops. I mean, I could ask them if you want."

"Hmm…" Kohaku replied, wary of the concept before he shook his head. "I don't know, can we really trust them? How do we know they won't think we're incompetent and take our Digimon away?"

"Hey, no-one's taking me!" Dracmon insisted.

"Yeah, but, they seem nice enough people. I don't think they would do that," Sakura replied, recalling what she had seen so far in her time at Shinjuku Upper High School. "On the other hand, I'm not so sure about all these secret organisations I keep hearing about that they're involved in."

"Yeah, if they find out next thing we know, they'll be strapping us to a table and probing us to see if we're aliens," Kohaku said, half-joking. Sakura simply laughed nervously, before both were interrupted by something even more embarrassing.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Dracmon mumbled, before looking up to the blue haired girl. "Hey, Sakura, I asked Kuhako here but he didn't give me a straight answer, stupid moron," he began.

Hearing those words, Kohaku quickly snapped to with a start as with a rising sense of dread. His mind suddenly raced as he anticipated what Dracmon was about to say. He took a step forward, but unfortunately, timing was not on his side.

"You wanna do sex with Mr Black and Blue here, right?" he asked, holding a straight face that made it clear that he hadn't a clue of the cultural implications of what he was asking.

"Dracmon!" Kohaku exclaimed, while both he and Sakura certainly didn't hold straight faces. They broke down into nervous blushing and wide eyes, Sakura left speechless. "You promised you wouldn't embarrass me!" he pleaded.

"Yeah, well, you should've answered me then shouldn't you?"

"Ugh, Dracmon! And how did you get from being strapped to a table to sex anyway?"

"Stop avoiding the question Kuhako!" Dracmon complained, still not understanding what was so wrong with what he was asking, a point hammered home by how he quickly repeated the question. "So, do you want to or what? Come on, cut the suspense here!"

"No, of course I don't!" Kohaku replied. "I'm only a teenager!"

"Eh? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Ugh…"

"You're doing it again. Tell me!"

Floramon looked up to her partner, the girl nervously looking on and dearly hoping she wouldn't have to say anything in what was a very tense situation. "Sakura, I would like to know. What is `doing sex'?"

Sakura looked to her partner, the innocence in her eyes a sharp contrast to her question. Groaning, she ran a hand through her hair, her hot cheeks not making any hopes of an explanation any easier. "I'll explain later," she lied.

"Geez, what's the big secret here everybody?" Dracmon asked, by now standing on the ground and looking about at the humans and Digimon around him.

Sakura glanced to Kohaku, the look of panic and worry about his lack of control clear for anyone to see from but a single glance. She, pushing down her own reservations, let out a slim smile, before bending down to the Digimon below.

"Dracmon, sex is…it's something that…" she began, searching her mind for some way of explaining it without making both her and Kohaku break out in fits of blushing again. "Adults do, and Kohaku will explain more later if you ask him politely," she explained, glancing up to the boy who reluctantly nodded.

"Fine, I'll explain later," Kohaku sighed, seeing the eager look in Sakura's eyes to get this topic pushed as far away as possible.

"You better!" Dracmon insisted rudely. "Geez, what's up with you people anyway? Why the hell can't I get a straight answer outta ya about this?"

"It's sort of an uncomfortable topic for us to talk about, kinda like…death," Sakura explained, her explanations just unambiguous enough to silence Dracmon for now. Mostly.

"Peh, humans. Never understand ya," he sighed, crossing his arms exasperatedly.

Kohaku sighed, rolling his eyes, something which Sakura let out another smile at.

"So, I can see taming is going well then," she joked sarcastically.

"God you don't realise how easy you have it," Kohaku laughed, looking to his partner who simply gave a peeved expression.

"Hey, you do realise I'm here Kuhako don't ya?" he asked, huffing in annoyance before looking away from their gaze. "Geez, people just talk about you like you're not even around when you're one of these stupid partner things. Why would I ever want to be…" he began, before freezing up all of a sudden as he felt an icy touch creep down his back, the feeling of someone walking over your grave. Kohaku raised an eyebrow in bewilderment, before concern quickly graced his features once he realised it wasn't simply one of Dracmon's strange mannerisms and behaviour, something confirmed when Sakura went over to her own partner who was acting up in the same way.

"Floramon, are you okay?"

"Uh…buddy?" Kohaku began, talking a brief glance to the concerned girl before looking back to his oddly-acting partner.

Dracmon suddenly broke into a wide smirk, a glint passing through his eyes. "'bout time!" he exclaimed, clenching his red fingernails into his claws and leaping forth. As he did so, the peal of two rings burst into the air, Kohaku and Sakura practically jumping in surprise as they looked to their wrist-mounted contraptions.

"What?" Kohaku asked, glancing to the girl next to him for some indication of what he was meant to do. The compass flashed up at him, the flurry of light and sound not leaving him much time to work out what was going on.

Sakura frowned, her inexperience with this device making it all the more difficult to have the burden to explaining things to "the new kid" placed on her. "Uh, I think a Digimon is coming."

"Of course it's a Digimon!" yelled Dracmon from nearby, now already beyond the police cordon and impatiently making his way into the park.

"Hey, Dracmon, come back!" Kohaku yelled, an annoyed expression quickly crossing the face of the demon as he stopped, turning on his purple heels to face the boy.

"What now?!" he asked, sick of his newfound partner who kept placing such annoying demands on him. What was wrong with heading to fight this Digimon? Wasn't that the _point_ of being a tamed Digimon? _"Ugh, better not be more secrets kept from me." _"Come on buddy, whatever it is waiting."

"We can't go beyond this cordon," Sakura explained, a galled and peeved expression quickly materialising on the demon's face.

"Our Tamers will get in trouble," Floramon echoed, looking to the bewildered boy and confused girl above her, hoping the former would give them some support.

"Peh, like I care if Mr Blue and Black over there gets told off," Dracmon said, dismissing their points before turning around and looking up to the top of the tunnel entrance roof. Pressing his feet down, he bounded upwards like someone on a trampoline, landing gracelessly but completely intact at his target.

"Dracmon, you come right back here right now!" Kohaku finally yelled, hoping to get some control back over his errant partner.

"No! Give me one good reason beyond your irrational fear of yellow tape!" the asymmetric-eyed Digimon replied, an insistent look on his face as the pair met eyes.

"We can't break the police line, not after all that's happened - we'll get in serious trouble," Sakura began, desperately hoping that things wouldn't get out of hand.

"We don't even have a clue what we're fighting either," Kohaku added, Dracmon grimacing in annoyance. "It could be anything, even a mega."

"I could take on a mega," he huffed, not backing down.

"In four-thousand pieces maybe," his fellow Digimon quipped.

"We should leave this up to the Tamers," Sakura said, her words changing both the expressions of Dracmon and, surprisingly, Kohaku.

"No," Kohaku said quickly and forcibly, catching the girl off guard as he clenched a fist. She looked to him in surprise, and, indeed, even Dracmon looked his way with a slightly lowered jaw, amazed that for the first time the weirdly-dressed boy was agreeing with him. "We don't have the slightest clue when the Tamers will get here, what they'll do if they find us on the way, or anything," he replied, shaking his head. "We don't even know if they'll get the signal now we've got it."

"Then that's what I've been telling ya Kuhako. Finally, you say something that makes sense," Dracmon said, clenching a blue fist around its implanted green eyeball and smiling an unsettling smile with his large white teeth.

Sakura looked to Dracmon before looking to the yellow tape again, and finally to her male companion. "Well…it's up to you I guess," she said, the idea that they could've been the only ones to have picked up the signal one that had unnerved her greatly. _"Someone could get hurt, and it'd be our fault…but…at the same time, what if we get found out? My mum would kill me if I got into trouble with the law."_

Kohaku looked to his partner, the Digimon giving a look that was a mix of irritation, determination and just plain boredom. His eyes were caught in a flash of yellow, fluttering in the wind below, blocking off the tunnel entrance, half-begging him to break it and half-insisting that he didn't. Finally, he looked to Sakura, the girl looking concerned about what they could do, and caught both in his eyes and in her thoughts.

"_Okay Kohaku, they're all counting on you. Well, I'm pretty sure that Dracmon will go anyway, but this is a pretty big decision and…oh, screw it all, let's just go," _he thought, swallowing his nerves before he turned, ducking under the yellow paper and standing up on the other side. He swivelled around to look at the blue-haired girl, a slim smile on his face. "You coming?"

She pushed down her concerns before smiling and nodding, a flash of determination in her eyes before she followed him. He waited for her on the other side, watching as her plant-like partner followed behind, barely needing to duck to get under the tape. She paused on the other side, those concerns returning as she looked up into his eyes again, the urge to simply stand and stare so compelling in that moment.

"Come on!" Dracmon said, the sound of metal scraping against hinges sounding as he wrenched the door to the tunnel open; a safe route into the park without being seen.

Kohaku grinned, reaching for Sakura's hand and catching her greatly off-guard as a blush materialised on it. "Let's go," he called, pulling her forwards before his mind finally clicked as to how she would've interpreted such a motion._ "Aw crap."_

Sakura's mind, meanwhile, had simply descended into an infatuated stew as they entered the dimly-lit world of the Shinjuku Park Tunnel.

**END OF PART TWO…**


	72. The Trick To Endings Part 3

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

**

* * *

DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 64**

_The Trick to Endings_

**Part Three**

* * *

**TUESDAY, 26****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Kitagawa Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:10 JST**_

With a clunk, the front door to the two-storey house opened, creaking quietly as it made a wide enough gap to allow four humans and two Digimon, one of whom was very large and cube-like, through into the Kitagawa family home.

"Mum, I'm home," Kenta called out, the warmth of indoors a great relief.

"Hey mum," Kazu echoed as a woman with short black hair and a pale brown sweater turned the corner. Kazu smirked, glancing to Kenta who groaned quietly in annoyance.

"Ah, hello you two. Oh, and I see you brought your friends with you. Hello Ayaka, hello Miki," she said warmly, smiling to their guests.

"_Why does she talk as if Kazu's her son?" _Kenta thought, sighing quietly. "Yeah, if that's okay with you?"

"I can't see why not. All of your friends are welcome here."

"_More than me by the looks of it," _Kenta thought, his head dipping slightly as he frowned. He finally shrugged it off, knowing it couldn't be helped. He did expect his parents to at some point say enough was enough, but nothing had happened so far.

"Great," Ayaka replied, she and Miki smiling, both glad they didn't have to go out into the cold again and that they could hang out as a group in a home Kazu was always saying was welcoming even if Kenta would rather disagree on that being a good thing all the time.

"Thank you," Miki echoed.

"Mum, you'll never believe what happened," Kazu began, leading to further cringing from his best friend.

"_Does he have to call her that? Can't he just be a normal person and call her "Mrs" or "Kenta's mum?""_ Ayaka thought, sighing.

"This kid walked out into the middle of the street, and Guardromon and I saved him!"

"My goodness! Is he alright?" Kenta's mother exclaimed, putting her hands to her mouth in shock and horror. Being a mother herself, she knew how frightening such a notion was.

"Yeah, thanks to my eagle eyes and Guardromon's power," Kazu boasted, clutching a fist and grinning from ear to ear. "This city has nothing to fear."

"Except perhaps your ego," Ayaka muttered, audible enough for the oldest woman there to hear.

"Nonsense, it's good for a boy to have a good self image. You could learn a lot from him Kenta, don't you think?" Kenta's mother continued.

"Uh…maybe…" Kenta replied, but it made little difference what he thought. In his mother's eyes, Kazu was a role model for Kenta: extroverted, confident, athletic and humorous. Of course, this was ignoring the arrogance, tactlessness and brashness he also had a habit of displaying, but given how shy Kenta seemed in comparison, she easily overlooked it.

"Kazu, there are snacks in the fridge but please don't eat them all and them complain about being sick again, okay?" Kenta's mother said, practically ignoring her son as she recalled one of Kazu's accidents which Kenta got roped up in.

"Worst comes to worst, the doctor's number's on the speed dial, got it!" Kazu replied in a blasé manner as he remembered one of his and Kenta's pig-outs during a marathon run of the Digimon anime. _"Ah, good times," _he thought, smiling.

"Good," the older woman replied, not in the least bit concerned about it all despite the high likelihood that her warning would go unheeded. Smiling, she turned and headed away from the hallway, leaving Kenta to sigh deeply while MarineAngemon chirped.

"See Kenta, told you that everyone loves a guy like me!" Kazu exclaimed, simply making the girls groan.

"Perhaps a more modest version of you," Ayaka muttered, rolling her eyes at the boy who would always place himself one step above the rest of the world in his mind even if it was not true. "Now come on, my feet are killing me, can we…" she began, before they were all interrupted by a far-too-familiar noise.

Kenta and Kazu's hands shot to their D-Arcs, the screens lighting up and blaring out with electronic noises and flailing compasses. MarineAngemon began chirping worriedly, while a concerned look crossed Guardromon's eyes.

"A Digimon?" Miki asked Kenta, peering over at the rose-ringed D-Arc, whilst Ayaka wandered around to take a peek at Kazu's orangey brown-ringed one. Both looked in full alarm mode, red compass arrows swirling about looking for a clear trace. The bright light lit up both theirs and the girl's faces, and the familiar feeling of a faster heartbeat and an overall wash-over of seriousness came to them.

"Okay, looks like its finding something," Kazu began, taking a step towards the door as the arrow's rotations became less erratic and it began to centre on a single direction.

The screen suddenly died back to its normal, black self, like someone had simply pulled the plug out. A bewildered expression crossed the pair of Tamers faces, and an even more bewildered one crossed those of the non-Tamers.

"Kenta, what happened?" Miki asked, Kenta turning over his D-Arc in confusion.

"I'll tell you what happened. This stupid thing just stopped working," Kazu explained, tapping the button on the screen and just bringing up the regular menu, with no sign of anything to suggest that a Digimon had bioemerged.

"So is the Digimon still out there?" Ayaka asked, a touch of concern in her voice that someone could get hurt by whatever it was.

"Kazu, I regret to inform you but I cannot sense anything anymore," Guardromon informed his partner, shaking his head.

"Maybe it was a false alarm or something?" Miki suggested, Kenta putting his hand on his chin and contemplating the possibility.

"Yeah, but what if it wasn't?" Kazu quickly asked, not bothering to think things through first. "We have to go see if we can find what it was."

"How exactly?" Ayaka asked, cocking an eyebrow in amazement that Kazu just rushed into making such plans so easily, without remembering the most basic things. She decided to hold off on insulting him for it however; she knew that they'd had enough of such taunts that day. "Your digivice-thing isn't giving you a compass and Guardromon can't sense anything."

"Yeah, but we have to go look," Kazu replied quickly, insistent that he wasn't about to miss out on this one after all he'd missed out on the previous day. "Whatever that Digimon is could be out there wreaking havoc right now."

"But Kazu, we don't even know where to start looking," Kenta replied, bursting Kazu's bubble quickly.

"What else do we do?" Kazu replied, determination still flaring in his voice.

"Listen, we all know that if there is something out there we'll hear of it sooner or later," Ayaka said, trying to bring some semblance of reason into Kazu's illogical plans.

"Yeah, if your friends find it I'm sure they'll contact you, and if it's really big it'll be on the television anyway," Miki elaborated, Kazu reluctantly nodding despite the fact he knew his friends wouldn't contact him. Not out of spite in most cases, it was usually simply because smaller battles were over quickly and, Kazu knowing his own luck, other people would inevitably live and be closer to the battleground to help out in any case. Still, despite knowing it wasn't really on purpose, it felt painful to be left out of yet another battle.

"Yeah, I guess so, but the thought of sitting here watching it all on television while everyone else gets to be out there in the thick of it really doesn't appeal to me," Kazu moaned, Ayaka crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Hey, it's what everyone else has to do, so quit complaining," she huffed, before storming past into the living room while Kazu frowned, recalling how their argument had started earlier. Ayaka quickly went to cursing her words, biting into her lip. _"Crap, I did it again. Come on Ayaka, show the guy some sympathy! The girl he had a crush on died on Sunday," _she told herself, as she heard the others follow behind her. She wandered over to the television, bending down to switch it on while Kenta, Miki and Kazu fell back into the sofa.

The switch clicked into place as the screen lit up, Ayaka frowning as she stared at the close-up pixels of a news reporter's face. The screen seemed perfectly normal, nothing to tell them that the city was already in ruins, which she supposed was a relief.

"_Still, for someone who had a friend die, he seems to have brushed it off well. I suppose saving someone's life sort of took his mind off of it all. Maybe he thinks that he's balancing out the world by saving someone's life after all that happened. Poor Chiyo though, I wonder how she died. She could be a bitch, but she still seemed like a nice girl all in all. I don't know how Kazu stays so enthusiastic about battling and stuff after this sort of thing happens; Chiyo died because she was a Tamer. They're at risk every time they go into battle…we could lose another friend at any…"_

"Hey Ayaka, as nice as your arse is, you're blocking the TV," interrupted Kazu from behind as she realised that she had been bending over for far longer than she needed to in order to turn on the device, and in the process had given the trio a long look at the back of her jeans. She felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment while Miki giggled from behind. Turning with an aggravated look on her face, she glared at the smirking Kazu, the uncomfortable Kenta and the smiling Miki.

"Perverts," she complained, unconsciously pulling up her jeans a bit further to conceal both her lower back and her underwear before she wandered over to the sofa, forcing herself into a seat between Kazu and Miki, squashing Kenta at the end up against the armrest.

"Hey, I didn't say anything," Kenta said, struggling to stay in the sofa that clearly wasn't designed for so many people.

"Fine," Ayaka huffed, turning to Kazu in particular. "_Pervert _then."

"Hey, you just bent over and I was watching the TV. It's not like I purposefully looked there," Kazu defended himself, putting out his palms quickly. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, not giving him the satisfaction of a voiced answer, instead falling back into the sofa and merely squashing everyone up even more.

"**The new Chief Cabinet Secretary Rayleigh Thompson today had his first p****ress conference, reassuring the public that the government are in control of what has been hailed a "Dangerous Menace" by some sources in the media. He also made reassurances that his British nationality will have no impact on his effectiveness in this key position in Japanese government," **the anchorwoman said, before the video switched to that from the Kantei's press room earlier that same day, Rayleigh standing on a podium talking to an army of microphones.

"**Our countries share many values. An appreciation of culture, of technology, of hard work, and of unpredictable weather," **he said, his words and his grin prompting some chuckles from the reporters nearby. **"But above all else, we know to show respect, honesty, integrity, and when to draw the line. As such, I can reassure the public that despite our previous failings, we will strive to ensure that the public's safety is placed above all else," **he said, a determined look in his eyes. **"I will strive to be an effective, smart, and worthwhile civil servant, protecting the interests of our citizens both in the normal times and in unfortunate crises. Now, in the spirit of that, I'd like to open the floor to any questions you may have."**

"**Mr Thompson," **hailed a number of press reporters, each bustling up to get the man's full attention. He calmly gestured to one, who jumped at the chance to speak.

"**Mr Thompson, how do you respond to allegations that, rather than prevent the Digital Threat from occurring, your government is instead simply allowing them to exist regardless of the danger they present?"**

"**There are many ways to win a war. You can blow your opponent to smithereens, leaving the world cracked and damaged around you whilst your enemies hate you even more, or you can talk, negotiate, make peace, harbour relations and both benefit from the result. The Tamers and their Digimon are merely one part of that, living proof that we can work alongside our more beastly brethren. Regardless, I will also make it clear today that, if I ever have reason to do so, I would terminate this special relationship immediately. The Tamers will not be allowed to get away with murder."**

Kenta and Kazu took an anxious glance at each other, one of which the significance went completely unnoticed to their two female friends. The irony of Rayleigh's words was not lost on the pair of Tamers, and neither was the underlying threat. Rayleigh knew all too well that the Tamers would see his broadcast, and he was using the situation to his advantage to ram home the point he had made in the aftermath of that terrible day's events. They kept within the lines, or they would be strangled by them.

"Hmm, I don't like his tone," Miki said, a concerned look on her face.

"Me neither," Ayaka agreed, her voice sounding more irritated than concerned. "He's just making people think there's something sinister about you and your Digimon," she said to the two boys, who simply nodded in agreement, not wanting to elaborate right now for fear of revealing too much about the true nature of Chiyo's death.

"Not much we can do though. He has us between a rock and a hard place," Kenta said, frowning deeply both at the memories of Chiyo and what he had been told about her death, and about Rayleigh's threat. Kenta knew that the situation was slowly boiling to crisis point, and inevitably someone was going to suffer as a result.

"Yeah, which makes it all the more important that we get people on our side like we did today," Kazu agreed, nodding but retaining his frown. The idea that they were on the thin edge of a piece of paper as regards being accepted by the government wasn't a new one of course, given how much Takato and the others had been pursued back before Yamaki had seen the light, but that piece of paper was getting thinner every day it seemed. "Whatever happens, I won't let them take Guardromon."

"And neither will I let them take you," Guardromon replied in agreement.

MarineAngemon chirped to his black-haired partner, who nodded in agreement as a rare look of determination graced his face. "Yeah, and neither will they take you MarineAngemon."

"But, you do realise you're saying you'd take on the government?" Ayaka asked, raising an eyebrow in concern and brief surprise, despite the fact she knew how strong the bond between a Tamer and a partner was.

"Yeah. Haven't you seen those films? They'd send spies, and policemen, and practically the whole country after you," Miki said, looking with concern into the eyes of Kazu and Kenta, the scenario clearly running through their heads and a sense of worry threatening to break onto their faces.

"Then we'd escape. Mari comes from the USA, Ryder comes from the UK, and from what I've heard Yamaki and Henry's dad talking about, there are Digimon programs all over the world. They'd have to listen to us. And what about Digital Watch? They'd stand up for us. They see the real side of what we do," Kazu explained, clenching a fist in determination. "People wouldn't stand for it."

Kenta silently wondered how Digital Watch would react were they to find out the truth about the circumstances surrounding Chiyo's death, while the oblivious Ayaka took on a worried and slightly hurt expression.

"But what about us Kazu? We're your friends, and if you go on the run, they might interrogate us or something to find out where you've gone. And what about your families, and our families, and even our teachers? What would happen to them?"

Kazu's expression of determination dropped as he worriedly looked at the girl, not really sure how to answer her. His gut told him he would protect his taming and role as a Tamer whatever it took, but would he risk his family and the lives of his friends for it? Were they worth that much? But, the Digimon _were_ their friends! How were they meant to choose one friend over another?

"I don't know," was all he could say, the memory of Chiyo's death, of those bleeding, painful, frantic last minutes of her life he had been witness to, replaying over again in his mind for the billionth time. Sure, she had somewhat caused her own death, but deep down, and even on her deathbed, Kazu had always thought that she was simply an innocent girl caught up in their escalating game, like so many people had been in the past. She was the first to die from it, of course (although he did wonder from time to time about that girl they had seen all those days ago during the D-Reaper incident), but she was a clear indication of the risks involved. Back on her deathbed, when he had learned about the shooter, for those seconds afterwards he had felt like dealing out the same punishment on Ryder that he had on Chiyo. It was nothing more than a primal thirst for revenge, but one he had quickly suppressed when it became clear that things were not that simple. But…her words to him, their last words between each other…

* * *

"But…why…why did you do it?!" Kazu asked, rather less surprised about Ryder's immortality than his older companion.

"I'm the Second Demon, idiot," Chiyo finally interjected, all eyes turning to her. Kazu's eyes widened.

"But…no! I know I thought you were a bitch, but…you're better than that, aren't you?"

Chiyo frowned, attempting to shake her head but failing miserably. "I had to kill you all…this pain…this endless pain…even now I can feel it."

"But…I thought you were our friend! I liked you!" Kazu insisted. "Till you screwed me over, that was."

"All just a façade," Chiyo said, her voice monotonous. "I had to end this pain," she insisted, clenching her hand into a fist. It unclenched, a relaxed look crossing her face. "Looks like I get my way."

* * *

He frowned sadly; his last words to her had been an angered curse, something he regretted to this day. He had sworn at her, she had sworn at him…was that all their relationship amounted to in the end? A crush, a mocking, a death.

Ayaka simply frowned in response, not getting much of an answer from the boy and, from the look on his face, simply provoking further thought in his mind about the friend they had lost. She glanced across the room, past the still chattering television to the sliding doors into the dining room nearby. He got to her feet, relieving her companions of the pain of being squashed against one another. "Hey, Kazu," she said, her voice even when soft carrying sharper tones. "Can we talk?"

He looked to her, eyebrows rising in bewilderment at what she had said and the weight of Chiyo's death briefly being taken off his mind. Miki cast her friend a curious look, trying to understand why she suddenly wanted to talk to him in private. Kenta merely wondered what it was they wanted to talk about, and, as a side point, how badly his friend seemed to be taking everything even when most of the time he would still smile like usual.

"Uh…yeah, if you want I guess," Kazu replied, taking to his feet as well and leaving only a confused Miki and Kenta on the sofa, both them and the two Digimon also in the room watching the situation with curious eyes.

Kazu and Ayaka both casted brief glances to their friends, before Ayaka led the boy towards the dining room. _"He won't talk in front of everyone. I just have to hope he'll talk to me at all about everything."_

The door clunked back into place after they went through, Kenta and Miki casting confused stares at each other, the same level of confusion permeating through their minds and brows.

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:11 JST**_

Every step was uneasy, every glance cautious, every thought one of fear. What would happen if the Digimon attacked them from behind? What if a flurry of noise and chaos brought with it an army or a police team to arrest them? Were they being watched? Were they safe?

Looking about the empty park was very eerie, perhaps even more so than the tunnel they had just exited. Despite the sounds of the ongoing world creeping over the trees, it felt like they were the only two people left on Earth.

"_Come on Sakura, get it together, you're just being stupid," _Sakura thought, scolding herself for such ideas. _"Kohaku isn't scared about it, and neither should you be."_

"_Crap__, crap, crap, crap…what are we doing here? Are we out of our minds? If it attacks now, we're toast!"_ Kohaku worried, petrified of what could happen. _"Why did we have to follow Dracmon? He can do what he wants. I don't want to get killed!"_

"_Besides, if anything goes bad__ I'm sure he'll protect me," _Sakura thought, a faint blush on her cheeks as she cast a quick glance to the boy walking to her side. She shied away, looking in the opposite direction. _"I have to stop with stupid thoughts like that."_

"Sakura, are you okay?" Floramon asked, noticing Sakura's darting eyes and expression. Sakura looked down to her partner, nodding quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she insisted. Floramon gave her a curious gaze, doubting that her Tamer's words could be taken as verbatim right at that moment. Realising that other things were far more pressing now, like keeping watch of their surroundings so they weren't ambushed for example, she ignored her doubts for now.

A solitary bird hurriedly flapped away in the distance, the four beings stopping in their tracks as Sakura felt the hairs on the base of her neck lift up. Kohaku and she had frozen, each agitatedly looking about at the park.

"You scared?" Sakura whispered, her voice on edge and the look in her eyes one of total fear. This wasn't exactly an easy first-bioemergence for sure.

"Petrified, you?"

"Yeah. Knowing that, even more so."

Kohaku raised an eyebrow, turning to the girl as she returned his gaze. "Huh?"

She blushed lightly, realising she had given away too much. "I just felt a bit more confident knowing at least someone in this group wasn't as scared as me."

Kohaku continued to eye her with bewilderment, surprised that she expected anyone to walk into a situation like this with a blasé attitude. At least, anyone not used to something like this, and that defined the pair of them down to a T right now.

"You're just both wimps," Dracmon insulted, crossing his arms and huffing.

A low, gravely and beast-like hiss from nearby quickly shut him up, the Digimon making fearful noises as his gem-like eyes widened and he took an uneasy step back.

"Look who's talking," Floramon whispered under her breath. Dracmon looked to her, an angered look on his face before he looked back to the trees around them.

"HEY, YOU! COME OUT OF…!"

Kohaku leapt to the ground, throwing his hand over the Digimon's mouth and promptly muffling his speech. Dracmon squirmed in his arms, the boy hissing for him to be quiet.

"Listen, I don't care if you pull one of your stupid pranks or tactless comments the rest of the time but you are _NOT_ endangering Sakura and me, okay?!"

Dracmon looked up, the aggression in his Tamer's voice catching him off guard as he stopped squirming. Sakura looked on, her nerves shattered by the hissing, the shouting, the tension, and, most of all, by Kohaku's sudden aggression towards his partner, even if it was in defence. What surprised her even more was how he seemed so set on defending them all when they had come in here to face a battle in the first place.

"_Or…does he really mean that he's protecting me?"_

Kohaku and Dracmon both froze and looked up as laughing emanated from the dark, shadowed trees and bushes around them, the twilight turning all shadows long and all courage short. The boy gritted his teeth, holding Dracmon still in place while, from his crouching position, expanding his D-Vice and pointing it to face out at the trees.

"I know you're in there," he said under his breath, the adrenaline kicking in and his heart racing. Being in a falling building site was one thing, this was just like a horror movie, and worse still his D-Vice had yet to locate anything. Dracmon was struggling again to get free, but his Tamer would have none of it right now. He wasn't about to risk his own, Floramon and especially Sakura's lives by letting his partner's eagerness to fight what was scaring him run riot.

Seconds passed and little happened. The park fell silent, the distance noises of wind, traffic and life a stark contrast to the lifelessness of the park.

"_Shit, shit, shit, what am I doing here?" _Kohaku thought, reality quickly setting in. _"I could get killed, and my parents don't even know where I am. Both of us could be killed, and no-one will come to this bit of the park for days," _he thought, promptly reprioritising his actions._ "I have to get us out of here, now,"_ he thought, finally taking his eyes off the darkness in front of him and looking for Sakura, hoping that she hadn't been taken while he had been distracted.

It was one glance too many.

With a cacophony of fluttered wings, snarling maws and horrified screams, the huge, black, demon dragon broke from his hiding place through into the darkness just out of Kohaku's vision, and swept towards him.

Dracmon groaned in agony as he was slashed aside, the Digimon he could now see was a Devidramon quickly setting upon Kohaku as his target.

Kohaku's heart raced faster than ever, as time seemed to slow, the huge beast towering over him and throwing a claw down towards him, threatening to dismember him were he not to stop things. But, as he stared up, taking a glance aside at Sakura, Floramon and Dracmon, all too far away and too shocked to do anything, he realised that he didn't have anything he could do.

With a slash of a claw, Kohaku's world was knocked into darkness.

**END OF PART THREE…**


	73. The Trick To Endings Part 4

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 64**

_The Trick to Endings_

**Part Four**

* * *

**TUESDAY, 26****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Kitagawa Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:20 JST**_

Silence had fallen on Miki and Kenta, broken only by the chattering of the weather report (showers and gloom, as seemed to be the norm recently) and the muted murmurings from next door. Neither wanting to intrude their friends privacy by sticking their head up against the door, they instead tried to think of some way to continue the conversation despite their concerns.

"So, I think Takato's parents are going to reopen the bakery this Sunday," Kenta finally said, Miki quietly breathing a sigh of relief that one of them had found a way to break the silence.

"Really? That'll be good, I've missed their bread."

"Yeah, and I'm sure Guilmon will be happy too. Although Takato's parents must lose a fortune in feeding him."

"You must be happy that MarineAngemon doesn't eat all that much."

MarineAngemon, smiling, floated over to the pair, looking cheerfully down at his Tamer and the girl and chirping. Kenta gently put his hand out and pulled down the Digimon, smiling as he gently stroked the pink fur.

"Yeah. I don't think my parents could even give me enough allowance to pay for one of those guys," he quipped, the Digimon gently purring in a manner not too much unlike a cat, except every so often he would chirp instead.

"Plus, you easily have the cutest little Digimon around," Miki commented, putting out a hand and gently running a finger across the fairy's head.

"Pipipi!" MarineAngemon said, floating up and facing the girl with a beaming smile."

"He says thanks."

"No problem. I'd go so far as to say you're even cuter than Calumon," she added a compliment, the creature gently landing on her hand.

"Pipipi!"

"Thanks."

"Pipipipipi?"

"What did he say this time?"

"Uh…never mind," Kenta quickly answered, a look of bewilderment crossing his face as he looked into the eyes of his partner, now gently being stroked by the girl in front of him and clearly enjoying all the attention he was getting all of a sudden. Kenta had by now learnt to shrug off the fact that most girls were more attracted to his Digimon than to him, but then again, since Kazu could claim about having saved the boy from the car earlier on that day despite technically the dirty work having been done by his robotic partner, why couldn't he claim that girls were attracted to him? Then again, it wouldn't exactly convince himself that they were.

"You know, I bet that Mrs Asagi is going to crucify Takato and those guys tomorrow for missing school today," Miki said, still stroking MarineAngemon's tiny ears and head.

"Yeah. It's a shame really…with all that's been going on lately she really should cut them some slack, and the same for us guys too."

"You know…she might not actually say anything at all. I mean, I half-expected her to make a comment today when you guys finally turned up, but maybe she realises that it wouldn't be the time. One of her pupils did die after all."

"Yeah," Kenta said, frowning deeply and looking down at the sofa. Miki frowned in response, gently pausing in her stroking of MarineAngemon and instead placing that hand reassuringly on the boy's shoulder.

"You okay Kenta?" she asked with caring, soft tones. He looked up at her face framed by her indigo hair, evidently trying to convey confidence and reassurance but struggling due to her lack of confidence in her own thoughts right now. Whilst, given the fact she was quieter than the girl and Chiyo later on had a habit of only hanging out with the Tamers, she didn't talk to Chiyo too much, from what she had seen the girl had seemed okay, if a bit temperate at times.

"Yeah, but…I've never lost a human friend before, or any human really. It's just weird."

"It's weird for all of us Kenta," Miki replied, frowning deeply before she quickly pushed a reassuring smile onto her façade. "But, we'll get past it, I'm sure. It might take a while for Kazu, but…I'm sure he will eventually do so, and he might be better for it all too."

"I hope so. He's my best friend, and it sucks seeing him like this. If he's the confident and enthusiastic one and now he's feeling down, where does that leave me?"

"I think you sell yourself short Kenta."

"Well, it's not like I'm as important to everyone as Takato or even Kazu. I mean, when I get involved in battles, it's usually just to be backup in case someone gets hurt. MarineAngemon is powerful but he's also good at healing so no-one ever wants to risk him getting injured in case we really need him, so I always feel a bit left out."

"But, they obviously see how important you are, don't they?"

"I don't know really. When MarineAngemon and I do something, they appreciate it but…it's soon forgotten."

"Aw, Kenta…" Miki said, pulling her hand away from him but letting it gently stroke down his shoulder in reassurance beforehand. He looked at her, somewhat confused, and she quickly took on a withdrawn look, realising that she'd probably just bewildered him more despite showing a level of care for her friend. She just couldn't watch him put himself down like that.

"Pipipi," MarineAngemon said, his tone a comforting one, as he nuzzled his partner.

Miki gave a slim smile, as Kenta uttered thanks to the creature. She frowned, looking back to the door nearby and wondering how Ayaka and Kazu were getting on. She turned back to the boy next to her, who was giving an odd expression: half happy, half just bemused.

"Thanks."

"Uh…no problem," Miki replied, neither smiling a real smile at each other as each were left with more questions than answers.

"_Ugh, this is just one of those days I guess."_

"_Maybe I shouldn't have stroked his arm…I wonder what he's thinking now."_

"_I wonder what Miki's thinking now. She probably thinks I'm really just a big cry-baby. Geez, no wonder I've never had a girlfriend - no-one wants to put up with someone like that. So much for being a Tamer giving me confidence," _he sighed sadly, turning back to face the TV as silence once again descended between them.

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:20 JST**_

Sakura breathed erratically, staring over with panic and horror at the motionless form of Kohaku, the claw having hit him in the side of his head and rolled him over. Like a dog playing with a bone, Devidramon snarled, a dark grin on his face as he began to toy with the lifeless human. Grabbing the boy up in his red nails and throwing down his battered wings, he swept up into the air and sent a sharp rush of wind at all three of his observers.

Floramon looked to Sakura, her Tamer frozen up in fright over her present situation, and needing something to crack her straight out of it. "SAKURA!" she yelled, the girl barely reacting, her eyes locked on the dragon as its feet left the ground. Her legs shook, and her arms pursed up close to her chest.

"_What am I doing?! Kohaku's dead or dying! Why am I here?! I'm not meant to be a Tamer! I don't want to lose a friend! I don't want to lose him! What can I do? I'm so scared! Mum! Dad! Anyone!" _her mind ranted, making any effort to snap her out of it right now a futile one.

Floramon turned, raising her hands and preparing to make do without her champion form, or any boost in strength, which she knew would be useless against the strong champion. She focused her eyes, aiming for the boy instead, planning to pluck him from the Dragon's claws, but she suddenly froze, a series of horrific fears running through her mind.

What if she missed?

What if she dropped the boy?

What if Devidramon attacked her?

What if he attacked Sakura?

She couldn't let Sakura get hurt. She was the girl's partner; she couldn't put her at risk like that. Sakura was far too shaken up right now to even hear her own partner's shouting, there was nothing to say that she would even hear Devidramon heading towards her.

The plant Digimon's hands quivered, as taken by fear as her partner was now. She wanted to fight, but she couldn't summon up even the smallest amount of confidence, let alone what she needed.

Dracmon stood up, his pride, his body and his ego hurt by the sharp brushing aside of him by the larger Demon. He too breathed erratically, but unlike Sakura and Floramon it was out of anger rather than fear. What surprised him above all else, however, was that it wasn't his pride, body and ego hurting which got to him the most.

It was the fact that his Tamer was caught up in all this.

"_Kuhako may be a dumbass moron but he's _my_ dumbass moron and I still have a lot of ways I want to insult him! So I ain't going to let no dark lord wannabe take him away from me!"_

Dracmon launched himself into the air, setting himself on a collision course with the demon dragon while he gritted his teeth in determination.

"_Time to save a dumbass!"_

The odd thing was, that was the moment, albeit rather poorly phrased in his mind, in which everything finally clicked. Why he had this annoying human following him but insisting it was the other way around. Why he had stopped when Kohaku had been muffling him. And, most of all, why this boy had stuck with him despite all the insults, despite the offence his mother had taken towards the demon.

Looking the other way around, Dracmon finally began to see why _he_ had stayed, beyond the free food and battles. All that he had seen of this world since he arrived was a damp, dark, grim place where for some reason everyone played by the rules and lived a boring and cold life. A place with no excitement, with absolute mundanity and with no variety. But…suddenly, there seemed more to it. Here they were, in the middle of a place a bit like a Digital World forest with a bunch of clearings in it that humans called a park, heading through this strange "evening" time of day and fighting a huge beast which had caught up on them. Even Dracmon could admit that the situation was a bit unnerving, even downright scary, but there was one thing that had prevented him peeing his metaphorical pants so far.

The "they" part.

"_Ugh, but I'm not a wimp or anything like that," _Dracmon thought, still fighting about this instantaneous moment of clarity with himself. _"The main reason I need this human is to make me stronger."_

Dracmon's face fell, his claws quickly primed as he rapidly approached the torso of his foe, his mouth beginning to open in preparation for something that would hopefully catch the champion off guard.

"UNDEAD FANG!" he roared, Devidramon finally turning just that little bit too late, the grim, dark, evil, and most terrifyingly of all, blank gaze in his eyes finally setting things in place for the demon that was just about to attack him.

"_Geez, have you seen that thing? It's just a mindless fighting thing…oh…"_

Devidramon staggered back as a rookie hit him in the chest, both nails and fangs digging into him and causing him to roar in pain. The force pushed his feet back to the ground and his body into a tree, and the sound of everything finally awakened Sakura and Floramon from their trances.

"_Dracmon…did he just save Kohaku?" _she thought, staring on at Dracmon as he touched down onto the ground again, an angered look still in his eyes. She quickly shook her head to pull herself back to reality fully again, knowing that right now they didn't have the luxury of time to waste. She looked down to her partner by her side, a similar look of concerned determination in the plant's eyes. "Floramon, grab Kohaku before he can fall!" she yelled. Sure enough, just as the girl said that, Devidramon's claws fell open, leaving the boy's body to plummet freely what was still a considerable distance to the ground.

Floramon quickly acted, raising her arms. "STAMEN ROPE!" she cried, a pair of vines shooting out from her hands and grabbing around the boy's midsection and legs respectively. Wasting no time, she yanked him in, bringing him to rest on the ground beside Sakura.

"THAT'S FOR KIDNAPPING MY TAMER!" Dracmon roared at Devidramon, the larger demon surprised but not as damaged as Dracmon had hoped. It made little difference to his confidence, a clenched fist heralding a sworn promise to fight back. "NOW YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!"

Amazingly, this time, something felt different about why he wanted to battle. It wasn't just for the thrill, or the data, or for the idea of laying in a few punches into an annoying Digimon; it was to avenge an attack on his Tamer. His Tamer. _His_ Tamer.

The thought repeated over in his mind, as his claws were clenched tighter than ever into the eyes on his hands. He suddenly took on a rusty orange colour, his form pulsing with light as Kohaku's D-Vice did likewise.

The world vanished about Dracmon, becoming nothing but a vast expanse of black crossed by green gridlines stretching off forever in all directions. His clenched fists quickly faded, as he looked about in confusion at where he was, or at least, where he wasn't.

"Geez, what is this place? And what the hell happened to the park?"

"Dracmon?"

Dracmon turned, suddenly looking up to the boy who he could've sworn only a few moments ago was lying on the ground, if not dead then badly injured. Worryingly, giving evidence towards the latter theory but not entirely cancelling out the former, half of his form was shrouded in darkness.

"Kuhako?! What the hell?"

"Where are we?"

"Screw that: you're not dead!"

"Was I meant to be?"

"You got hit in the face by a Devidramon's claw! Geez, even I'm not built of stuff like that, and I'm made of good old data rather than that weird flesh stuff. How the hell did you do that?"

"I…I didn't do anything."

"Ugh, where are we anyway? What happened to the bird and the plant, and that huge bloody dragon thing too?!"

Kohaku and Dracmon looked about, feeling practically blind right now apart from the gridlines. Unbeknownst to Dracmon, Kohaku could only see half of him too, something which was concerning him until he suddenly came up with an idea.

"Is this…a dream?"

"Wazza?"

"You know, like, an imagined place."

"If it is, I dunno why you're appearing in it."

"Me, appearing in your dream? No, if anything, this is my dream! I'm real Dracmon, which must mean you're not!"

"Come on, out of both of us you're the one who's probably not real here."

"Ugh…why do I get the feeling it just doesn't matter right now?"

Dracmon clenched a fist, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, `cause what does matter is getting back there and creaming that stupid Devidramon!"

"Wait, so what's happened? Have I missed something?"

"Well, and listen closely because I'm sure your tiny little mind will miss a bit of this otherwise," Dracmon began, Kohaku sighing lightly at his partner's continuing hostility towards him, hoping one day it would stop. "After Devidramon knocked you out, he grabs ya and tries to take off with ya, and neither the blue bird nor her little plant thingy do anything other than stand their shaking their little legs about in terror. But me, I fight, and I leapt up and saved ya, so you should be happy now!"

Kohaku got the impression he wasn't being told the whole story here, but he knew that at least some of it had to be true. "Wait, you saved me? But…you hate me! Don't you?"

Dracmon bit his lip in annoyance, hoping that his Tamer would never touch on such a subject. "Yeah, well, let's just say I owe you one after you saved my life after that big battle in the girder place," he said, giving an excuse while he looked aside from his partner's gaze.

"Well, uh…thanks."

Dracmon groaned, not wanting to say what he was about to say but somehow feeling obliged to do so. "And, I guess…ugh, can't believe I'm saying this," he mumbled, finally looking his partner straight in the eyes again. "I guess you're…bearable."

"Bearable?"

"Yeah, like, right now I can put up with ya because you're asleep, but when you're awake you're a right pain you understand?!"

"So in other words, you actually don't think I'm all that much of a moron after all."

"No. Don't get me wrong, I've never met anyone stupider than you, but that just makes me look smarter."

"Ugh, this is the best I'm ever going to get out of you, isn't it?" Kohaku replied, rolling his eyes at the demon. Dracmon quickly nodded, clenching a fist.

"Yeah, and don't go breathing a word of it to anyone, got that? This may be a dream but if I have to I'll still beat the crap out of you!"

"Wow, what a wonderful friendship we have," Kohaku said dryly, sighing deeply.

"Friendship? Geez, talk about jumping the gun."

"Ugh, this partnership is going to be hard. We're going to have to work on our battles I think."

"Yeah, you bet, I'm not having you cramping my battle style again! Speaking of which, I'd really like to get out of this place now!" he called, looking upwards to the heavens. A bright light caught his attention, but, surprisingly, it wasn't from above.

It was from Kohaku's D-Vice.

"Huh?!" Dracmon said, suddenly finding himself back in reality looking up at the huge demon dragon in front of him, a determined look still on its face as it glared down. "Okay, now it's time to fight!" he said, taking a step forward.

Suddenly, something hit him, a strange feeling that something had changed, but that it had changed to something rather familiar.

He looked down at the paw he had placed forward. The first thing which caught his attention was that it was a paw, and now a hand, or, indeed, a foot. The second thing to catch his attention was the number of sharp claws and blades that made it up, and the third thing was the furry leg rising out of it.

"Hold on…I'm Sangloupmon again!" the wolf exclaimed, looking about at Sakura and Floramon who stared on in disbelief from where they were nursing a still-unconscious Kohaku.

Unfortunately, like how Kohaku had glanced back to them earlier, however, Sangloupmon suffered a similar fate thanks to that quick glance behind at the pair.

He screamed in pain as sharp fangs cut into his neck, his data warping and distorting before a set of red claws began to dig into his body, threatening to turn him into nothing but black specks before he knew it. The pain consumed him, racking through his whole form.

"_No! This isn't how it's meant to happen!" _he screamed to himself, trying to keep himself constituted as he looked for some way to move his limbs without the sharp pain forcing him to stop.

Sakura finally got her first good look at Kohaku's injuries and, whilst surprisingly not as bad as she had expected, they still worried her. A trio of gashes ran down the left side of his head, ranging from very shallow scratches to a deeper cut in the middle, but in the growing blackness she couldn't be sure what was blood, what part was dried blood and what were actual injuries. He was breathing, to her relief, but his clothes were battered and the damage to him worried her greatly. Despite knowing the action could wake him up or pain him further, she ran a hand gently down the side of her head from her position, leaning down over him. Her hair was already tipping down, as were her tears, which deposited themselves in small puddles on the concrete, barely visible in the darkness.

Her spine chilled as she felt a lick of warm blood grace her hand. His blood.

"Please don't die!" she whispered frightfully, her hand running down to grip his wrist and press it deeply, feeling for a sign of a normal pulse to reassure her. "I don't even know first aid," she thought, not even knowing what a regular pulse would be for the boy. All she could tell was that it wasn't really changing in rate, but she doubted she could even trust her own judgement in her shaken state right now. "Please," she cried, another pair of tears landing on concrete, a quick turn of the head taken to avoid them splattering in the wound.

That glance aside, however, finally let her see what was going on, finally let her see the struggle between the two Demons, watched by her helpless partner.

"Sangloupmon," she mumbled, his screams resonating in her ears and the sight of his data warping and distorting finally bringing her back to what she needed to do right now. Even if she had to tend to Kohaku, Floramon needed her help or they were all done for.

A burst of confidence inflated her as she reached behind, pulling forth the back card of her deck. Whilst she lacked the experience to realise the importance of ordering all the cards in the deck, she had enough initiative to put this particular card where it could be easily accessed.

Without undue delay, she lifted the card up and swept it through her expanded D-Vice, the screen flashing as she did so.

"DIGI-MODIFY…Digivolution Activate!"

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

**Floramon, Digivolve to…**

**Ninjamon!**

The small warrior Digimon touched down on the ground, her form a start contrast to that of the plant Digimon she once was. She looked up, the night barely hindering her thanks to her improved senses, whilst Sakura looked on at her, knowing that this strategy had to work or else they were stuck, lest someone came and found their present battle.

"_Then I need to make it work," _she thought, raising her D-Vice to the black Digimon almost shrouded entirely (excepting an eerie pair of glowing eyes) by the shade of the trees about them. "Devidramon, Virus Type, Champion Level, attacks are Crimson Claw, Dead Eyes, Dark Gale and Black Bite," she read, Ninjamon nodding and preparing to leap forwards. "Do you need anything more?"

Ninjamon turned quickly to her, shaking her head. "No, you just make sure Kohaku is alright," she said, before turning back to face her foe in the darkness. "I'll be fine," she replied, before leaping straight at the black dragon rapidly. "IGA-STYLE SWORD DRAW!" she cried, sending her blade slashing across the Digimon's head.

Devidramon screamed in pain, letting up on his grip on the wolf's neck and leaving him free to tumble to the ground, a place where he landed rather roughly. Ninjamon, meanwhile, stepped down gracefully near him, looking to him with a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay?"

Sangloupmon growled, hissed and groaned as he stood up again, clenching his teeth together in determination. "I'm fine," he insisted, digging his claws into the concrete. "Let's get this freak!" he roared, before taking a run forward at the dark dragon, something in which he was soon joined by Ninjamon after a nod of agreement.

Devidramon looked up, his vision returning to normal after the gashing sword slash across his neck. The warrior had approached him almost completely unheard until it was too late, but he would not have it happen again.

A low, evil laugh graced the demon's lips, as he prepared his claws to aim at the wolf racing straight towards him, clearly his main threat right now both due to his size and his background knowledge about the attacks of such Digimon.

"CRIMSON…" he began, preparing to slash his claw straight across his foe's face.

"BLACK MIND," Sangloupmon said, suddenly melting into the ground inches before he was going to collide with the dragon's attack. Sangloupmon's body had recovered enough by now to use such a move which would have been impossible before when a set of teeth were embedded deep in his neck.

Devidramon stopped short, genuinely surprised by this tactic as he began to take a frantic look around for his foe, unfortunately finding another foe in the process, or at least another foe's attack.

"NINJA KNIFE THROWING!" echoed the voice as a shuriken smashed into Devidramon's face, exploding and causing the dark Digimon to roar in pain. The shuriken promptly returned to its master, but before Devidramon could act to attack its source he was assaulted from behind by a huge number of tiny blades.

"STICKER BLADE!" echoed another, much lower voice, the weapons embedding and rushing up Devidramon's back, each one on its own sharp but as a whole they were unbearable. "Perfect," Sangloupmon congratulated himself, but it was short lived.

With sharp flaps of his wings backwards and forwards in quick succession, Devidramon quickly shook the blades free from himself, an evil laugh radiating from him as Sangloupmon and Ninjamon cursed.

"Ugh! Die already!" the wolf groaned.

Meanwhile, Sakura had returned to nursing the injured boy in front of him, and was currently searching her pockets and school bag for tissues or anything she could use to soak up some of the blood flow. Not finding any of the former, she quickly made a decision that was far more drastic and permanent. Pulling forth an exercise book, she began ripping a number of pages from the back, and, hoping they wouldn't cause infection or further injury, she pressed the first against the wound gently but hard enough to soak up blood.

She felt queasy as the math paper turned red in the centre on the other side, her tactic to soak up the blood working but not helping her present state of mind.

"_I need to get him to help quickly," _she thought, moving onto the second sheet before a voice from behind made her jump in surprise.

"What are you doing?"

She froze up, before shaking violently as she felt something land on the top of her head. She wanted to scream, but before she could the creature leapt down in front of her, a worried and apologetic expression on his large green eyes.

"What's wrong? Did I do something?" asked a small, white fairy, its short ears and feet tipped by purple marks and a strange symbol made up of three black triangles around a larger red inverted one on the middle of his head.

"Are you…a Digimon?" Sakura asked, staring down at the creature and swearing he was remotely familiar from somewhere. He put his hand in his mouth, nodding in cautious agreement, unsure why the girl was asking him this. She promptly raised her D-Vice, reading the data but finding it oddly incomplete. "Calumon, Data Type, In-training Level…no attacks?" she read, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment.

"Wow, there's a picture of me," Calumon said, leaping onto the girl's blue hair again to look curiously down at the picture on her D-Vice. "Yay!"

Sakura looked up, both curious about why this Digimon was sitting on her head and why he was both optimistic and more interested in a picture of him given the fact that right now there was a Digimon battle going on not far from them, albeit shrouded in the darkness. She quickly prayed that both Ninjamon and Sangloupmon would be alright out there, and, given that Devidramon had shown himself to be very violent and unpredictable, she knew they needed good luck too.

An explosion unsettled her nerves, a roar hissing through the air. She felt Calumon sit up on her head. "What's going on?"

"Both mine and this boy here's partners are fighting a Devidramon."

"Really?" Calumon replied, a bit surprised. He looked down at Kohaku, a worried and shocked look crossing his face. "Oh no, oh no, nosebleed, nosebleed!" he panicked, leaping down to the ground and dancing about frantically.

"Nosebleed?" Sakura asked, bewildered by the irrelevant choice of terms.

"Yeah! Takato once got one of those and I was really worried and then he told me it was called a nosebleed."

"Calumon, this isn't a nosebleed! He's been injured."

"Injured?" Calumon asked, looking more closely at the boy before taking a worried step back. "Oh no, this is no good at all! This is really bad! What do we do, what do we do…" he began to panic even more.

"Help me put these sheets on him to soak up the blood," Sakura said, taking another of the ripped out sheets and replacing the bloody one with it. Briefly contemplating the fact that Mrs Asagi would kill her if she accidentally were to rip one of her actual work sheets out, she checked the other one for how much blood it had on it. There was less blood than she had expected but it still greatly concerned her. She quickly pulled forth her cell phone from her pocket, looking down at the screen. _"Crap, no signal…how the hell do I get an ambulance? And will they even be able to get here? I bet the payphones aren't even plugged in."_

"His nosebleed is getting worse!" Calumon panicked, as Sakura accidentally dropped the bloodied paper. She glanced down, less blood on the sheet than the other one but right now she couldn't be sure whether it was simply because it had been on for a shorter time or whether it was actually stemming. She hoped for the latter but, given how the past minutes had been catastrophic, she further doubted her own perception right now.

"DARK GALE!" Devidramon shrieked, sending a burst of thick beams from his eyes towards Ninjamon, surprising her in a rare moment of unawareness thanks to her quickly checking that her Tamer was still intact.

"Move the hell out of the way!" Sangloupmon shrieked, leaping towards the ninja and slamming into her, pushing her away just as the pair of beams smashed into a nearby tree. Splinters rained through the air as Sangloupmon crouched low to the ground, a number ricocheting off his back in a painful manner.

Ninjamon stood up again, already feeling weary thanks to their surprisingly resilient foe. "Thanks," she said to her wolf-like saviour, but he simply gave his version of a shrug.

"Peh, with you here this battle will be easier to win."

"You're not very good at compliments."

"Well, if you were looking for pointless pleasantries, I can always give you the same "bearable" status as Kuhako?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ugh, never mind. Just duck!"

"What?" Ninjamon asked, glancing aside before throwing herself to the ground as a pair of laser beams screamed over her head, smashing into the concrete far too close for comfort.

Sangloupmon looked over at his ally, a condescending look on his face. "And you call yourself a ninja," he snorted, before looking back to their foe, the dragon having given up with long range attacks and instead having resorted to a tactic of menacingly advancing on them. "Now get the hell up!"

"Stop insulting me!" Ninjamon complained, getting back to her feet. "I thought we were fighting here."

"Yeah, so did I."

The warrior, realising it would be pointless to try to convince the wolf otherwise, turned to look at Devidramon, getting ever closer to them but seemingly making his movements as tense and fear-inducing as possible, something which finally was having an effect on her. "Sangloupmon, you sink into the shadows, and I'll confuse him."

"Great, you get the easy task," Sangloupmon complained, before his form melted into the ground with nothing but the calling of "BLACK MIND," upon the wind.

Devidramon snarled, not planning to be beaten by the same trick again anytime soon, as he took a violent lurch forwards, piling the pressure and the fear on his foe as he began to fly towards Ninjamon, claws outstretched.

Ninjamon frowned, turning to face Devidramon and pulling forth a shuriken and staring directly into her foe's eyes, knowing that right now he was anticipating an aggressive attack using the weapon in her hand, a perfect chance to catch him off guard.

"BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" she cried, suddenly multiplying repeatedly into seemingly perfect copies of herself. They spread about the dragon in a circle, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"Grrr," he growled, spreading wide his snarling fangs as he glared at the many determined faces about him, several dozen shuriken supposedly readied to fire. He turned about, trying to look for some sign of the real one but failing. Other than the human girl and the dead (he hoped) boy he had attacked earlier, he couldn't see any other beings than the ninjas surrounding him.

"You won't hurt anyone else!" the Ninjamon swore, her voice somehow multiplied thirty-fold. "NINJA…"

Devidramon laughed evilly, sweeping his wings back before rapidly taking off into the air, inversely sending a sweeping wave of air towards them. The clones cancelled as the real Ninjamon fell back, the sharp wind surprising her greatly and leaving her unable to maintain it.

The demon dragon looked down. He snorted at his temporarily disposed foe before turning, looking towards what was perhaps a more permanent one. With a haunting laugh, he shot forward, setting himself on a collision course with the ground where Sakura, Calumon and the boy were, claws and jaw spread wide and ready to inflict as much damage as possible on his defenceless foe.

Ninjamon shot to her feet, beginning to run forward but realising she simply couldn't make it there in time. "SAKURA!" she yelled.

Sakura finally looked up, frightened to death by the huge ghastly beast hurtling towards her. She screamed in horror, and Calumon quickly collapsed into a shivering blob of ears. Only Kohaku stayed silent, for that was all he could do.

"BLACK…" Devidramon howled.

"DIE!" screamed a new voice, Sangloupmon suddenly leaping from the puddle that was Devidramon's shadow with all blades braced and prepared to kill.

"GRAAAAH!"

The blades sliced straight through Devidramon. The attack was so fast that his body was apart into chunks for a fraction of a second before he burst into data.

Sangloupmon landed, screeching to a halt before turning. The specks, as if on his command, rocketed towards him, becoming part of his own form in a burst of light. "No one hurts them," he scowled under his breath.

Sakura breathed erratically, placing her hand on her chest and almost falling over out of surprise and fright. She looked about, particularly to Calumon who currently trembled on the ground alongside her.

"Calumon," she tried to gently say but her voice was so laden with panic she doubted it was having much of an effect. "It's okay now, he's gone," she said, reaching out to touch the little Digimon with a finger. Upon contact, however, he pulled back his ears which he had covered over his eyes with, revealing petrified pupils.

"I DON'T LIKE THIS GAME!" he cried, turning and running away as fast as his short stumpy legs would carry him. Sakura almost lost her balance as she tried to wave for him to come back, tumbling to her knees as she waved a hand.

"Wait!" she called, but he had already disappeared into the darkness. Sakura considered going after him and finding out more about the creature but she was quickly interrupted by far more pressing matters.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Ninjamon asked, having wasted no time in reaching her previously-threatened Tamer.

Sakura breathed, sighing and placing her hand on her pounding chest. "Yeah," she finally reported. "Just petrified."

Sangloupmon came to a stop near the Tamer and partner, a fair bit taller than them right now and potentially very frightful were it not for the fact that he had not only just saved their lives, but presented a chance to save Kohaku's.

"Is he alive?" the wolf asked, fear laden in his gruff voice. Sakura reached out, placing two fingers on his wrist and feeling for a heartbeat. With a deep sigh of relief, she nodded, before looking to her attempt at mopping up the blood, the sheet which was on him now having fallen aside.

"Crap," she briefly cursed, reaching over for a new sheet and pressing it down. However, unlike the last time, only a small amount of residual blood found its way onto the paper, and little soaked through the sheet. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern and confusion. "What?"

"Did he stop bleeding?" Ninjamon asked, confusion on her face as she stared on.

"Yeah, but…that's just…" Sakura mumbled, eyes widening in surprise as she stared down at the still-unconscious form of her friend. She reached for his wrist again, feeling for a heartbeat before looking even more bewildered. "He was attacked by that…thing! And…it cut down his face…how…how can…" she rambled, gently placing her hand down on his skin to check she wasn't seeing things. The wound had shrunk slightly, the ends sealing up faster than she expected, but a gash still sat in the middle, thankfully no longer bleeding. It would most likely scar him, if, of course, he wasn't continuing his bizarre ability to heal so easily after such a vicious attack. Only chance and the frantic nature of everything had prevented him from getting an even more severe wound that would probably be blinding if not fatal.

"Why are we wasting time then? Let's get Kuhako out of here," Sangloupmon insisted, turning sideways to the Tamer and Digimon and flicking his head up.

"Huh?"

"Put him on my back…stupid humans…"

"Don't call Sakura stupid!" Ninjamon complained, a harsh tone laden deep in her voice at how Dracmon, or, rather, Sangloupmon in this case, continually insulted her Tamer, and those around her as well.

"Oh come on, even you know that…" Sangloupmon began, before repeating the gesture. "…means on my back, don't you?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Please can we just get Kohaku out of here and stop bickering for now," Sakura interjected, looking between the pair who promptly nodded. "Ninjamon, help me get him onto Sangloupmon," she said, looking down and praying that moving him wouldn't reopen the wound somehow. She hoped he hadn't broken any bones.

Ninjamon bent down, putting her hands carefully under the boy and lifting him up, taking a glance at Sakura to see her concerned expression, her teeth in her lip and her shoulders tensed. The warrior frowned even more deeply, before lifting Kohaku up and turning. She wandered across, leaping up to Sangloupmon's back and landing cautiously to ensure that she didn't drop him straight away. She placed him temporarily down on the wolf before turning, reaching out a hand to her Tamer.

"Thanks," Sakura mumbled as she was pulled up onto the wolf's back, a very odd experience particularly given that not long ago this same wolf had been attacking them ferociously. Of course, that could've been because another human had gone on his back beforehand, but it was still a fearful feeling.

Steadying herself, she turned, both her and Ninjamon quickly balancing themselves between holding onto the fur of the beast and holding onto the boy to ensure he didn't simply roll off.

Sangloupmon, taking a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure that his Tamer was well secured, broke into a walk into a gallop into a run, vanishing off into the night.

**END OF PART FOUR…**


	74. The Trick To Endings Part 5

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated). The Calumon Protocols idea belongs to Crazyeight, and is used with permission.

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 64**

_The Trick to Endings_

**Part Five**

* * *

**TUESDAY, 26****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Kitagawa Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:20 JST**_

The table was bare of its normal dinner essentials: sauces, mats, cutlery, and, of course, food. There was a muted lighting to the room, echoing that outdoors, and its sole two occupants were both agitated, albeit for different reasons. For Ayaka, it was her worry about how Kazu would react to her questions and deep concerns about his current state of mind, particularly since, despite talking a huge amount every day, he rarely actually _said_ anything. For Kazu, he was simply bewildered why she was suddenly pulling him aside, and he had begun to work on the theory that she was about to tell him off, slap him or knock him out for looking at her bottom only a short time before.

Both sat down opposite each other at the table, each taking an age to settle themselves and taking cautious glances at the other. Finally rested comfortably, they looked up at each other.

No words were said. Neither had any idea how to start.

"Uh…" Ayaka finally mumbled, the first word out of their mouths in a minute or so, perhaps a new record for the pair, at least when they were in the same room.

"Uh…what…what's this about?" Kazu stammered, finding himself at a sudden loss for words.

"I'm…I'm just a bit concerned."

"About what?" Kazu asked, putting on his best bewildered gaze and slight bemused grin.

"You."

The gaze and grin both dropped, Kazu's head falling to stare at the table for a few moments. Ayaka watched his reaction curiously, pondering whether to keep talking or simply wait to see if he would be the one to do so.

An uncomfortable gaze flashed across the boy's gaze, as he looked up, trying to bluff his way out of the situation. "Uh…why?" he asked, again faking a bewildered gaze but this time far less convincingly.

"This whole Chiyo thing…you don't seem to be that okay about what happened."

Kazu frowned and periodically closed his eyes, the image of her bleeding to death on the Shinjuku Park concrete once again echoing in his mind, a mind which wandered so far as to even picture how the shooting had happened. Had she screamed? Did she even see the bullet coming? Was Ryder angry, was he distraught, was he insane?

The boy shook his head lightly, knowing that it wasn't something he really wanted to contemplate. Ryder had killed her to defend Mari, and that was that. He couldn't deny he wouldn't have done the same in the same situation, but…

Kazu quickly decided he didn't want to talk about this - couldn't talk about this - not only because practically the whole world, including Ayaka, didn't know anything about the reality of Chiyo's death or her actions beforehand as a Demon, but also because he couldn't stomach it.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Ayaka frowned, the boy avoiding her eyes. Was this all she would get out of him? They _were_ friends after all, they were _meant_ to talk about stuff like this. Sure, they argued, but…wasn't that just how their friendship was; how it always had been? Didn't Kazu think the same; couldn't he see past the casual insults, the endless repeats of going-through-the motions?

Or was she reading this all wrong? Had she actually lost her chance at a decent friendship with him, fooled herself into thinking that both of them mutually agreed that their unusual relationship was normal and okay?

He went to stand up, still avoiding her hesitant stare as he looked towards his escape route: the door into the living room. Beyond it, Miki and Ayaka. Beyond it, Ayaka couldn't question him on such matters. Beyond it was escape.

Ayaka decided that, like earlier when it had been a chaotic error, right now she needed to simply blurt out what she suspected in order to get any further.

"You had to watch a crush die in front of you! A girl who hated you like a lot of girls so you're now scared that you'll never get anyone, and, I know that being you, you are never going to admit to any of this at all if I don't ram it down your throat like this," Ayaka quickly said, throwing out words she would never had said in a tactful conversation. It wasn't exactly the best method of getting him onside, but right now it was probably her only method. "…right?" she asked, her voice unusually timid.

Kazu stopped in his tracks, taking a hesitant glance towards her, reluctance filling his eyes as he looked down at the girl with the caramel blond hair. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply before falling back into the seat. He averted his eyes up to the ceiling, half of him praying that Kenta's mother, Kenta himself or Miki would burst in at that moment to interrupt them, and half of him desperately wanting to tell someone what was bothering him.

"Yeah," he finally said, sighing as he looked back down towards the girl, and planted his hands, pressed together on the table. "Nice to know I'm _that_ transparent," he said with a hollow grin.

Ayaka gave a quiet chuckle, averting her eyes down to his hands before looking back up to him again. "Well…I spent a bloody long time thinking about it you know."

"Great to know I'm on your mind."

The girl's face went to avert again, before it looked up to confront him. "Not like that!" she insisted. "It's just, Kazu, you've been a wreck these past few days but you haven't even talked to anyone about it."

"Oh come on, it's not like I could tell you all anyway."

"Why not Kazu? You've got tons of friends, and we're all here to help. Why don't you talk to us?"

Kazu frowned deeply, knowing he couldn't explain why he couldn't tell Ayaka and Miki. None of them could. But still, he also knew he had friends who he could talk to, his fellow Tamers, but he just didn't want to. In such a close-knit group, he knew that he could easily say the wrong thing or accidently insult someone or just end up being mocked for yet another thing for all eternity.

And who could he talk to anyway? His best friends from before his taming days were Kenta and Takato, and the latter was having a child so he was definitely not available right now to talk about such comparably trivial matters. Kenta, on the other hand, was definitely Kazu's closest friend, but he wasn't exactly gifted with the ability to give good advice, just like he lacked confidence (even though taming had helped a lot on that front).

Of course, the most caring person in their group was easily Jeri, but Kazu had already decided against talking to her. Death was a touchy subject around Jeri, her life being permeated with such losses and only in one case having been balanced out with the good fortune of revival. There was also the fear that talking to her about his current concerns, both regarding death and love, would simply trivialise and attempt to overshadow Jeri's admittedly more catastrophic loss of her mother as a child.

Some in their group were just too far away to talk to properly about such things (like Ryo, who also seemed to lack experience in such matters even if he usually did seem to take life with a calm composure which Kazu and many others envied), and others he didn't know enough to talk to about such things, plus he knew he wouldn't feel comfortable enough talking to them.

In any other situation, he was sure he would explain why he couldn't talk to Ayaka about everything, but he knew he couldn't even tell her that now. Not after what Rayleigh had said. Indeed, even without that, he knew that he would be risking the lives of his friends to mention it.

For the first time, he felt like he had to keep part of his life a secret from his friends, and he could only think of one way to describe it. _"This sucks."_

"Kazu?"

Kazu sighed deeply, noting that he hadn't talked for a few moments, and had yet to answer her. "I really can't say."

"You can. I'm your friend Kazu, you can tell me anything."

The boy frowned, sighing as he looked down at his hands, still clasped together on the table. He lightly shook his head, going to open his mouth before she quickly interrupted, knowing she was losing her chance.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier…and, ever…with the insults, I mean. I just thought they were a game, and…"

"They are a game," Kazu replied with a warm smile. "And it's yet another game I rule at," he quipped with a chuckle. Ayaka simply rolled her eyes, giving a content sigh as she repressed a smile at the cocky boy. "Listen, that's not what's bugging me now, so, you know, don't feel guilty and all Ayaka."

"Then what?"

"It's about Chiyo," he mumbled, looking sadly down at his hands again.

"Aw…Kazu," Ayaka said, a sympathetic look flooding onto her face. "We all miss her," she said, gently placing her hand onto Kazu's linked ones, rubbing her fingers across his skin.

Kazu closed his eyes, nodding in agreement before looking out to the caramel-haired girl again. "Yeah, I know, but…I saw her die, and…I really did like her, and…I've never lost anyone human before either, and other than Leomon we've never lost any friends at all, and even his death wasn't permanent in the end."

Ayaka frowned deeply. "The only person I ever lost before was my grandma, and I was too young to remember her properly," Ayaka said, sighing before pausing in her caressing as a wondering look crossed her eyes, quickly cast up to the ceiling light as if it were some symbolic sign of her. "But, I still wonder what she'd be like now, what she'd say, what she'd think of me...guess that kind of thought never stops."

"Yeah. Remember when she told Asagi to "go to hell"?"

"Remember it? I can see Mrs' face now. God, I thought she was going to explode."

"I really didn't help by laughing, did I?"

"Did she really give you a week's worth of detention?"

"Nah. Two."

Ayaka chuckled in amusement, her face lighting up as a smile crossed it. She shook her head dismissively in disbelief of the boy's actions and tactlessness. She could only imagine being so forward and confident. Kazu certainly was one of a kind; that was for sure. Whether that was a good thing in Mrs Asagi's eyes, on the other hand was debatable, but having him as a friend, a mate, someone to be the idiot in class and make everyone laugh. That was definitely a good thing, even if he could still be rather immature.

Thanks to their trip down memory lane, Kazu once again began contemplating what he'd say if the very dark brown-haired girl he'd crushed on badly was here right now. All the questions he could ask. Did she really hate him that much? Why did she attack them? Couldn't she resist it? What about her partner? What did she think of Ayaka and the others in their class? Would she be here, stroking Kazu's hand and comforting him?

Kazu blinked, his eyes widening and a bewildering look crossing his face as he looked down to Ayaka's hands, both of them now stroking his comfortingly from their position on top of his pressed palms. He blinked again, noticing that Ayaka was having the exact same expression about the position they had somehow ended up in.

"_Crap!"_

"_Shit!"_

With much blushing, mumbling and muffled cursing, they both quickly retracted their arms, averting their eyes down to the floor as they both felt very stupid. What were they doing, and how hadn't they noticed it for that long?

Kazu finally looked up, their conversation afterwards short lasting and punctuated with embarrassed laughing. He moved to his feet, glancing at the door. "Shall we...?"

"Yeah," Ayaka agreed, wanting to end this situation quickly before she had to answer to her actions. Both hurried across to the door, practically leaping at the chance to go through after Kazu pulled it aside.

The girl, however, paused briefly, taking a glance back at the warmly lit room, the tablecloth still creased where their hands had been. A slim smile crossed her face, before she followed the brunette.

* * *

_**Hypnos, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:41 JST**_

The darkness of the outside world made little difference to the windowless room beyond making a few of its CCTV camera pictures of the city slightly darker, and that was only those that hadn't been destroyed or disrupted by the digital activity over the past few days.

The current conversation echoing in the chamber was regarding a certain `Wild One', as the head of this particular organisation, a gifted but tempered blonde man called Yamaki who, excepting his authoritarian stance and sharp voice, looked like plenty of other government agents, had long ago dubbed the Digimon bioemerging into the real world.

"There's no sign at all sir," came a voice from above Yamaki. Teeth were gritted as a clicking gently emanated through the room, a quiet signal to its other inhabitant, this one a slim redhead, that the man was less than pleased.

"_Impossible," _he thought, frowning. This current situation made absolutely no sense. A Digimon had biomerged completely, all their data told them so, and the system had picked up a number of the Tamers digivices receiving the signal. But, only a few moments later, after a strange and somehow indecipherable incoming signal, all of those signals ceased to exist, be it Tamer or `Wild One'.

"What should I do sir?"

Yamaki frowned even more deeply, his brow pursing into a wrinkle. The situation made no sense, but he had learnt that, where his job and Digimon in general were concerned, nonsensical things were the order of the day. He knew, however, that multiple minds helped massively on such things, and so he decided to use his subordinates to good advantage.

"Collate all the data into a single directory and send it down to Analysis."

"Yes sir."

"Ugh…" Yamaki groaned, falling into a chair with a sigh as he looked about at the data readings above "Where is that man with my coffee?" he asked, clicking his lighter and looking towards the still-closed doorway.

* * *

"That lady was sure nice to let me past. Everyone here is so nice; I don't know why Guilmon says this place is scary," said a small white creature as the lift accelerated upwards, oblivious to the fact that no-one was there to hear his monologue. "Maybe they're not so nice to him," he pondered, putting his hand curiously on his mouth and pondering, before staring up at the numbers on the display near the roof. _"Now, what was that funny symbol again?"_

**11**

**12**

**13**

Not seeing the "funny symbol", Calumon continued to wait, his mind flashing back to the battle he had seen earlier. "I know what is scary though…that monster thing…that girl seemed nice, but what was with the boy and his nosebleeds? Humans can be so silly," he laughed, looking up to the "symbols" again.

**27**

**28**

**29**

"Yay!" Calumon cried, leaping into the air and slamming into the lift controls, the box coming to a halt suddenly with a shake and a spark of electricity, a key-entry floor suddenly accessible. The doors fell ajar slightly, Calumon pressing himself forward through the crack and breaking out into Hypnos' floor, unawares of the major security violation he had just caused, or the likelihood that the elevator would be out of action for a while.

He wandered out into the brightly lit corridor, looking down either side at the corridors leading away alongside large pane windows, the only sign of truly hospitable life being a currently-closed cafeteria and a coffee machine with a man in front of it, a man who promptly turned around upon hearing the noise.

"What in blazes?" he asked, wandering promptly over to the Digimon. Unlike most Digimon when "caught", however, Calumon didn't make any attempt to run, instead beaming widely from ear to ear at the now stubble-bearded man.

"Hi, I'm Calumon! Can we play?!"

Eiichi looked down, a thinly-veiled look of surprise on his face as he quickly reached into the inside pocket of his suit, one far less luxurious or expensive than what he was used to. Pulling forth his cell phone, he prepared to call Yamaki.

"Now, you stay there while I call Yamaki," he said, agitation in his voice about the potential catastrophe that a Digimon sneaking into Hypnos could present. Was their security really this terrible?

"You know Yamaki?" Calumon asked, a deeply curious look on his face, one completely oblivious to the fact he was now in trouble.

Eiichi paused, his brow furrowing as he looked down at the bizarre creature. "Of course, he is my first-in-command."

"What does that mean?"

"Normally that I have to make coffee," Eiichi replied with a sigh, the depression of his life lately setting in. Only a few days ago, he was the proud, efficient and respected Chief Cabinet Secretary, and well on his way to being Prime Minister when his superior stepped down. But then, Rayleigh Thompson, the man he himself had recruited and promoted to his previous role, ignoring Yamaki's concerns, replaced him, the Prime Minister casting him aside despite their long friendship.

"Aw, you sound sad," Calumon said, leaping up onto Eiichi's head and not realising that the man would be surprised by such a move. He peered over at his ride's surprised face, as he reached for his phone and put it to his ear.

"Yamaki!" he quickly exclaimed. "A Digimon has broken into Hypnos, and…"

He paused, a bewildered look crossing his face before he looked up to Calumon again, obliviousness seeming to be the Digimon's middle name, not that he had a last name for it to go with.

"…yes, he's white with purple ears…oh…but…the Calumon Protocols? What, the receptionist? Isn't that a…oh…okay, fine. Yes, I'll be there with the coffee soon. Has anything happened…? I see. Fine, keep me posted."

Sighing, Eiichi contemplated, realising that he had just been taken for a fool and that Yamaki still didn't consider him to be anything more than a PR man who was useful also as a coffee boy when none of the assistants were around. The man evidently didn't consider the former Chief Cabinet Secretary's experience to be worth anything much in his current employment. Even Riley and Tally got more interesting work than him, although being Yamaki, his lack of respect regarding his subordinate's abilities manifested in far different forms to that of someone like Rayleigh.

"I have been told to take you down to see the receptionist to file a report for the so-called Calumon Protocols."

"Oh, those things," Calumon mumbled, before leaping promptly down to the floor in front of the man, his hand back on the edge of his mouth. "That woman is nice, but she asks some really weird questions."

"She is trying to compile data on how you manage to break into Hypnos every time."

"Ooh," Calumon mumbled, looking with amazement up to the man. "…why?"

"_Even though Yamaki didn't mention it, I think I already know." _"Well, Calumon…given that a being of such…cheerfulness, was able to break into a supposedly secure government facility, I suppose that tells us that our security isn't up to scratch."

"Yeah, I'm really good at that…what's security?"

"Stuff to stop people we don't like getting into here," Eiichi said, purposely keeping his words as simple as he could.

"Oh…so you guys like me getting in here then?"

Eiichi frowned, rolling his eyes and shaking his head dismissively. "So, I think it's time to take you to the receptionist."

"Yay! She can talk to me about that big monster thing I saw."

Eiichi walked over to the lift and pressed the call button for another elevator, still assuming that the creature was making up his seemingly usual random stories.

Little did he know that this one had a degree of truth to it.

As a result, little would Yamaki know either.

* * *

_**Yuuna Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**18:12 JST**_

Lights blurred about his vision as the boy's arms ached into use, a groan emanating from his lips as he did so. The world felt soft around him, but he knew that something far sharper was afoot. Something was odd. Very odd, and he knew for certain he wasn't just waking up in the morning on his bed. For starters, his bed wasn't so hard.

"Kohaku," said a voice softly, the boy's vision focusing on a blur of blue and pink above him, one that he took a while to identify with.

"S-Sakura?" he asked, before pausing and his hand rushing to the side of his face, a stinging pain rushing down it as he spoke.

"Yeah…" she mumbled as he felt the raw skin and the cut into it. "It might hurt to talk."

"What happened?"

"Geez Kuhako, don't ya remember?" interrupted a new voice, leaping onto what quickly became apparent to be a bed. "That stupid Devidramon thingy attacked ya."

"It did?" Kohaku began, before Dracmon rolled his eyes and prepared a snarky response. "Ouch…so…did you guys beat him?"

"All thanks to me and my wonderful champion form thank you all very much," proudly said the demon, striking a pose. "Dunno what you bums would've done without me."

"We wouldn't have gone in there in the first place," Floramon interjected, Kohaku continuing to stare at his own partner with a bewildered look as the Digimon turned to yell a complaint at his fellow Digimon partner.

"Yeah, well…then someone would've got hurt, wouldn't they?"

"Someone _did_ get hurt!"

"Peh, Kohaku? He's made of tougher stuff than that."

"Wow, should I be taking that as a compliment?" Kohaku interrupted, a slim smile crossing his face.

"You being made of tougher stuff? So's a hunk of metal but you don't see me complimenting that do ya?"

Kohaku smiled in amusement, before confusion once again streaked across his face, his mind racking for the out-of-place memories he kept having about this Digimon. He felt he already knew something about this battle, and about its events. But how? What had he…?

"That dream!"

"Huh? What?" Sakura asked, bewildered by the boy's sudden exclamation. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him, and another pair joined them when Dracmon opened his hands and defensively waved to Kohaku without Sakura and Floramon seeing.

The boy looked over the girl's shoulder, seeing his partner trying to signal to him. Did he not want him to speak? But why not? It was just a dream, wasn't it?

* * *

Kohaku got the impression he wasn't being told the whole story here, but he knew that at least some of it had to be true. "Wait, you saved me? But…you hate me! Don't you?"

Dracmon bit his lip in annoyance, hoping that his Tamer would never touch on such a subject. "Yeah, well, let's just say I owe you one after you saved my life after that big battle in the girder place," he said, giving an excuse while he looked aside from his partner's gaze.

"Well, uh…thanks."

Dracmon groaned, not wanting to say what he was about to say but somehow feeling obliged to do so. "And, I guess…ugh, can't believe I'm saying this," he mumbled, finally looking his partner straight in the eyes again. "I guess you're…bearable."

* * *

A smile crossed Kohaku's face. "Never mind," he replied, Dracmon silently breathing a sigh of relief as his secret was kept for longer. He couldn't be seen to show anything but animosity towards his partner; that just wasn't him. Oddly, Kohaku found he could accept that.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, while Kohaku diverted his gaze, sitting up properly looking for something to distract them from the current topic of conversation. He didn't take long to work something out. "Hey, uh…where am I?" he asked, seeing that he was sitting in a small-ish room with pale purple walls, a number of posters of bands and pictures pasted onto them, and a bed with indigo sheets up against the wall.

The blue-haired girl quickly grew a shade of red as she moved her hands behind her back, the pair fiddling with each other anxiously. "It's my bedroom," she said, trying to prevent herself stammering as the breeze of infatuation suddenly passed over her.

"Oh…oh…" Kohaku replied, looking about and trying to find some way to prevent the awful spectre known as silence from descending. "It's nice."

"Thanks," she replied timidly, looking down to her partner who still gave her an eye of confusion, still not entirely understanding what was wrong with her Tamer. She elected to find out about it later when the boy and his Digimon were absent. Perhaps Sakura would then be more liberal with the truth.

The boy's eyes were soon drawn to a mirror behind the girl, the girl looking highly confused and wondering if he were staring at an inappropriate area before she followed his eyeline. Blushing, she stepped aside and unconsciously rearranged her clothes, despite which they ended up in the exact same position. He stood up, quickly silenced as he took a giddy step towards the mirror, his eyes transfixed on his own form.

"Shit," was all he could say as a hand went to the side of his face, inspecting where his injury was. It had receded, but where it had been was now darkened skin, clear evidence that it would scar. It ran down to the left side of his face, albeit appearing on the right hand side in the mirror. It passed only a centimetre or two from his eye, and ended at the base of his cheek, mostly in a straight line. Two, other, fainter lines ran either side, but both seemed to be fading fast and he couldn't see much evidence of scarring.

"Yeah," was all that the girl could mumble, her hands now uncomfortably twitching as the aftermath of that battle came to light. "I wasn't able to stop it. There was so much blood, and…I was so scared," she defended, a guilty look on her face as it fell to look at the bluish carpet and pulled her hands in close to herself.

The boy turned to her, his finger still on the sensitive area of skin. He frowned, retracting it and taking a step towards her. Without any provocation or request, he put his arms around her in a hug. She looked up at first, caught off guard and gaining a blush on her cheeks but quickly and thankfully returning the embrace. "Listen, it's not your fault," he mumbled, silently adding. _"It's that stupid Digimon's."_

She reluctantly pulled away, looking into his eyes with a frown as their arms remained at each other's sides. "I thought we were ready for stuff like this, but…we're useless."

"Hey, your flower-thingy may be useless but I sure as hell ain't!" Dracmon interrupted, raising a clenched fist. "We beat him, nah, _I_ beat him, and that's what counts!"

Kohaku smiled and nodded, and even Sakura gave a slight smile at the Digimon's surprising level of optimism and determination about the situation. They let each other go, Kohaku stepping over to look in the mirror and pulling on the sore skin again despite the pain he knew he would experience by doing so.

"Even though, my mom is going to kill me for this…and I bet she'll take you away too Dracmon," he said, looking through the mirror over his shoulder at the other three in the room.

"She sure as hell won't!" the demon complained, clenching his fists even more tightly. "I risked my life back there to save your sorry arse; I'm sure as hell not losing it."

"Doesn't having a bond with your Tamer matter to you at all?" Sakura groaned, sighing at the Digimon.

"A wazza? You're speaking a foreign language girl," Dracmon quickly replied, the girl groaning once again and sighing deeply in resignation. Dracmon grinned, and winked lightly to his Tamer.

For Kohaku, though, it seemed unnecessary. As odd as it seemed, he suddenly felt some kind of bond with the Digimon despite missing the entirety of the previous battle.

"Ugh, luck does not come our way does it Kohaku?" Sakura sighed again, sadly frowning at the ground before drawing her face up to look at his. He gave a bleak smile, shaking his head.

"You said it," he mumbled. Sakura stared at him, her mind beginning to ponder something strange, something perhaps rather daring for her, and something which would bring good from what was otherwise a rather dismal state of affairs.

"_Could I? No, wait…that'd be really stupid…but…well…no…what am I thinking, I can't ask him that. What if he says "no"? I'll have been such an idiot. But…what if he says "yes"? But I don't want him to say "no". Ugh, what do I do?"_

Kohaku cocked an eyebrow, seeing the girl's vacant stare at him, her expression occasionally altering as if she were fighting with herself. "You okay?" he asked, a bewildered tone to his voice.

She blinked, looking to him. "Yeah, sorry," she replied, uncomfortably shaking her head and anxiously scratching her neck. "I was just wondering," she mumbled, the boy staring on and wondering whether she would look him in the eyes at all. He knew, after all, what was coming. Was she really that worried?

"Yeah?"

"Uh…" _"Come on Sakura, just do it, just do it, just do it, just do…" _"Would you like to…uh…go to see a movie sometime or something?"

"Sure, sounds great," he replied, a slim smile moving onto his face as he watched relief flood her features.

"Great, it's a date!" she quickly cheered, a wide smile on her face. Had she won? Had it worked? Was she getting her wish? Was she dreaming or something? Or had she heard him wrong? "Uh…it's a date, right?"

"If you want," Kohaku replied, nodding in agreement. "Sounds like fun."

"Thank you thank you thank you," Sakura quickly replied, breathing a deep sigh of relief. She found herself unable to decide whether today was a good or a bad day all in all. They had been attacked, Kohaku was probably scarred for life and had almost fallen out with his partner, but at the same time, it seemed to her that it had brought Kohaku and Dracmon closer together, that their group was now far more united, and, of course, most of all, that it had brought her and the current object of her affections to the point where she felt confident enough (almost) to ask him on a date.

Feeling an overwhelming sense of joy, she took a step forward, wrapping her arms around him. He looked surprised at first but quickly returned the embrace. She didn't want to let go, her head over his shoulder and able to see the confused and disgusted look from the demon nearby, shockingly speechless in the current situation. She looked across to his neck, her arms creeping up his back and reaching for it.

A sudden jolt of reality sparked through her mind as she snapped awake from her trance-like hug and took a step back, staring in shock at his throat. Her heart racing, she looked down at her hands, still shaped in a worrying arrangement.

"_Did…did I just go to strangle him?" _she asked herself, not aware at all where the urge had come from. She stared at her hands, feeling that the movement was not her own. It seemed more like a reflex, but why? Why on earth would she ever even consider doing that? She didn't want to hurt anyone, let alone Kohaku, one of her best friends and now, perhaps, her boyfriend.

A cold sweat ran up Sakura's spine as she felt fearful of herself.

"You okay Sakura?" the boy asked, oblivious to the worry rushing through the blue-haired girl's mind.

"…yeah." _"I hope."_

**END OF PART FIVE…**


	75. The Trick To Endings Part 6

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**CHAPTER 64**

_The Trick to Endings_

**Part Six**

* * *

**TUESDAY, 26****th**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Kitagawa Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**20:15 JST**_

The light of the TV lit up the whole room, a DVD whirring in the player below and the sounds of a movie blaring out about the room to be heard by the two boys on the sofa. Their female company had left to go home an hour or so before, at least partly because the idea of watching the kind of calibre of movie that the boys were interested in, with lots of action, explosions and women, were completely unappealing to them. The fact that they had seen this movie before made little difference to their enjoyment of the film or to their amusement at watching their partner's worried reactions.

"MarineAngemon, it's okay buddy," Kenta said, gently stroking his worried partner as the screen filled with the explosion of millions of yen worth of pyrotechnics, incinerating both the bad guy and, supposedly, the good guy too, to shreds.

"Pipipi," the fairy replied unhappily.

"He's just missing having Miki and Ayaka here to be stroked by," Kazu said, a grin on his face. "The way you do it, you look like you're trying to crush him."

"Hey!" Kenta complained. "Of course I know how to stroke him, he's my partner."

"Meh. Still amazes me how the girls still break down from how cute they think he is. If only they'd do that for you, eh?"

"Aw, no fair," the shorter boy whined, MarineAngemon chirping in his defence as he threw up both short arms. Kenta, meanwhile, recalled something that he could use to turn the tables on this conversation, or, at least, that was what he hoped. "Wait…that reminds me…what was all that out-of-the-room stuff with Ayaka about earlier?"

Kazu took on a surprised expression, before shrugging and trying to act nonchalant. "Meh, she just asked how I was and apologised for being a bit of a bitch earlier."

"That's all?" Kenta asked, raising an eyebrow. He could've sworn that it seemed things were far more than that, given how long they had been talking and how they had gone aside to do it, not forgetting how they had re-entered the room afterwards, nervous and with lots of awkward stares. Not that he wasn't used to such things, being friends with the truly legendary Takato Matsuki, a boy renowned for creating awkward situations for himself.

"Well duh, otherwise I'd have told you, wouldn't I?" the brunette replied, an off-tone still laden in his voice that Kenta couldn't quite put his finger on. Kazu paused, staring off into space periodically, whilst the fairy's partner racked his mind for why on earth he would be doing so, and what he could be hiding. "Geez, what's with all the suspicion buddy?"

"Uh, nothing."

Kazu's face lit up as a smirk crossed it, as he decided to have some fun of his own about this matter. The TV and the movie it was showing were both by now long-forgotten, this new conversation absorbing their concentration.

"So, did something happen while we were out the room then?"

"No, nothing," Kenta insisted, glaring into the other boy's eyes. Why was he suddenly changing the subject like this?

"Geez, come on Kenta, I go out the room with Ayaka and you're left in here with my partner, your cute little fairy, a girl who's obsessed by him and, of course, you yourself. Like nothing happened at all. Come on, what'd you two talk about? You two seem pretty quiet, perfect for each other."

"Huh? What are you implying?" Kenta asked, before answering the question himself. "I don't have a crush on her or anything."

"Oh sure? I wasn't even talking about crushes and you're the one who brought up the subject," Kazu teased, a devilish smirk remaining on his face. Now just to tie the boy up in his own threads…

"Wait…why's all this stuff on your mind?" Kenta replied, the tables suddenly and inexplicably turned against Kazu as he asked his next question. "Do you have a crush on Ayaka?"

"No!"

"Really?"

"Pipipi!"

"Yeah, MarineAngemon's right. You two went out the room, together, and you came in again pretty nervously…"

"Oh come on, he chirped three times! How did you get all of that from it?!" Kazu tried to change the subject, but to no avail. He cursed the way things had turned. He didn't want to have to explain about what had happened earlier on at that table, not only because it'd only lead to more teasing (and he knew he was the one who was meant to ladle out teasing out of him and his best friend, it was the natural order of things after all) but also because he wasn't even sure what'd happened himself. There they had been, chatting about things, her trying to reassure him, and suddenly they had begun stroking each others' hands, staring into each others' eyes and getting a bit too close for two friends to be. Well, at least, a bit close for him and her to be.

The mental image of the idea of Ayaka kissing him crossed the boy's mind, and he quickly tried to dismiss it but to no avail, a fact revealed by a faint red tinge on his cheeks, hidden by the dim lighting in the room and the changeable nature of the light from the TV.

"I can't imagine you two as a couple, you'd just be arguing all the time."

"Excuse me, but I had got the impression from seeing plenty of what you humans call "couples" that it was all about arguing. Am I missing a critical element of things?"

"Well, there's love, but, yeah, that's about it," Kazu replied, sighing deeply and hoping that Kenta wouldn't continue to pursue this particular topic.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Kenta asked curiously, a teasing tone in his voice that was surprisingly similar to Kazu's from only a few moments ago, only a lot more rarely heard.

"Nothing! I don't have a crush on her. What…what are you going to do about you and Miki?!" the taller boy fought back against his best friend.

It was Kenta's turn to almost invisibly blush, a nervous tone in his voice now. "Uh…nothing! I don't have any feelings for her!"

"Ugh, why are we fighting over this?" Kazu asked, sighing deeply. "It doesn't matter either way; we wouldn't even have a chance with them even if we did have feelings for them."

"Hey, don't lump me in with…ugh…fine, you're right. It's hopeless."

The boys both fell back into the sofa, exasperated by a long and arduous day, and a depressing one too even if it had had a nice heroic moment in the middle of it all. Kazu glanced to his watch in the dark, his interest in the movie now completely gone and a sad realisation dawning on him.

"Ugh, I really should be getting home; I've got a ton of homework to do."

Kenta looked to Kazu, seeing his deadpan face and both breaking into uproarious laughter at the concept of Kazu doing his homework for a change.

Wiping away a drop in his eyes from the extreme levels of laughter, Kenta chuckled, before noting that "well, if you don't decide to go yourself, I don't think my mum would ever kick you out."

"Heh, of course not. I'm like, the perfect son."

"Since when have they redefined perfect?"

"Hey!" Kazu complained, getting to his feet and turning to face his friend as the shorter boy did likewise. "I define perfect all on my own," he said cockily. Kenta rolled his eyes in exasperation, knowing that, despite all of the things which happened to them, be it fighting a friend, saving someone from being killed or arguing with each other, Kazu in the end would cheer up and be back to his normal self.

Hopefully.

Kenta followed his taller friend to the door, the large rusty robot known as Guardromon following promptly after, silent were it not for his clunking form. MarineAngemon floated after his Tamer, Kazu gathering his shoes and bags.

"Kazu…do you think that Digimon is really out there?"

Kazu paused, frowning as he slipped on his shoes. He reached down to his D-Arc, letting loose a short "hmm" at the item. "I think this thing's just broken…either that or we'll wake up to Godzilla tomorrow."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Kazu chuckled, nodding in agreement at his friend as he returned the D-Arc to his belt. So much for that day's battle; seemed that it was the one that got away, or the one that never existed to start with.

He stood up, bag now over his shoulder, coat on and trainers on his feet. "Now Kenta, don't obsess over Miki too much."

Kenta gave an irritated look before doing the same. "Try to stop remembering Ayaka's bottom."

Kazu chuckled, returning the same irritated voice before deciding quickly it was a lost cause diverting his attention to down the hallway. "Bye Mom," he yelled, grinning widely before opening the front door and quickly making his escape. He stopped outside, turning to face the boy who was by now looking very irritated.

"Bye Kazu," echoed a voice along the hallway.

Kenta simply sighed, rolling his eyes as he gripped the edge of the door. "See ya Kazu," he sighed, waving at the boy and his robot.

"Goodbye," Guardromon said, waving a large metal hand. MarineAngemon chirped and waved in response.

"See ya later Kenta," Kazu replied, turning and heading towards the road. The chill of the evening air reaching him, Kenta closed the door as soon as Kazu was far enough away not for it to seem rude. He turned back to face the finally-empty (at least of friends) household and fell back against the door, letting go a deep breath he didn't know he was holding.

It'd been one of those days. From the funeral, which had brought sadness and depression, to the heroism of Kazu in saving a child from major injury if not death, and to the bewilderment from the D-Arcs and whether they were broken or not, every turn seemed to bring a problem. But, of course, what bewildered him the most were the smaller problems. Like, Kazu's still-unknown conversation with Ayaka from next door, or why Kazu still called Kenta's mother his despite his obvious objections.

MarineAngemon floated round, chirping to the boy out of concern as he hovered in front of the boy's exasperated face.

"Yeah, I'm alright…just…long day…"

MarineAngemon let out a long caring chirp. Kenta gave him a slight smile of thanks, before wandering into the sitting room, looking over the sofa which had previously played host to several of his friends, and which unfortunately as a result brought back a few memories to his mind he knew he wasn't sure on.

"_What happened between Miki and I?"_ he wondered, before quickly dismissing the thought. He was simply overstating things, after all. Plenty of girls found MarineAngemon cute, if not all of them, and they had reached the age where reassuring hugs and hands on shoulders were certainly not unheard of, even if parents were likely to construe them as meaning far more than they actually did. She was simply being kind and comforting, and he was blowing things out of proportion. He hoped.

The thing was - the concept wouldn't have even crossed his mind were it not for Kazu and MarineAngemon. Kazu's mentions of it were rather blatant, but MarineAngemon…

* * *

"Pipipipipi?"

"What did he say this time?"

"Uh…never mind," Kenta quickly answered, a look of bewilderment crossing his face as he looked into the eyes of his partner, now gently being stroked by the girl in front of him and clearly enjoying all the attention he was getting all of a sudden.

* * *

The boy turned to his partner, giving a curious look. "What did you mean by "are you going to kiss her"?"

MarineAngemon looked confused, putting a fin on his cheek nervously. "Pipipi?"

"No…I think you've been watching too much television."

"Pi…pipipipipi!" MarineAngemon objected, flailing his fins about.

"What do you mean she was giving me the kind of look you've seen before? What kind of look?"

MarineAngemon beamed, still not appreciating what the connotations of what he was saying were. "Pipipi!"

Kenta's face lit up in surprise, his eyebrows furrowing high. "But...that's ridiculous."

The Digimon huffed, putting his fins on his `hips' (or at least, what served as hips for him) before gesturing to the heart on his chest. "Pi!"

"Yeah, but…that doesn't mean you know best about love. She could've just been really into the conversation."

MarineAngemon shook his head, blowing a few small pink heart-shaped bubbles into the air enthusiastically. "Pi!" he said, gesturing to one of them.

"Look, why would Miki even be remotely interested in me?"

"Pipipipipi!"

"You're my partner, of course you'd say that."

MarineAngemon huffed, repeating the fins-on-hips routine that Kenta had the feeling he had either picked up from a certain cream and green bunny-dog, a purple and white imp or a redheaded girl, or perhaps all three. "Pi! Pipi! Pi!"

"Thanks buddy but…I really don't think you're right on this one." _"Or do I just hope that? I really don't want to get involved in something like this. What if I end up hurting her feelings? I really hope she doesn't have anything like that for me."_

* * *

_**Streets of Shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**20:29 JST**_

"Seriously Guardromon, I bet you anything that Miki has the hots for Kenta."

"Are you sure Kazu?"

"Am I ever wrong?"

"Uh…" Guardromon said, putting his hand to his `chin' (or at least, what constituted one for him) and pondering the question. "There was that one time when…"

"It was a rhetorical question," Kazu replied, shaking his head in disbelief. Despite having spent three years with him, Guardromon really didn't seem to get the hang of half of what Kazu said. Then again, the fact what he said changed meaning every five seconds probably didn't do anything to help the poor android. "Kenta would probably have a mental breakdown if Miki ever said anything though."

"Would it be a problem then?"

"Hell yeah! I have to get a girlfriend _before_ Kenta; it's the natural order of things."

"So you are going to…uh…"ask out" Ayaka then?"

Kazu took on a thinly-veiled blush as he rapidly replied. "No, that's not what I meant! Ayaka's nice and all but…she's such a nag…why would I want another person like my mom bothering me?"

"I don't know, why would you want…?"

"Rhetorical question again."

"Oh."

"Look, I'm sure she's lovely, and from what I saw earlier she looks nice too in all the right areas, but…she's Ayaka!"

"Kazu, apologies, but I'm very confused now."

"Ugh, me too Guardromon. Me too."

* * *

_**Thompson Residence, Chiyoda Ward**_

_**21:29 JST**_

A champagne cork burst from the neck of the bottle, foam rising up before being poured into a glass. Normally this would be an expensive move, but right now the owner was celebrating.

The brunette, his shirt slightly creased from a long day's work and his suit already hung up, had plenty of reasons to celebrate, however. Today, his success had begun to show the first signs of true fruition. He had successfully dealt with the chaotic beast known as `The Media' (thanks in no part to a number of spin doctors, the idea of which was becoming rather favourable in the young man's mind), had passed out his threat to the Tamers (and he knew the message would reach all of them in the end), and, most importantly of all, had moved into his new, large and rather stylish apartment, full of laminated hardwood floors, smooth lines and glass pane windows: perfect for him to plan and look out upon the city in comfort and modernity.

"Would you like a glass Falcomon?" he asked, pausing over another wine glass curiously as he looked up to his purple and black Digimon partner, a rather unusual companion for such a high level government official. Of course, no others knew of his existence, thanks both to the cover-up skills of Rayleigh and to Falcomon's natural ninja-esque abilities.

The Digimon shook his head respectfully. "No thank you sir, the last time I drunk that I found it to be such a vulgar product."

"Suit yourself," Rayleigh replied, beginning to appreciate the fruits of his labour as he took a sip before falling into a large and comfortable leather sofa, looking across at a remarkably large television and smiling. He looked to his partner, the bird now perched on the armrest, before patting the seat on the sofa next to him. "Come on, take a seat," he beckoned, the bird nodding before flapping across and plopping himself down on the cushions.

Rayleigh smiled, running a hand through the soft feathers on the bird's head.

"You've been a terrific help so far, but of course, like most things in life it only gets more difficult from here."

"I didn't expect anything else sir."

"I've said it plenty of times before Falcomon; you can drop the "sir" all the time."

"It is simply a mark of respect, sir. Regardless, I am curious about one thing. What are you going to do from here on?"

Rayleigh did not reply straight away, taking another sip from his glass before planting it down on the coffee table. He clapped his hands together eagerly, a grin materialising on his face.

"It is the most perfect plan ever, and exploits one of the Tamer's greatest weaknesses. In fact, it exploits several of their weaknesses at once, which just makes it all the more sweet."

"As I can tell, sir. But, what about the details? What do you want me to do?"

"If it comes down to it, we'll have to fight, but we won't be as naïve as Chiyo and expect to win in a simple power struggle. Our mega form is far more subtle to start with which should be a great aid, and if any fighting needs to happen at all they should be very weakened by that point, as well as being distraught enough to exploit and destroy."

"Aha, I understand. But, one question sir…why are you not already executing this plan?"

"It needs time to fruition," Rayleigh replied, a smile coming onto his face as he picked up the wine glass, staring into it again as he gently twirled the liquid round. "Time to bed in, time to lull them into a false sense of security, and to find the perfect point, right when they're just letting their guard down for a second…"

"And what then sir?"

Rayleigh smirked, reaching down to under his trouser leg and pulling forth the gun he had picked up from Chiyo's body a few days earlier. Of course, his position meant he could easily get one anyway (and probably a better one too), but he had a taste for dramatics, and nothing would be more dramatic than killing the Tamers using the same old gun that the Second Demon had tried with.

"Bang," he said, a wide grin on his face as the barrel chinked against the glass.

* * *

**SUNDAY, 31****st**** OCTOBER 2010**

* * *

_**Matsuki Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**09:29 JST**_

"We'd like to thank everyone for all the support over the last few difficult months, it is greatly appreciated," said a tall short brown-haired man, an apron draped over his front and his hair covered mostly by a bandana. Specks of flour dotted his hands and face, and evidently he had been rather busy preparing bread all that morning. Alongside him stood a shorter brunette woman, his wife, of about the same age and wearing a similar outfit. Nearby, wearing yet another similar outfit and being gently ribbed for it by his girlfriend, was their son, also brown-haired and quickly catching up in height with his father.

As for that girlfriend, whom he had an unusual and perhaps sped up too fast relationship, she looked rather cheerful as she turned her eyes up to the rebuilt bakery, the damage from the harrowing events of that July now repaired and the building looking better than ever. Of course, that July left plenty of other marks on their lives: Ryder had died, twice, and had killed someone too (a disturbing parallel with far more recent events), Rika had learnt that she was carrying a child, Rika and Takato had told their parents about the pregnancy, now in its twenty-second week, with much difficulty, and, of course, Chiyo had entered their lives. So much pain, so much hardship…they could only hope it was over with. Rika herself doubted even the greatest of hope could make that the case.

"We are now…" began Mie, scissors hovering above a pale red tape across the doors as an expectant crowd both of local regulars and those from further-afield who were interested in the bakery, along, of course, with plenty of friends, including a sizeable number of the Tamers and of Takato's class. At the same time, there were plenty from far away, none from further than Rey and Ryder, from another time and another universe respectively, the former standing near her parents as she watched the eager crowd with Realmon, and the latter forming part of the crowd itself alongside his brown-haired girlfriend, Mari, who he had an arm looped around. His shirt had changed again, Mari evidently trying to keep up with the boy's endless destruction of a long series of outfits in an even longer series of battles. The current one was rather familiar to Ryder but the reason of which was lost on Mari, as it read "Life's easier when you just don't think", the same outfit he had worn in one of his bizarre and seemingly inexplicable dream-like worlds.

Nearby, stood another Tamers couple, a blue haired boy and another brunette, Henry and Jeri, along with the former's sister Suzie (also a Tamer), all of their partners and Henry and Suzie's parents, Janyuu and Mayumi. Likewise, Rumiko and Seiko along with the former's other daughter, Kristy, watched from the crowd, not particularly rushing forward to be the first inside. Someone who was, on the other hand, was a large red and black dinosaur with an equally eager (if that were physically possible) small white and purple Digimon on his head, standing with his head practically touching the ticker tape as Mie smiled at the sight.

Plenty of school friends of Takato stood around, not least his oldest friends Kazu and Kenta as well as newer friends like Ayaka, Miki and Sakura, the latter of whom was oddly staying rather inconspicuous and out of the way. Of course, as a result she wasn't noticed. Standing watching over all with a slim smile was Riley Ootori, her boyfriend and boss currently absent despite his close connections to the Tamers. Evidently, he considered that his work at Hypnos itself took priority. Riley had already made a mental note to get Yamaki into the outside world more, even if getting him outside on this particular day, Halloween, famed for people doing stupid things, scaring people and generally making arses out of themselves, would probably simply serve to drive him further into work-obsession.

"…open!" finished Mie, smiling widely and cheerfully as with a snip the two halves of the tape fell aside, and, as could be expected, Guilmon and Calumon promptly rushed past into the store, forgetting that not only was there no-one there to serve them, they didn't even have any money to buy anything with regardless (although in all inevitability Guilmon would get free bread regardless). Takato simply rolled his eyes at his partner before taking a step forward to restrain the creature, something which simply made Rika roll her eyes at him in turn.

"Guilmon, wait!"

Rika continued to shake her head in disbelief as Takato rushed through the bakery doors, gently rubbing the ring on her finger as she held back from the crowd. Despite the increased appetite that the pregnancy brought with it, right now she was neither hungry enough nor interested enough in getting squashed into a room by an eager swarm of well-wishers to follow her boyfriend and some of her Tamer friends. She looked to one side as Rey drew up to her, a remarkably similar look of pleased disbelief on her face. "How they afford it," Rey muttered.

"Yeah…guess Guilmon brings in a lot of extra custom."

Jeri wandered up to the two, joining their conversation with a cheerful comment. "Maybe Kenta should set up a bakery. With all the attention that MarineAngemon would bring, I'm sure he'd never go bust."

The three girls laughed, shaking their heads in collective amusement at the concept.

* * *

Kenta unnervingly looked across to the conversation, wondering what on earth he was being implicated in now. He turned back to face Kazu, both reluctantly realising that Takato and his parents would want to deal with the new customers (and Guilmon) first before moving onto his friends, lest they lose any future trade. As a result, they had held back outside the shop.

"So…hungry…" Kazu groaned. "I practically starved myself for this."

"Really? Why?" Kenta asked, raising an eyebrow in amused bewilderment. "I thought you were as much of a bottomless pit as Guilmon."

"Is that even possible?" interrupted a new voice, the pair turning to a caramel blonde who they had seen in the crowd already but had yet to say "hello" to. Of course, this wasn't entirely because things were too busy…

"_Ah crap…we've barely spoken since…that…she's going to crucify me and say I've ignored her," _Kazu thought, a slight frown on his face that unfortunately Ayaka noticed as her own teasing smile dropped somewhat.

"What's up Kazu?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in wonder. He didn't seem happy to see her at all.

"Nothing, don't worry," he replied, a marked change from their open chat earlier that week as close friends. Ayaka frowned, what was wrong with him? Had that chat wrecked their friendship that badly, or rather, had that `moment' they had shared wrecked their friendship that badly?

"Uh-huh," was all she replied, frowning and giving the boy a strange look, hoping that it'd prompt him to perhaps see some sense and explain what was bugging him, or at least to hint at it. She was sure she had done nothing actually wrong, so what was wrong with him?

Kazu continued to frown; Ayaka was now giving him a strange look. What was wrong with her? She'd been the one who hadn't tried to talk with him much that week. _"Or was it me,"_ he thought, mentally sighing. Was he avoiding her, at least unintentionally? It wasn't exactly easy to see her the same way now after both the talk they'd had about him and his reaction to Chiyo's death, and after what Kenta had suggested, both events having occurred only a few days ago but seeming like just yesterday to the boy. After all, once that tiny hint of an idea of a concept of a crush had been established, it was difficult to get off the mind again. _"Stupid Kenta…stupid Ayaka…stupid me…"_

Kenta glanced back and forth between his two friends, blinking with bewilderment. Would it be best to intervene, or was it better to just hope that things sorted themselves out in the long run?

"Seriously, you're not out of place at all," came a voice quickly approaching along with footsteps.

"I just don't really know anybody here."

"Of course you do, you know Ayaka, Kazu and Kenta," said Miki, gesturing with her hand to the three as she joined the group, a nervous-looking Sakura in tow, sans-Floramon. Indeed, Kenta, watching, quickly worked out that she had been dragged out to the bakery reopening against her will by Miki and Ayaka.

"_Poor girl," _he thought as a slim smile materialised on his face as he remembered the many times that Ayaka and Miki, or, worse, _Kazu_, Ayaka and Miki had roped him into doing something he wasn't entirely happy about. Going clothes shopping was a particular bane - this girl was getting by easily in comparison. He nodded to the new girl, as Kazu and Ayaka did likewise, once they had stopped giving nervous looks to each other.

"Oh, hi," Sakura replied, giving a light, reluctant wave. This was a waste of her time. She didn't talk to these people much anyway (besides Jeri, Ayaka and Miki), and she knew she would much rather be with Floramon and Kohaku. Hell, even being forced to be around the intolerable Dracmon seemed like a better option than being forced to go anywhere by Ayaka and Miki, a pair who assumed everyone else was interested in the same things they were.

Sakura mentally sighed, knowing she was perhaps being a tad too harsh on the pair. They seemed nice, but…having merely encountered them in the street while out on a walk with Floramon (and as a result the poor Digimon having to make her own way back home undetected and without even being able to bid farewell properly to her Tamer) and being as a result hustled into this event, which wasn't even in her own neighbourhood, she couldn't help but have a poor opinion of their tactics.

"_Suppose I should at least try to make friends with them, I mean, Dracmon turned out fine…okay, probably not the word to use but…maybe, if I just get to know them better they'll at least give me some peace and quiet."_

"Hey Sakura," greeted a voice from behind her which, to be honest, was a relief right now. Sakura smiled, turning to see Jeri, perhaps the nicest girl in her class (although when that class included Rika, Ayaka and formerly Chiyo, perhaps not such a high accolade to have) and someone reasonably easy to talk about things despite her allegedly difficult past.

"Oh, hey Jeri," Sakura said with a smile on her face, the brunette looking rather cheerful, for obvious reasons of course. Behind her, Takato seemed to be beginning a conversation with Rika while Rey made her apologies and slipped aside, evidently wanting to leave her parents to talk alone. Sakura, of course, knew very little about the girl who she had seen glimpses of from time to time, besides the fact that she did look rather similar to Rika. She had surmised that they could be sisters, but if so why didn't they go to the same school. _"That's not the only mystery in this place either. Maybe I should see if Digital Watch knows anything about it all?"_

"Hey, now you can finally sample the Guilmon Bread," the brunette said cheerfully, a warm smile on her face while a small red and yellow mammal-like Digimon nodded from her shoulder.

"If Guilmon leaves any behind, that is."

"Guilmon…Bread?"

Kazu and Kenta both grinned, remembering the oft-recited and unofficial theme tune for the food, which, of course, they subsequently performed, with actions of putting their hands near their ears pointing outwards in a pathetic attempt to mirror Guilmon's appendages. "Guilmon Bread, Guilmon Bread, bread shaped just like his head!"

Sakura blinked, staring on in total bewilderment at the actions she was seeing from two supposedly mature teenagers, unsure exactly what to say.

"Oh brother," Ayaka groaned, rubbing a hand into her forehead whilst Miki and Jeri both laughed at what was somewhat of an in-joke amongst the Tamers.

"Please don't start singing again you two," Jeri said whilst giggling.

"Yes, if it's anything like what Rika told us then we will need our eardrums replaced," Elecmon agreed, MarineAngemon and Guardromon both looking to their partners in confusion as they floated down to see them.

"Singing?"

"Pipi?"

Both Kazu and Kenta turned red, quickly attempting to change the subject. "Aha, now, what were we talking about…?" Kazu began, cheerily clasping his hands together before muttering aside to Guardromon that he'd explain later, a blatant lie of course but at least something to keep the rusty android quiet.

"Guilmon Bread," Sakura said, hoping dearly that the conversation would return to at least remotely sane topics that were free of in-jokes and confusing dancing. She had a hunch, however, that with her present company that could turn out to be rather wishful thinking.

"Yeah, you should definitely try some," Ayaka recommended, smiling somehow despite the fact that she had just seen the worst piece of dancing since, well, ever. "I'm sure you'll love it."

"Well, I'll need to get some soon then since I'm really busy today," Sakura said, smiling widely as she remembered exactly why she was so busy.

"Ooh, what are you up to?" Miki asked, a curious smile on her face as she noticed Sakura's reaction. This had to be something interesting and gossip-worthy.

"I've got a date," the blue-haired girl said, almost as if it were a trophy or an award, something not too surprising given it was her first real interest in anyone of the other gender.

"What's his name?" Ayaka asked, quickly pushing Sakura into a corner as the girls began to bludgeon her with questions.

The image of the boy's face crossed Sakura's mind as she thought about telling them. How she had ever managed to pluck up the courage to ask him out, she wasn't sure, but she was so glad she had. As a result, she wasn't about to turn it into a public thing and risk wrecking it just yet. "Not telling," she said, expecting to be seen as being harsh in her tone but oddly just adding to the mystery for the girls.

"So, some mystery guy then," Miki said, smiling slyly. "What's he like?"

"Uh, well…he's just…nice."

"Yeah, but is he tall, short, what does he look like, does he…" Ayaka began, before Kazu and Kenta finally intervened to save someone from the torture that was the two girls.

"Come on, give her a break," Kazu said to Ayaka, quickly getting a glare from the caramel-haired girl as he intruded on her inquiries. Was it any of her business?

"It's not really any of your business anyway," Kenta added, seemingly answering Ayaka's mental question. Both Miki and Ayaka pouted, while Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, her opinion of the two boys raised somewhat by their defence of her. Of course, she did have the faint suspicion they had been in the exact same situation themselves before, and could merely sympathise.

"Heh, Kazu, you're getting more mature by the day," Jeri teased, a smile on her face as she nodded to Sakura, completely understanding the girl's want for privacy and protection from the bombardment of questions. "I'm impressed."

"Heh, really?" Kazu asked, smiling to Jeri as he, as usual, let it all go to his head. "Yeah, well, I suppose I am trying to be more mature lately."

"And I'm the Queen of Scotland," Ayaka grumbled, putting her hands on her hips. "Come on, of all the people who could be mature…" she began, before feeling a touch of déjà-vu. She restrained herself, frowning lightly. "Sorry," she muttered, looking into Kazu's eyes before looking away, and quickly prompting much bewilderment from the people around her.

"_Huh? What happened there?" _Jeri wondered, eyeing her two friends curiously. Was she missing something here?

"Yeah, well…I guess I was just thinking that maybe if I get just a tiny bit more mature, and remembering that I'm very mature and sensible already, then I might just get a girlfriend soon."

"Aw, little Kazu's growing up," Jeri said, giggling at the concept and unfortunately merely stoking the boy's ego. Still, she could understand why, having seen the difficulty which Chiyo had put him through and having witnessed first-hand the reaction he had had upon seeing her dying there in the park.

The brunette shuddered briefly, before forcing herself to return to the conversation lest someone ask about her actions. She knew that neither Ayaka, Miki nor Sakura knew of what really happened there, and they intended to keep things that way.

"I'm sure the girl for you is out there somewhere," Sakura said, not really being sure of her own words but simply wanting to do something other than stand around, be teased or be confused by her supposed friends.

"Yeah, I'm sure she is," Kazu said, grinning widely as he imagined his perfect girlfriend.

Ayaka quietly snorted. This was ridiculous, why were Jeri and Sakura doing this, they were simply going to make him worse. Like there was a perfect girl out there for Kazu anyway - why would anyone find the boy attractive? _"He's simply an immature, brainless, mindless, moron…that's all…" _she thought, oddly feeling rather jealous of this supposed `perfect girl' for a reason she couldn't place right at that moment.

"Hey, Kenta, have you thought about any girls at all?" Jeri said, the girl completely oblivious of Ayaka's inner confusion as she out loud pondered how the other boy in the troublesome twosome was doing in that particular department, which, of course, prompted instant agitation and nervousness from him.

"Uh…no…no, of course not!" he insisted, not aware of a faint and hence barely-noticed blush manifesting on his cheeks.

Miki glanced over, raising an eyebrow at his odd reaction which made it easily clear that he was lying. Of course, getting the truth out of him would be difficult even if he didn't have the same self-confidence and arrogance that Kazu had, but she couldn't help but wonder who he had been thinking about, and in what manner. _"Maybe…"_

Sakura raised an eyebrow, continuing to stare on with confusion at the strange interactions in this group, somewhat amazed that three of them had ever managed to save the world even once. They seemed so much like…children, even more so outside of school. Perhaps the rest of their group was more mature, but it seemed strange that after having gone through that much they could still be so remarkably childish and teasing.

"_Then again, I know that doctors deal with their stress by making jokes, maybe these guys are the same. But…they must've gone through the same kind of thing that Kohaku went through, even if they don't have any scars…how can they still act like, well, kids?"_

She sighed, recalling the faint scar now running down the side of Kohaku's face. His mother had berated him for it, but once she heard about the risk he had faced she was simply glad he was safe. Dracmon had, of course, come under fire since his arrival in their lives was what had caused the damage in the first place, but upon his insistence that "he risked his life to protect Kuhako" the boy's mother had been, at least temporarily, persuaded that he could stay.

Sakura sighed again, knowing that Floramon's acceptance into her family was barely an issue once her mother had seen how nice and helpful she could be. Kohaku had bad luck. Indeed, they both had pretty bad luck.

She looked out again at the Tamers, before glimpsing up at the bakery and through its large glass doors, the big red dinosaur creature she faintly recalled as being called Guilmon currently embarking on eating a ton of bread shaped just like him, as the song had said. Alongside him, the creature she had met before, Calumon, seemed on top of the world as he ate a far smaller quantity of the bread. Sakura made a mental note to avoid the Digimon lest he identify her from their battle a few days ago. Turning her head, she looked upon Takato chatting to Rika before a blast of silly string shot from the latter towards the former, the boy looking surprised but both still somehow happy about everything. She turned her head even further, scanning her eyes across the whole group. All so happy, all so fortunate, all surrounded by people who loved them despite what happened, who were there to support them through difficult times, and were there to protect them when things got rough, without ever threatening that creatures that were practically members of their own lives should be banished. _"They're all so lucky."_

Unconsciously, Sakura's fingers clenched into a fist at her side.

* * *

Rika watched as Jeri strolled away, having seen one of their friends from school, Sakura, heading over to chat to Kazu, Ayaka and Kenta, albeit, perhaps more of Miki's will than her own. Rika didn't really know the girl that well, but she seemed nice enough. Given how loud their class could be (partly her own fault) and how busy her life was, people who didn't make an impact were barely noticed by her, and the class shake-up of the beginning of that term hardly helped.

Her hand crept down to her belly, remembering that particular day and what had caused it. She sighed, looking to Rey next to her who gave her a concerned gaze.

"It's nothing, don't worry."

Rey simply sighed, nodding to her mother and knowing she'd never manage to squeeze the truth out of her. It was something she was used to all her life, so she wasn't offended by it, and besides, she doubted it was actually anything major enough to have a permanent impact. Rika would probably go to Takato first if anything was bothering her.

"_No, wait, scratch that…she'd go to Renamon and then to Takato."_

Rika reached down, a small and non-descript handbag at her side, looking rather out of place and normally the kind of thing which Rika would've objected to should her mother have suggested she use it (even if it was rather more plain than the kind of thing which her mother normally suggested). Reaching into it, she checked its contents before smiling, recalling the reason she had this particular fashion item today when normally she would've avoided such a thing completely whenever possible.

She looked up again, persisting with her smile as Takato returned to them, a look of pleased exasperation on his face. Guilmon and Calumon were presumably now subdued and eating something too, which was pretty much the easiest way to subdue them.

"Da…uh…Takato, the bakery really does look great," Rey said, smiling as she looked up at the building, Mie and Takehiro busily once again serving customers within (a job that Takato was likely to soon be called in to do if the queue got any longer).

"Yeah and this'll give you guys so much publicity too," Rika added, Takato nodding in agreement as he smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, although that'll probably just mean I have to work more. Meh, who knows, maybe we'll end up recruiting someone."

"The job interview would simply be talking to Guilmon without being scared or trampled," Realmon quipped, Takato chuckling and nodding in agreement, before turning to face Rika.

"Only question is, who would it be? I mean, I'm sure some of our friends would like a part time job, well, not all of them. I mean, Jeri already works in her parent's place, and you…uh…" Takato said, stopping mid-sentence and stumbling over his words as he took an agitated glimpse downwards at Rika. "Nothing."

"_**Well done dumbass."**_

Rika sighed, shaking her head in disbelief at his over-cautiousness. She quickly pulled his foot from his own mouth. "I know Takato; I'm going to be busy dealing with the baby stuff. Besides, I'll admit, as fun as making bread was during the D-Reaper stuff, I don't fancy making a job out of it."

"I don't really think my parents would want Kazu and Kenta working there either…well, maybe just Kenta on his own wouldn't be too bad. I can't imagine Henry having the time or the interest, and Suzie and Kristy are too young, and the Digidestined are just too far away to help out."

"I'm sure you guys will deal with it just fine if you have to recruit someone," Rey reassured, smiling before looking aside as she sensed where the conversation was headed, and that she would simply be intruding. "Speaking of Henry, I've got to go talk to him about a few things."

"Fine, have fun," Rika said, waving lightly to the girl as both her and Takato failed to realise exactly why she was leaving them both to talk alone. He frowned, still feeling rather guilty about the whole "job" business.

"Listen, Rika, I really didn't mean to…"

"Takato, just don't worry. Seriously, I don't mind. I know it's going to be hard but I don't want people just covering things up and going out of their own way for me."

"Yeah, but…I'm going to be there to help, you know?" Takato said, giving a determined smile and as usual failing to look into the practicalities of his suggestions. "Uh…somehow. Hey, where is Rey going to be staying anyway?"

"Uh…well, I guess I just presumed mine…there's a lot we still need to talk about, huh?" Rika replied, frowning as she began to contemplate the sheer scale of change this would have on their lives. Beyond the fear, beyond the spark of hope that the idea of looking after a child gave her, there was just the fact that this would bring such big changes to them and their lives could never be the same again.

"Yeah…not just about the baby, about the whole getting-married thing too."

"One thing at a time Takato, as much as I know that my mother will nag me about doing that soon," Rika replied, sighing deeply. This had certainly put a downer on the conversation, which was a shame since it was a day when they should simply have been happy. She frowned, looking down and gently rubbing her hand across the top of the bulge. She looked up to Takato, who watched curiously, still hesitant to approach or join in lest he look strange or break some unknown rule. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Well…I don't know…I mean, I guess, you being the mother, and with…breast feeding and all," Takato said, finding difficulty in even saying the words without feeling nervous about an uncomfortable subject. "That'd mean that Rey will need to be around you, at least, you know, at first, and I don't really have the space at mine to look after a kid."

Rika nodded, frowning. She felt terribly guilty that Rey would end up inevitably with her more often than with him, almost like she was snatching their daughter away, even if he would probably be around even more often than he was now. The thing was, what kind of strain would that put on his relationships with his parents if he was over his girlfriend's all the time? Would he still be able to help out in the bakery, or would he, being Takato, try and devote as much time as physically possible to the girl?

She reached out a hand to put on his shoulder as she noticed his rather glum look. He looked into her eyes, the redhead trying to reassure him but not really being sure how. It seemed that no matter how close they got, something would always drag them apart.

"Sorry, I didn't want to depress both of us," Takato apologised. Rika quickly shook her head, feeling rather incensed by his endless apologies.

"Takato, for the love of G…us…don't apologise again. We have to talk about this sort of thing at some point, but…I don't see why that needs to be right now."

"Sorry for apologising."

"Ugh…" Rika said, smiling and chuckling to herself as she shook her head in disbelief. "Seriously Takato," she said, rolling her eyes. "See, I wasn't going to do this, but…" she added, reaching down into her handbag as Takato looked nervously on.

"Heh, heh…Rika…what are you…" he began, before pausing when she pulled out a can and hesitated just long enough to savour his reaction, a smirk on her face as she watched. "Aw nuts."

Seconds later, Takato was attacked by a volley of silly string, flying all over his face, chest and hair as he held up his hands in an attempt to stop. Rika giggled, even when she had finished, and as Takato wiped the goo away from his eyes she gave a simple explanation.

"Halloween tradition Takato," she said, grinning widely as he gave her a rather irritated look. She merely chuckled, giving a warmer smile despite knowing that were things the other way around, Takato would now be desperately apologising to her. "But there is a point to this, you know, beyond simply continuing a tradition."

"Huh…what's that?" he asked, looking rather bewildered as to how pelting him with silly string could actually prove a proper point.

"Just because we're having a kid, doesn't mean we have to stop being kids. Things are going to change, after all, but we're still us, and we can still be as childish as we want to be," she said, still smiling warmly. She stepped forward, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Listen, Takato…if you ever feel like I'm getting so absorbed by all this baby stuff that we're never having any fun or getting to just be ourselves, I really want you to tell me," she said, her voice deeply sincere as she looked into his eyes, still with some slime on them. "Okay?"

After removing more goo from his face, Takato finally replied. "Okay."

She chuckled to herself, pulling him forward into an embrace, taking care to ensure she didn't get _too_ much of the silly string on her. "Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

"Hey Rey."

Rey looked up, hearing her name rhymed once again in the greeting, before smiling at her temporary time-travelling companions, albeit an accidental one. "Hey Henry, Terriermon," she replied, looking between him and his partner on his head, the dog-bunny in a huff.

"I'm hungry Henry, why can't I go eat now?"

"There's a queue Terriermon, I've told you about a thousand times."

"So? Has never stopped me before. Besides, I'm cute, all the people will let me through when they see me, and I'll get free bread from Guilmon if not Takato's parents when I get there."

"Ugh…" Henry groaned, pushing his hand up into his forehead and hair.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Terriermon said cheerfully, leaping away from his Tamer's head and heading over to the bakery doors. The boy simply rolled his eyes, before looking back to Rey and Realmon, the latter on the former's shoulder.

"So, how is Angelhood going?" Rey asked, giving a curious look over the Angel of Knowledge, it being odd to see his early days.

"Well…I don't really know what my Angelhood means," Henry said, obviously perturbed by his lack of surety about something, even when it should've been something that he himself knew given it was, well, _him_."

"What do you mean?" the girl asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Well…I mean…what does "knowledge" mean for me? What can I do? What sort of powers do I have? Ryder can alter recent events in time, Mari can synchronise actions…as nice as it is to understand any language, what is my special power Rey?"

"I don't think I can tell you, I have to let you find out for yourself. But, this is weird, because, well, everyone else picked up on the idea really quickly. Didn't you learn it all in the awakening dream?"

"Awakening dream? Wait…I forgot about that…Mari and Ryder mentioned it, but…I've never had one, no."

"Really? Never?"

"No."

"Oh…well…maybe…maybe you'll have one soon? I hope. God, I hope I didn't mess things up _that _badly," Rey said, a deep frown on her face as she looked down to the ground. "Sorry."

"No, you're right, maybe I will have one soon. It's just been bugging me for most of this week what this all really means."

"As clichéd as it sounds, when the time comes, you'll know," Realmon surmised, an insightful look on her face clearly inherited from her mother as she looked across at the boy. He nodded, frowning and sighing.

"Thanks anyway," Henry said, never forgetting his manners even during his frustration.

Rey smiled warmly, speaking for both herself and her partner. "No problem."

* * *

"You know what?" asked Ryder, sitting alongside Mari on a small wall opposite the bakery as they watched people cheerfully buying bread, pelting each other with silly string and tormenting each other with suggestions of girlfriends. His arm was wrapped around her, as she tiredly leant on his shoulder, both evidently not having properly woken up yet. It was a Sunday, after all; a day to lie in and relax, not one for getting up early and going to a loud social event.

"Yeah?"

"It's nice to finally have something good happen this week."

The girl chuckled once, sitting upright with a smile and nodding in wholehearted agreement as she tried to hold back her tiredness. "You can say that again…although…I suppose one other kind of good thing did happen this week," she noted, looking up to him as he looked rather confused.

"_Uh…what does she mean? Maybe lying on Ivy's lap…no, that definitely wouldn't be it…or, maybe…"_ "What?" he finally asked, simply wanting an answer now.

"I've become just that little bit more useful in our group," she said with a smile, glancing aside as DarkRenamon materialised into existence. "DarkRenamon now has an ultimate form, and even if she didn't get it in the best of circumstances it still means that I don't have to sit on the sidelines as much, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…I really wish I could've got a chance to see her though, but I was just a bit too dead at the time. Still, fancy giving me a demonstration?"

"Who would my target be?" DarkRenamon asked, a teasing smile on her face. Donmon looked rather nervously up at his partner.

"Don't worry buddy, I'm not going to volunteer you for it," he chuckled, patting the dragon's head. "Next time we face a bioemergence though, I think I'll stand back and watch," Ryder told Mari, a smile on her face as she nodded in agreement.

"I won't disappoint," she said, smiling widely. "By the way, what do you feel like doing for Christmas?"

"Huh? Isn't it a bit early to think about that?"

"I know, but, it just occurred to me this morning that we haven't really planned anything."

"Well…maybe we could go to a friend's house or something, I'm not sure."

"You know what, I think we should try for like, the perfect Christmas, maybe without the snow and the belief in Santa Claus though."

Ryder faked a forlorn expression. "Aw…what…Santa Claus isn't real?" he quipped, leaving Mari to periodically feel guilty until it occurred to her that she was being taken for a ride.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Oh ha-ha."

"You believed me for a second there, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but…that's not the point. The point is, I really think we've both had rather crap years, even with meeting each other, and so we should try and end the year well. We can get a tree, maybe not a real one since the idea of clearing up loads of needles really doesn't appeal to me, and then we can put presents under it, and everything really. Tinsel, décor, everything. Just like Christmas when we were kids."

Ryder smiled, amazed that Mari could still hold such value in Christmas despite having lost her parents three years prior. He expected her to be cynical about the matter, knowing that it was simply a reminder of her loss. He knew that it would be a difficult Christmas, after all, it would be the first one he had had since being dragged away from his home. _"But we may as well make the best of it."_ "Sounds great," he said, nodding in agreement.

"Good. Just, we'll want to make sure we don't ask Santa Claus for anything _too_ expensive because, well, he doesn't have much to spend this year."

"Of course."

"You're going to have to think hard about what you're going to get me; after all, you've got both my birthday and Christmas to plan for."

"Yeah…uh…wait…your birthday?"

"Yes…"

"Uh…when?"

Mari groaned, rolling her eyes at the boy recalling how his birthday was one of the first pieces of information she had tried to learn about him. "Ugh…December 3rd."

"Right…I promise that I'll try and remember that," he said, crossing his fingers in front of him symbolically, but knowing that inevitably two weeks later she would have to remind him again. "Heh, love you," he said, in an attempt to stop her glare at him.

She simply sighed.

* * *

**10:01 JST**

The pile of bread finally came near its end, surprisingly late given how quickly Guilmon and Calumon had been eating it and how slowly it had been restocked. It was proving to be a rather good draw for customers, as was the sight of a silly-stringed Takato heading upstairs to change and wash while Rika tried to stifle her laughter. Regardless, Takehiro and Mie had decided in the end that enough was enough, and that Guilmon simply had to stop eating lest they go broke from the expense.

Rey took this event as a cue to make her leave, stepping out in front of her friends and coughing to them. The crowd of customers, by now, had returned to being only a steady trickle, hardly surprising but still rather useful as it allowed the Tamers a bit more privacy. Privacy, of course, was essential for Rey, given the rather confusing act she was about to perform.

"Guys," she called out, the Tamers and their school friends promptly turning to face her. She looked down to her wrist, nodding to herself as she acknowledged the figures were right. It felt so strange to be leaving again, and this time it felt even more strange because of how long she had had to stay and hence how much more attached she had become to this life. As a result, she had only become more fearful of going home, back to a dying world with no real hope. She knew that she had to stop that happening as quickly as possible, but at the same time, she knew she would never get a chance to experience these days again.

Seeing the glance quickly brought those friends standing further away over, Mari and Ryder wandering over towards the girl with curious eyes, a touch of worry in them.

"Aw, are you leaving?" Suzie asked, a saddened look on her face. Rey frowned lightly, nodding before giving a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, but I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Is it all working again Rey?" Henry asked, the girl glancing down at the time device curiously. She nodded in confirmation, holding up her wrist to show them. The device was fully-repaired, now a mis-mash of old and new parts. The screen had been replaced, as had a few of the buttons, and it looked as good as new, well, as new as something that was half-old and half-new could look.

"Well, then I guess this is goodbye," Rey noted, checking the co-ordinates once again, her recent experiences with time travel making her very cautious.

Rika stepped forward, pulling her daughter into an embrace (even if they were the same height). "I'll miss you," she whispered, knowing that the girl could be gone for any length of time. It was Rey, after all.

"I'll be back for the birth, I promise," Rey said as they pulled away from one another. Rika nodded, the events of the past week and the having seen Rey every day having allowed her to come more to terms with the idea that this was her daughter, the same daughter currently in her womb.

"I would say I was looking forward to it, but…" Rika said, before the pair chuckled nervously. When they would see each other again, it would be in such painful circumstances.

"Call me if you ever need to talk or anything," Rey said, her mother nodding in agreement.

"I will," she replied, her daughter nodding and smiling before turning to her father who had joined the two. Takato put out his arms, pulling his daughter into a tight hug (and by now leaving Sakura, Miki and Ayaka, watching them, with a deep sense of confusion).

"See you soon Dad," Rey whispered, before giving a slight smile. "And please don't freak out too much when I'm born," she added, Takato nervously nodding.

"I'll try not to," he whispered back. Rey chuckled to herself, before turning to face her grandparents, great grandparent and auntie, a smile on her face.

"We'll see you again soon," Mie said on behalf of her and her husband, the taller man nodding in agreement.

"It has been a pleasure having you here," Seiko said, the oldest of Rey's relatives there. DarkBiyomon stood alongside her, seemingly unsure whether it was her place to be in this conversation as she hid slightly behind her Tamer's leg.

"And you're welcome to stay whenever you want," Rumiko agreed, before an even more enthusiastic Kristy nodded.

"Yeah, it's been awesome having you here."

Rey smiled, nodding to her auntie as she chuckled slightly, having fond memories from this visit even if it wasn't the best it could've been. "I love you all, and I'll see you again soon," she said sincerely to her group of relatives.

She then turned further, facing the remainder of her Tamer friends. Those outside their tight-knit group, meanwhile, continued to stare on in bewilderment, but it was nothing compared to the expression that they were about to have.

"I'll see you guys again soon too…it's been great, even if we've had a bit of a difficult week," the redhead said, images of Chiyo's death, of going back in time and of the funeral playing through her mind.

"Drive safely!" Terriermon quipped from his partner's head, waving an ear cheekily. Henry simply rolled his eyes.

"Take care," Jeri added, ignoring her boyfriend's partner's comment.

"Good luck!" Ryder noted, placing two fingers to the side of his head and saluting.

Rey nodded, saying "thanks" even though she wasn't entirely sure what she was being wished luck in. Did Ryder think her task was coming soon? Perhaps it was, perhaps he already had worked out what she had to change. She found herself, however, hoping that it would be as far away as possible, wanting to have as much time as she could with her friends. _"But even if I wanted to, I couldn't stay here. I'd get too old and mess things up too badly, and I'm worried I've already had a bad impact on time. I've got to be more careful, or anything could happen."_

Rey finally looked up to Realmon, the fox leaping onto her shoulder as she wandered away from saying goodbye to her own mother and father. "Time to go?"

"Yeah," Rey replied, nodding before holding out her wrist, the time-device sitting squarely on it and ready to depart. "See you soon," she said, slamming her hand down into it and promptly disappearing in a flash of light.

Sakura staggered forward a step, staring on in shock at what she had just witnessed and wanting to replay it with a far closer look. _"Did she just…vanish?!"_

"How…how the hell did she manage that?" Ayaka echoed, looking about at her friends, and in particular, Kazu standing next to her, who looked nervously back.

"_Can I tell?" _he thought, glimpsing over to Rika and Takato who themselves looked unsure. Rika, in the end, shook her head to him quite sharply, making it clear that, despite the fact that Miki, Ayaka and Sakura were all looking to him for answers, he couldn't answer them.

"Manage what?" he said, knowing that his words would sound stupid given the circumstances.

"She means how she just managed to vanish like that," Miki asked, staring on at Kazu in disbelief that he didn't know what they were talking about. "What was that device thing on her wrist?"

"Uh…" Kazu mumbled, before Henry took a prompt step forward, coming up with a quick idea to explain things, even if it was obviously false to anyone who knew anything more about their group.

"It was just her digivice…she was activating a program on it which allows her to teleport along with Realmon. You know, like how Renamon appears out of nowhere."

"Psst…Henry…good job," Terriermon whispered downwards, before Henry quickly muttered for him to keep quiet in case the girls heard him.

Ayaka gave Henry a suspicious look; one she also threw at Kazu before finally accepting that she wasn't going to get anything more out of them. "Fine."

Sakura looked at her school friends, curious about how they accepted the story. Indeed, she wasn't entirely sure why she herself wasn't buying it, but something seemed so...wrong. Why did Rey hug Takato and Rika? Why did she so dramatically say her goodbyes? And what really was that strange device?

Whatever it was, she knew she wasn't going to get any answers right now. One thing she did know, however. One thing was made so clear by this, one thing so ambiguous yet so defined at the same time.

These Tamers were hiding something big. Very big.

* * *

**FRIDAY, 31****st**** DECEMBER 2010**

* * *

_**Wong Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**23:56 JST**_

"Only four minutes till 2011 Rika," Takato said, his voice enthusiastic as he wandered over to where Rika sat, hand on her head as she nursed a headache thanks to all the music and action of the party. The party, was, of course, for New Years, and was being held at the Wong Residence, the parents of the family oddly not worried about the group of teens which had made the place their home for the night. The Christmas tree still sat in the corner, people chatted from sofa to sofa, and through the large glass panes the city could be seen, lights on all over as people prepared to welcome the Year 2011.

Of course, like plenty of those holiday season events, not everyone was attending the party. The Wong family, of course, was there, with all their children, from the eldest boy Rinchei, now aged twenty, to the youngest girl Suzie, who was ten, and was currently talking enthusiastically with Kristy, a year older than her. Along with them, Mari and Ryder were there, unfortunately both lacking any family to be with on this particular occasion, as well as of course Rika and Takato, the Nonaka household freed for a rare occasion from its usual hosting duties for the Tamers. To Rika's habitual annoyance, Ryo had turned up, albeit looked rather worried about Monodramon who he had brought with him, and unfortunately for Kazu, he had been drawn away by his family leaving only Kenta to act as the Legendary Tamer's fan club on this occasion, and without his best friend he was far too sedate to be annoying.

Unfortunately for Henry, Jeri had also been called away to be with her family on that evening, and so that left him to be "entertained" by Terriermon. The younger half of the former Digidestined, meanwhile, were reported to have all gone to Tai's, where they would, as Ryder put it, "be systematically poisoned if his mom doesn't have the sense to order in", whereas the older half were, as Terriermon put it, "getting pissed in the nightclubs of Odaiba."

Still, despite all that, the atmosphere was rather relaxing compared to the chaotic days of late, and a relief, even if Rika's headache didn't exactly agree.

"Ugh…you know what Takato, if this headache gets just that little bit worse thanks to your minute-by-minute updates, I am going to kill you," Rika said, her voice disturbingly becoming rather optimistic in its conclusion and as a result leaving the boy on edge. She smiled, the look pushing the boy off the edge into genuine fear. "Love you honey," she said, evidently aware by now of how she was managing to horrify him.

Takato gulped, laughing nervously. "Okay Rika…" he replied, his mind oddly drifting back to that time only just over two months prior when she genuinely meant it. _"God am I glad that's over…even if we lost a friend in the process."_

The boy looked about at the room, the patchwork of friends who had been able to attend reminding him of just how big a change that year had been to his life, indeed, to all their lives, and how in the future their lives were likely to change even more. Only twelve months before, they had been in Shinjuku Park, watching the fireworks bursting into the sky around the city. The park had by now reopened and was popular as ever, but the memories of that terrible battle still hung over it.

Takato chuckled, the sheer scale of the change still amazing him.

"_When the year of Goddramon 2010 dawned, Rika and I were still kids. Still going to school, messing around…doing what kids do. Reflecting on it…I miss those days…by the end of 2010, life has grown so much more complicated, and I now know so much more, and I now know that our lives are going to change hugely," _he thought, taking a glimpse down to Rika, still nursing both her headache and the bulge on her stomach_. "We've met new friends, and I know we'll meet more in the future," _he added, looking across to where Ryder sat on the sofa, Mari looped in his arm_. "But we've also met new enemies…ones who could kill us easily if it weren't for our luck, and some quick thinking," _he finished, remembering the battles they had faced.

The Demon Lords, Yggdrasil, the First and Second Demons, all seemingly more threatening than the last and all taking some sacrifices to defeat. Their whole world had been collapsed onto three others in a great cataclysm in order to defeat the Demon Lords, particularly Daemon. Yggdrasil had taken the deaths of the Royal Knights to defeat, except for Sleipmon who had been combined with Kudamon, who had as a result been left dazed and confused. Taiki had died and so had DarkRenamon, if only periodically, in the process of defeating him, and Ryder had died for the first and second times not long after. Finally, Chiyo had also killed Ryder and herself, the former if only temporarily, and in the process had not only shaken the group's confidence in their own loyalties to the core, but had also left a broken DarkBiyomon behind who no doubt would've found some way to kill herself by now were it not for Seiko's intervention. And, of course, at the same time, Henry and Rey had been forced back in time only to themselves have to try to prevent a loss, of someone who unfortunately as it turned out was not fated well regardless, and they had seen the deaths of thousands in a terrible historical event.

The year hadn't been entirely bad, of course. Even in the worst moments, they had managed to find humour, usually from Terriermon. They were also intact, mostly, even if they had lost some friends along the way, and they had something to look forward to. Takato knew that parenting would be hard, of course - he wasn't blind to the fact - but, it would have its rewards too.

"_I know we didn't really plan this and we sort of made a mistake there in New York but…I really want to show I can deal with something like this. It scares me but…I've dealt with far more scary things before…no, wait…scratch that," _he thought, realising that the idea of parenting was perhaps far scarier than the idea of facing the D-Reaper, the Demon Lords or anything like that again. _"But I know that with Rika by my side, I can manage this…because, well, she's scarier than anything I know," _he thought, mentally chuckling to himself.

"Two minutes to go everyone!" Kristy called out to the room. Rika shot a glare at Takato, who laughed nervously.

"Heh, wasn't me this time huh?" he pleaded, hoping that Rika wouldn't carry out her threat regardless.

"Just as annoying," Rika replied, getting to her feet and rejecting Takato's attempt to assist her by holding out a hand. She stood up, wandering over to where the television was quickly turned on by Suzie, an image of the Tokyo Tower bursting into vision with spotlights flashing up it and the number 2010 printed across a screen attached to it, a counter below.

Ryder chuckled to himself as he watched, shaking his head. "Doesn't compare to Big Ben," he said as he and Mari got up, joining the remainder of the guests in gathering around the screen, standing up to watch.

"Or Times Square," Mari agreed, chuckling. "Still, I guess we can watch _those_ New Years in a few hours time."

"So which New Year do we kiss at?"

"One minute to go!" Kenta commentated.

"This one, of course. I'm sure as hell not getting up for eight o'clock tomorrow."

"Aw, and I was looking forward to singing Auld Lang Syne."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Heh, another year without a girl to kiss," Ryo said, chuckling to himself as he looked about at the three couples in the room, Jeri of course absent.

Rika gave him a sly grin, knowing exactly what to say.

"Don't worry Ryo, you can always kiss Kenta," she suggested, both boys turning pale and taking a step back from each other in horror. Terriermon laughed from Henry's head, making a mental note to congratulate Rika for the joke later (and cursing himself for not thinking of it before her).

"No way!" both Kenta and Ryo exclaimed.

DarkRenamon took a step forward from the shadows, standing alongside her Tamer as the counter reached 25 seconds. She glanced across to Donmon and Terriermon, standing alongside and sitting on the heads of their respective Angel partners. She dearly hoped that neither would make a cheap move come New Years, although she doubted that even Terriermon would consider such a thing. She sighed, inwardly knowing that this particular problem would eventually come to a head.

"Fifteen," Rinchei began the countdown.

"Fourteen," Kenta continued, his partner chirping the next number.

"Pipi!"

"Twelve!" Suzie exclaimed, still as ecstatic as any child would be about the excitement of New Years.

"Eleven," Rika groaned, looking forward to when this was all over and she would get a chance to rest.

"Ten," Henry called, inwardly missing Jeri but deciding it wasn't worth making a big deal out of it. She was with her family, after all, and after all the things that had ever happened to their family, she knew that time with them was time she appreciated greatly, even if it meant missing out on being with her friends.

"Nine," Mari said, looking out upon the first fireworks going up in the city thanks to wrongly-set clocks.

"Eight," Ryo called, patting a queasy Monodramon by his side on the head with a slight frown.

"Six!" Terriermon called, bewildered looks going up amongst the group as he stifled a laugh.

"Five?" Takato asked, rather confused by now.

"Uh…" Jaarin mumbled, irritated by how her brother's partner had thrown things badly off.

"It's four!" Kristy cheered, getting things back on track.

"Three," Janyuu continued, looking over his children and their friends, both digital and physical, with an odd sense of pride and a feeling of success.

"Two," Ryder said, barely suppressing a grin about how great this moment felt, being surrounded by many friends in another world that was supposedly only a TV series, accompanied by a fantastic girlfriend who he was barely seconds away from once again kissing.

"One."

* * *

**SATURDAY, 1****st**** JANUARY 2011**

* * *

"HAPPY NEW YEARS!"

A flurry of fireworks went up over the city, seen both in real life through the large pane glass windows and shooting out from the Tokyo Tower on the television, as couples pulled each other into kisses and a jubilant atmosphere burst into the room.

Ryder pressed his lips against Mari, the memories of that year flocking through his head as he looked forward to the new one. His arms wrapped around her as he oddly enjoyed a public kiss without faked sounds of throwing up around them.

Indeed, oddly, there was almost no sound at all, apart from a quiet noise of skin tapping against skin.

This fact finally occurred to both Mari and Ryder at the same time, gently pulling their heads away from one another and looking into each other's eyes as a sweeping fear washed over them. The ghost of a simple number said only a few seconds ago haunted their minds as they realised that its owner wasn't in the room, or at least, supposedly wasn't.

Turning their heads together, their eyes practically burst from their sockets at the sight of a girl, a beaming smile on her face framed with long blonde hair. Her smile had dropped slightly at the sight of them kissing, but it was evident that she was still pleased to see them, her fingers tapping away at each other in a regular beat.

The room had fallen silent as all stared at the uninvited visitor, wearing of course a white dress and with a D-Vice blinking away from her wrist, albeit with no partner to be seen.

"Happy New Year Ryder," she said, her voice soft and with a British accent. Ryder's mouth fell open, making a move to speak before she…

It was too late.

Ivy vanished back into the ether without a trace, and both Mari and Ryder were left to deal with a volley of questions from their friends, ones they of course would be unable to fully answer, since even they didn't know all the answers. As a firework burst in the sky loudly outside the window, one thing was, however, crystal clear to both.

2011 was going to be an interesting year.

**THE END**

* * *

Yes, the bit where Takato says about 2010 was, of course, the same bit that was at the beginning of Book Three. Cyclical structure and all that.

Heh, and once again it's been a fairly long time between updates but ah well, I hope you enjoy this all the same. I'm going to desperately try to get an Extra Dimensions story called Christmases out (unsurprisingly) on Christmas Day, but I apologise in advance for any delays that lead to it coming out a day or two late. Once that's done, I'm going to finally finish off Book Six with the epilogue where Rika finally gives birth, and then we'll be heading into Book Seven.

Whatever happens (famous last words), I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a great New Year!

Until next time…

B.C.


	76. Epilogue Part 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the original characters introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated otherwise here or elsewhere by myself).**

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

**A/N: **Before you read this, however, make sure you have read **Extra Dimensions Story Seven: Christmases.**

In the end, I had to split this chapter up once again since it is insanely long, more than any chapter ever before. At the time of writing I'm at nearly 30,000 words and not even finished with what would be Part Two if I split it into four parts along its natural lines. In any case, when complete it (fingers crossed) shouldn't be any longer than those four parts, and hopefully all the parts will come out pretty soon. In any case, here it is, the final chapter of **Book Six**…hope you enjoy!

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

_The Trick to Birth_

Part One

* * *

**SATURDAY, 27****th**** FEBRUARY 2011**

* * *

_**Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**14:29 JST**_

Clouds floated over the cold day, the last vestiges of winter holding tightly onto the weather before they would soon give way to Spring, the season of new life, and hence a rather poignant one for one particular redhead watching those same clouds pass over the park where she lay. A pleasant break in the sunlight had got a foothold, grabbing on tight and lighting her with its bright yellow gaze, illuminating her form, one that was unusually large for a girl of her age.

The hill of grass was slightly sloped, allowing her to gaze out amongst the trees as she relished in the chance to relax. The ever-present feeling of being uncomfortable, from her groin to her belly to the everlasting distant ache radiating from her forehead, continually returned no matter how hard she pushed it away, and the knowledge of the far greater pains she would soon undergo.

"_Tomorrow," _she thought, gently rubbing her fingers across the ring on her left hand with a relieved look. She was lucky, she knew when she was going to give birth - no other mother in history had ever had such luck. Her hand fell down to her side as her head fell back to the grass, silently being glad it was soft. Her headache didn't need any more nursing.

Her eyes slipped closed as her eyelids began to stare up at the bright sky above, a shallow frown on her face as those nine months of being pregnant ran across her vision. Being sick, mood swings, having to tell her folks, seeing Takato faint…it hadn't exactly been the best nine months of her life.

"_Still, as much as I hate that sappy crap…having a kid in me is…oddly…nice…in a bizarre and horrifying way."_

"_**Aw, I'm glad you're finally softening up,"**_ spoke a voice in her mind, one that didn't even make her flinch thanks to her knowledge that it was always there. Indeed, it wasn't only always there, it was also her too, a rather confusing situation that they had once tried to clarify until, rather wisely, Guilmon had concluded that it made his head hurt and they had given up there and then.

"_Not likely."_

"_**I wonder what you'll be like after the birth."**_

"_Tired and angry."_

"_**What about that precious newborn in your arms? Knowing that she'll grow up to be Rey. Doesn't that amaze you?"**_

"_Rey is a tempered enigma who spends half of her time on her own and the rest of her time trying not to screw things up when she's with other people." _

"_**She's definitely your daughter then."**_

A slim smile broke onto the girl's face. _"Shut up," _she said, an oddly happy tone in her thoughts despite her words.

"_**Now, as for what she got from Takato…"**_

"_The lunacy, the great plans immediately followed by a humongous goof-up?"_

"_**I was thinking more of her eyes, but yeah."**_

"_You really don't know what to think of Takato, do you?"_

"_**Yeah, well…he's a nice guy but…it's Chaos!"**_

"_I thought you two were past that. You're like a married couple."_

"_**Yeah. We forever hate each other, only we forgot the `till death do us part bit."**_

Rika shook her head in disbelief, opening her eyes again and looking across to the ring on her finger. She frowned, chewing her lip. _"Do you think he's ready for this?"_

"_**Yeah, I think he is."**_

"_Really?"_

"_**Well most of it."**_

"_How can you be so sure?"_

"_**His partner **_**is**_** a baby in dinosaur form. The only difference is, he'll have to learn how to change nappies on Rey. Oh, and she'll eat less. And he won't be able to feed her at first because that sort of relies on you."**_

"_Okay, we're getting a bit too far into something I don't want to think about now. But…I guess you're right, I mean, if he can keep Guilmon in line, anything's easy," _Rika replied, wanting to smile in amusement and contentedness at the concept but merely chewing her lip again, something which didn't go unnoticed.

"_**You're worried that you won't be ready, aren't you?"**_

"_...yeah."_

"_**Rika, it'll all just come to you when the time comes, and you have them all around you."**_

"_Yeah, but I've never had any experience with this kind of thing. I wasn't even in the same universe with Kristy when she was a kid, and Renamon is basically an adult anyway. I've never had to look after someone so small…what if I break her?"_

"_**How do you break a baby? They're not a games console or a vase."**_

"_But what if I don't pay attention and…"_

"_**Rika, I won't let that happen."**_

"_But what if she doesn't get attached to me?"_

"_**It's all biological."**_

"_What if she doesn't stop crying and I desperately want to go to sleep but I can't go to sleep because the baby's crying and I…" _Rika panicked, hating how this stream of thought Harmony had brought up was now leading her mind down a trail she didn't want to go down.

"_**Rika, stop worrying! You're worrying more than Takato does. Hell's going to freeze over if you're not careful."**_

"_Hey! Me worrying is not the most unlikely thing that's happened."_

"_**Name one other more unlikely thing which has happened?"**_

"_Ooh, I don't know: I'm giving birth to a sixteen year old from the future?! There's a guy in our group from another universe who can't die?! Terriermon is still alive despite all his jokes?!"_

"_**Stupid question wasn't it?"**_

"_Very."_

"_**Still, I guess you **_**could**_** take some **_**solace **_**in the fact it's been a relatively quiet year so far?"**_

"_Oh come on Harmony, even you can see this is the calm in the storm. Every time we begin to relax and get used to normality, something hits. Remember 2009? It was silent as hell, and then, in 2010, everything blows up in our faces."_

"_**Maybe this time will be different?"**_

"_Fat chance. There's still seven of those Demon guys out there, and after what they…" _Rika began, pausing as she swallowed a lump of saliva that quickly rushed to fill her throat after the harrowing memory. _"After what Chiyo made me do…I'm…I'm scared Harmony. Not just for me, not even just for the baby, but all of us. I mean, there are so many ways they could kill us, so many different ways they could tear us to pieces."_

"_**I know, I know, but what did you say to Takato?"**_

"_When?"_

"_**Um…I can't remember, but didn't you once say something about just having fun when the world looks like it's going to hell?"**_

"_Oh…that…I never said I was right."_

"_**Ugh…listen, Rika…just…please…relax. It's a lovely day, birds are singing, you've got plenty of time to think before you go into labour, and everything is nice."**_

"_The birdsong is driving me crazy."_

"_**Ugh…then think of the bread that Takato's going to bring back with him soon."**_

"_Guilmon will probably have eaten it."_

"_**But think of how nice it'll be…and I know you love Guilmon Bread even if you'd never say it to them."**_

"_Yeah, but I can't eat it because I'll get fat."_

Rika paused, a slim smile coming onto her face as she heard Harmony fake laugh inside her head. _**"Oh ha, ha. And do you really think I'll ever let us get fat?"**_

"_Well, as much as I'm hopeful you can do something, I really doubt little Rey is going to give us much choice in that matter."_

"_**You underestimate me. Seriously, I'm a God, so forget all the `wacky body shape' nonsense your mother has been making you scared about."**_

"_I did ignore her but…she gave a bit too much detail," _Rika said, cringing involuntarily at the thought.

"_**You only have to go through it once Rika. Think of how many times I've been through it. Hell, they had bigger families back then too."**_

"_That's the problem, I _can_ think of you going through it. Naoko's memories are still there Harmony, and as much as I don't want to reach out for them, I can't help it. I mean, Christ, this has to be the most sick twisted bit of human biology in existence!"_

"_**Rika…I'm sorry you have to know that, but…something in those memories must give you hope, surely?"**_

"_Hmm…when she gave birth she had her husband by her side…but…he died!"_

"_**But Takato isn't going to die Rika, and you have more than just him by your side. Naoko was an orphan, you have so much more."**_

"_Hmm…"_

"_**You're thinking of your father again, aren't you?"**_

Rika's mental tone took on a deadpan accent. _"Wow, it's like you can read my mind."_

"_**That would be a "yes" then. Rika, we've talked about this, Takato and you have talked about it, you and your mother have talked about it. He left you all that time ago, both you and Kristy, and he has had every opportunity to come back into your lives. Even if he did, after doing all that, I don't think you could forgive him."**_

"_You can't talk to me about forgiving people Harmony! You and Chaos do nothing but bicker and fight endlessly due to some stupid grudge between you, and you wreck so many people's lives in the process. So shut the hell up, because if I want to forgive my father, if I want to see him again, if I want to let him know his granddaughter, I sure as hell will!"_

"_**Then why don't you?" **_Harmony asked, hesitating first in response to her alter-ego's sudden rant.

"_Because…because…I don't know,"_ Rika thought, a deep frown on her face as she once again closed her eyes and fell back to the grass. She opened her eyes and looked up, wondering if he was out there and looking up at that very same sky. It wasn't an impossible prospect. _"Maybe I just think it's right? I mean, I had a messed up upbringing. Dad left, and then mum was always working, and I was always with grandma, and when I heard her arguing with mum about how much time she spent with me I knew the next day she'd always make a short lived big effort out of guilt. And then it'd all go back to normal, her back at work endlessly and bringing home a ton of idiotic nitwits who I'm pretty sure she got nothing out of other than more work, and me ending up in a snooty school which I hated. I don't want Rey to have a life like mine."_

"_**Why would she? She's got such a huge family, and being young means that she'll always have you guys."**_

"_I guess, but it worries me how she talks about the future like Takato and I aren't there anymore."_

"_**The future is the future Rika, and we'll see it when it comes. I know that you all love each other, and that that can break down any boundary and distance in the end."**_

"_You sound like Digimon Adventure," _Rika replied with an amused smile.

"_**Heh."**_

Rika's frown promptly returned, as she breathed in deeply. _"What worries me more is what could've happened if Takato and the others hadn't been there to intervene? I almost found out when I tried to kill his partner back then - would I have just become more and more isolated? I'd hate to have ended up like one of those teens who's eternally depressed, angry, stoned and then kills themselves."_

"_**Rika…you have me. I'm your ultimate safeguard; I would never let you do that. I was always there to nudge you in the right direction even when I realised that direction would be leading you closer to Chaos. Even without me, you have Renamon, you have your remarkably perceptive Grandmother - they wouldn't ever let you do that."**_

"_Yeah."_

"_**Besides, right now the present should be interesting enough to avoid needing any of this `what-if' nonsense."**_

"_True. But, sometimes it's fun I guess to distract me. Like…what if Rey was born on a leap year the day after tomorrow?"_

"_**What, the 29**__**th**__** of February?"**_

"_Yeah. She'd only have a birthday every four years. She'd be only four now."_

"_**That'd be a lot more manageable."**_

Rika chuckled to herself, remembering once again her time-shifted `daughter' who was in fact older than her. _"At least she'd have a cool birthday. The twenty-ninth of the second month. 292. A…uh…"_

"_**Palindrome."**_

"_Yeah, and…oh dear God, this is not what I want to be thinking about. I'm starting to sound like Henry now. I just need to relax."_

"_**At least you don't sound like Izzy."**_

"_Heh. Productive!"_

"_**Prodigious."**_

"_Meh, I haven't watched the show in years," _Rika said, shrugging. _"You're always there to correct me, aren't you?"_

"_**Yep. Whatever happens."**_

What happened next was something which would eternally plague both Rika and Harmony's minds, and which cemented that memory of those cursed words in their head for good.

Rika seethed through her teeth as she suddenly felt a sharp movement in her groin, her body quickly sitting up and her hands going to her hips as she winced at the already-familiar (for several weeks) feeling of contractions. However, this time it was undoubtedly more painful and uncomfortable, and was accompanied by a number of other odd feelings, ones that unfortunately was familiar to her from her memories of another life.

"Shit!" she cursed, not caring for the protocol of politeness in such a public setting. The contractions continued, before beginning to settle down as her and Harmony's mind quickly ran into overdrive. Rika remained in her seated position as she clenched her teeth in annoyance.

"_**It's…early?!"**_

"_Christ…that was awful."_

"_**Rika…I think your water broke but…it's not the right day! It's too early!"**_

"Do I look like a give a crap?!" Rika complained, reaching into her jeans pocket with some difficulty and soreness and pulling forth her cellphone. She pressed down a button, putting it into speed dial as she put it to her ear.

A yellow shape quickly materialised by her, a deeply worried look on the face of the tall bipedal Kitsune standing over her. She put out a hand; one Rika took in assistance to get to her feet, before she went to speak. At that moment, the phone was picked up, Rika putting a finger to her lips and frowning as she silenced the fox.

"Takato, get the fuck over here."

Rika paused, the confused tones of her fiancée reaching Renamon's sensitive ears as she frowned deeply. So this was it. This was the day Rika would give birth, and it was a day too early as well. The wind ruffled across the hillside and through her tail, the feeling a rather uncomfortable one, and made even more uncomfortable by the fact her tail wouldn't stop shaking afterwards.

"Why the hell do you think?"

Ignoring her Tamer's rapidly angering mood, perhaps due to the now extremely-rare mood swings but far more likely due to her horror that the big event had arrived, Renamon lifted her tail to her face. Trepidation filled her features as subtly as ever as she reached into it, confirming her suspicions.

"Just get over here!"

"Rika," Renamon spoke, the girl looking up with an angered expression which quickly folded to surprise as she looked at the egg held between Renamon's hands. It shook, not greatly but enough to be visible, and it's surface had taken on a slight glow. A chattered voice spoke into the phone again, Rika glancing to it again.

"I love you," she said, before hanging up and sighing. Her hand went to her head and a groan escaped her lips, her mind by now already having worked out what was going on. "So…this is it then…you're about to become a mom…and…so am I."

"Are you scared Rika?" Renamon asked, concerned tones laden in her voice as it floated from her worried face.

"Terrified. You?"

Renamon cradled the egg into her arms, frowning as she gave it a disgruntled look. "I don't know Rika," she said, not even sure what to expect from the whole process. At least it would be a painless one, and that was a lot more than the girl across from her could say.

Rika sighed deeply, reaching for her phone again as she began to dial another number, and considered how many people would need to be called as soon as possible. But, she also knew that that wasn't her job, since for the next few hours she would only have one task to attend to. Without the pain, getting waited on hand and foot would be a pleasure. _"No pleasure without pain though," _she sighed, dialling the number and putting the phone to her ear.

"Do you wish me to go find Takato?" Renamon asked, a concerned look on her face.

"He knows where I am. Just…stop anyone around from trying to be a hero, okay?" she noted, looking about at the mostly empty hillside with a sense of relief. "I've got this all under control," she insisted, knowing she was lying. The phone on the other end picked up, interrupting her from her thoughts. "Mom, it's me."

Renamon glanced across her features; a well-suppressed panic engrained into the girl's violet eyes as she awkwardly shifted her weight onto her other foot and looked out upon the hillside, evidently awaiting Takato's arrival. Renamon continued to glance about, pondering making a more active effort at discouraging any "heroes", as Rika had put it, but deciding that right now the girl needed her right there, even if she wouldn't say it.

"Mom, it's started," Rika said, an anticipatory look on her face as she evidently awaited some huge onslaught. "Labour of course! What did you think I meant?!"

A rapid channelling down the phone of a panicked series of commands and questions followed instantly afterwards, coupled with Rika's increasingly irritated expression as she listened in and tried to take in her mother's frenetic words whilst searching for some polite space to reply. Finally, she gave up.

"Mom, it's okay!" she interrupted with a huff. "Takato's on his way back to where I am right now and I'm going to call Fumiko in a second…Fumiko, you know, Dr Imai? I don't care if it's a lovely name mom; I'm not renaming Rey! Yes I'm sure!"

Rika's face quickly turned to a blank one, as a worried look crossed her features.

"No…uh…no, I don't know how I'm going to get to the hospital," she said, glancing around and realising that she wasn't remotely prepared for this happening now. Hell, it wasn't even meant to happen now, surely? Rika chewed her lip, anxiety setting in as she hoped it wouldn't happen all too quickly right there right then, even if what she had learnt in those nine months had taught her that such an occurrence was extremely unlikely. At the same time, she was also hoping it wouldn't be a painful, drawn-out labour. "I'm sure Takato and I will be able to work something out…Mom, it's only just started! They won't send an ambulance unless I'm screaming in agony….no, I'm not going to fake it! How will they get into the park anyway? I can get to the road at least. No, I won't strain myself Mom. If worst comes to worst Renamon can take me…what do you mean she might hurt me? She's done it a thousand times. Ugh, you're unbelievable," she groaned, rubbing a hand through her forehead. "I said, you're unbelievable!"

A louder voice ranted down the phone as Rika's expression became even more peeved.

"Now is not the time to complain about my attitude! Call Takato's parents and start a relay round our friends, and I'll see you at the hospital. I…I'll get there."

Rika glanced about, seeing nothing but trees nearby, with the tall towers lurching over them as always yet seeming oh so far away right now for her.

"No…I don't know how…" she said, a frown materialising on her face. "Fine…I'll see you at the entrance I normally go into…the one on that street…the one…oh, just ask Kristy or Grandma or someone. Love you lots, bye," she finished quickly, hanging up before her mother could continue.

Renamon gave her Tamer a concerned gaze as she sighed, running a hand through her forehead once again as she brought yet another number up on the phone. "Your mother and you get along so well these days," she said dryly.

"She's still as nutty as always," Rika muttered, brushing the comment aside as she pressed the button and put it to her ear.

"She's only concerned about you Rika."

"I know," Rika said, her frown deepening slightly as if she were concerned about what she had to say. "I'm glad," she added, before the chirp of a familiar voice interrupted her. "Fumiko, hi," she said down the line, a quiet reply once again being just at the edge of Renamon's sensitive hearing.

Renamon looked about, finding it odd that such an ordinary-seeming day could play host to such a strange event. She could barely believe herself that Rika was about to produce another human, and she doubted the girl really believed it herself. The egg twitched slightly in her arms again as she unconsciously pulled it closer to her chest, remembering that this day was not only going to be a big change for Rika.

"I'm fine, but I've gone into labour….okay, so maybe not fine…yeah, I know…it's a day early, isn't it? Yeah, I know most births don't happen exactly on schedule but R…never mind," she began, stopping when she recalled that Fumiko knew nothing of her time travelling daughter. "I'm in the park now but I'm going to go get picked up by my mom in a sec. I'll be there soon."

The Kitsune's nose pointed down, her blue orb-like eyes gazing upon the lines of red, yellow and black coursing across the surface of the egg. It was actually a rather beautiful thing, and it wasn't until that point that she realised that she wouldn't have much longer to enjoy its sight. Her mind, for the umpteenth time since she had produced the object, pondered what the inside looked like at that very moment.

"I'll be careful…I promise…you sound worse than my mom," Rika said, a laugh escaping her lips and echoing that on the other end of the line. "…I'm here with Renamon…Takato's going to be here in a sec with Guilmon too, and then we'll get moving. What do I do when I get there? Oh, okay, I'll see you there then I guess. Yeah, of course I'm okay…petrified…thanks. See you," she finished, pressing the hang up button once again.

As her thumb reached to call one last number, a pounding noise began to emanate from the ground below, one all too familiar for the pair, and certainly not one that needed Renamon's sensitive hearing to figure out the source of.

"Rika!" yelled a boy's voice. Rika looked up and a slim, grateful smile appeared on her face as she saw Takato approaching, looking almost like he was running from a monster.

"Renamon!" Guilmon yelled as he rushed alongside, probably generating some rather severe and devastating earthquakes for the ants and worms on the ground about him. As he drew nearer and practically screeched to a halt, Rika forced her smile down into an irritated frown, deciding that that was the emotion she would use to punish him for being away when it had happened. Not that he exactly had much choice in the matter, of course.

"Finally," she sighed, rolling her eyes as she gently and subconsciously rubbed a finger across the ring on her left hand.

"Sorry we're late! We came as fast as we could!"

"Where's the bread?" Rika asked, putting her hands on her rather large hips and giving a peeved expression. Takato quickly looked sheepish while Guilmon looked saddened by the truth.

"We dropped it and ran," he moaned, visions flashing past his eyes of the wonderful loaves they had left in the street.

"Wonderful Takato: you not only left him upset but now I'm going to have to put up with that stupid hospital food for God-knows how long!" Rika complained, crossing her arms above her belly and glaring at him.

"Uh…sorry..." he mumbled, looking over her with a curious expression. "So what…uh…exactly happened?"

"I had another one of those stupid contraction things, only this time there was this weird feeling down in my v…"

"**Ew…he asked for information, not a medical description!"** Chaos interrupted, Rika raising an eyebrow in bewilderment before shaking her head dismissively.

"Guys just can't stomach it. If you faint when I'm giving birth, I'm going to punch you awake. You're not getting out of the pain."

"_But I don't even get any pain?!" _Takato thought, glancing down to her hand as it occurred to him what she was referring to. _"Oh great…"_

"_**Ugh, so she's known all along how she's hurting your hand and yet she still does it?"**_

"_I think she just uses it for reassurance."_

"_**Then give her a stress ball! Why do I have to go through this? You're the one who wanted to knock her up. Geez, what the hell was on your mind that night? I don't even want to relive those weird teen fantasies you had, they were just…"**_

Promptly ignoring the ranting voice in his head, Takato frowned deeply at Rika as she finished up a sentence that he had unfortunately missed all context of.

"…the way we normally come into the park," she finished; gesturing with her hand to one of the park's many paths. "Okay?"

"Uh…" Takato mumbled, hoping he wasn't agreeing to something really terrible. "Yes?"

"_Great, he got distracted by Chaos again," _Rika quickly surmised as she noticed the intonation in his answer. She shook her head in disbelief and rolled her eyes, doubting that the boy had caught a single word. "I said that my mom is picking me up outside the park soon."

"Oh."

Rika sighed, frowning deeply as she raised her phone again. "Looks like it's time to call her."

"Didn't you already call her?"

"I was talking about Rey, not my mom," Rika explained, realisation sweeping across her fiancé's face.

"Oh, okay. Isn't she going to be a bit surprised though that it's all so early?"

Rika sighed deeply, looking down at the name currently staring up at her from her mobile: **REY**. Three little letters with such gravitas, a herald of the new age in their lives which was soon to arrive, indeed, sooner than they thought. "Yeah, I know. Maybe we did something wrong, maybe she did something wrong?"

"**Personally I'm betting you're about to have a really long painful labour that ends only a second before the end of tomorrow."**

"**All the more painful for you then Chaos," **Harmony quipped back, Rika's hand clenching and unclenching, almost in warning. Chaos, quite smartly, decided to be quiet for now.

"Well, I guess this is where it all begins, huh?" Takato asked. A slim frown hung on his face, refusing to subside as he contemplated the huge sweeping changes about to happen, not only in their lives, but in Rey's life, their parents' lives, and those of their friends too. Sure, change could be good, but he wasn't sure whether he wanted to run the risk right now that it'd be awful. Rika nodded, pressing the call button and raising the phone to her ear as Takato swallowed a lump in his throat. The lump simply returned, larger than ever, as Rika spoke some foreboding but oh-too-clear words to her daughter.

"It's time."

* * *

_**Outside Matsuki Residence, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**14:52 JST**_

Rey almost dropped the phone, half out of nausea from being pulled out of time travelling and half out of shock. She stood, speechless, right in the middle of the road from which she had left - right outside the bakery of her grandparents and their van, those grandparents rushing into the van in readiness to head to the hospital. The engine flaring into life woke her from her trance, Rika's calls down the phone and her partner's calls to her failing to do the same.

"Rey, what's happened?" Realmon asked from her shoulder, her mind having a fairly clear idea of what was happening but her doubts holding strong.

"She's gone into labour," Rey said, her words misplaced and speechless. Realmon's eyes quickly flashed up in surprise as she realised why this was particularly troubling for the girl, beyond the fact that her own birth was only hours away. A voice coming from the phone, she pressed it back to her ear. "Where are you? I need to know where you are to do co-ordinates, otherwise…"

The blare of a horn interrupted her speech, catching both a nearby and distant redhead off guard and even making the fox on the former's shoulder wince slightly in surprise.

Eyes swung upwards, the smiling face of Takehiro Matsuki standing by the side of his van, hand still over the horn. He wore an oddly confident expression on his face as he looked at his granddaughter who had, as per what his son had said, had appeared completely out of thin air. "Need a lift?"

A grin crept its way across Rey's face before she spoke into the phone again. "Don't worry Rika, it's sorted. Love you," she said, putting the phone down and wandering over to them, the most bizarre day of her life thus far just beginning…

* * *

_**File Apartment, Bunkyō Ward**_

_**15:00 JST**_

With a hollow sound, bat made contact with ball, and, thanks of course to Mr Newton, this meant the latter could only go in one direction. The opposite one.

This, of course, as the sphere soared through the air in an arc shape, wasn't an unwanted side effect, at least not for half of those watching. The other half, of course, were now having a rather sinking feeling in their hearts as, without hesitation, the holder of the bat, garbed in white, began running at full pace across the field to a flat white `base' on the ground, from which the game's name seemingly derived. His chest pounding, his breath caught, and his mind racing, he put all his professional training to work in a game which certainly wasn't expected to live up to its supposedly `friendly' intentions.

Certainly, the fans up and down the country, none of whom were even half as close to the same state of exhaustion he was in, didn't consider it to be a `friendly' game even if it was off the league tables. This was sport, after all, and nothing could turn friends against each other like it.

"_Well, except maybe _her_," _thought a blonde as he took a glance around at his other friends on the sofa from where he sat on the very end with a frown. He couldn't believe it had been four months since she had betrayed them, and paid the ultimate price for it. They had all moved on, but it had hung in their minds, either because of how easily they had let her into their group (and hence brought up the question of how trusting they were), or because of how she had stuck by her cause to the bitter end even when she knew her own partner disagreed with her. That same partner was left alone with her regrets, and even with a new and unorthodox Tamer who had shown much skill at counselling in the past, it was unlikely that she would ever be able to be at peace.

Takeru frowned deeper, before kicking himself mentally and forcing a smile onto his features. His brother, sitting next to him, dropped his anticipatory grin to give him a questioning look. Takeru forced a smile, shaking his head and deciding that he was dwelling too much in the past. They would have to make such difficult decisions again in the future, of course, but right now certainly wasn't the time to cry over yet-to-be-spilt milk.

"Always told you Matt: you picked the wrong team," Tai gloated, a grin on his face as he turned to his friend. Behind him, the TV rather conveniently proved him wrong.

"_**You're out!" **_it cried, Matt grinning widely in response as his friend's expression dropped.

"Did I Tai?" he asked, prompting Tai to sit back in the sofa with his arms crossed.

"It's only the first inning. You can't judge it yet," he insisted. Matt recalled when Tai had gloated due to the exact opposite situation plenty of times before, but rather than pointing out his inconsistency he decided to appeal to popularity instead.

"Takeru, you're with me on this one, aren't you?" he asked his brother, the fellow blonde giving a surprised look to be brought into what was a highly scientific and logical debate.

"Uh…" Takeru replied at first, looking up to the orange and cream winged hamster on his head with a nervous look. In all honesty, he wasn't that interested in the game. He and Kari had come here to visit their siblings - not to watch their siblings bicker over sports.

"This game is stupid," Mimi concluded as she wandered over to the sofa and looked over with a bored look. Her fashion, as always, changed daily, and Takeru found it hard to remember a day since their original adventures in the Digital World when she had worn the same item of clothing two days running. Now, she wore a short-sleeved horizontally-striped orange and maroon top, cropped at the bottom, along with jeans and loose hair, hair which had taken on a more orange colour thanks no doubt to some form of hair dye. She leaned on the back of the sofa, trying to find something of interest in the proceedings.

"The universe according to Mimi," Tai commented, which naturally led to a rap on the head from a now well-positioned Mimi. He grumbled a complaint, before both he and Matt turned and looked over the sofa at the remainder of their group. To Takeru's relief, the attempt by his brother to rope him into their argument was seemingly forgotten about. "Sora, you've got to side with me on this one: the Swallows are better."

"Why have I got to side with you Tai?" Sora asked, leaning against the kitchen area with a coffee cup in her hand and a peeved expression about not only the fact the boys had made them move everything around in the flat, but also were now pulling others into their `discussion' (and ironically missing the game while doing so).

"'Cause you're my girlfriend - and…I thought you liked baseball!"

"Yeah, but I prefer not ignoring people who've come to visit us," Sora insisted, Tai laughing awkwardly as he looked across to his rather bored sister sitting on the armrest of the other couch with Gatomon on the seat back.

"Don't worry Sora, I'm used to it," Kari sighed in resignation. "We'll never get them away from it anyway."

"It's a shame really, it's such a nice day outside," Joe noted from where he sat near the window on a seat from the dining area and flicked through lecture notes, the commotion in the room not making it an easy task to remember it all. The light shone in, giving perfect reading conditions and making it possible to see the outside, which, even with the fifty percent or so cloud cover, was still rather pleasant compared to the majority of winter weather.

"Ugh…Izzy, who do you think is going to win?" Tai asked, groaning as he turned to face the only other candidate left in the room to support him: the young man sitting on the same sofa as Kari and hunched over the coffee table. Thanks to the combination of people wanting to watch `The Game' (as Tai had put it earlier) and people with absolutely no interest, the furniture had been shifted about a bit, leaving a single sofa by the table and another one pushed up rather close to the TV.

Izzy looked up from his computer with a frown. "I couldn't care less."

"Well, uh…why don't you use that computer for something useful for a change and write up a program to predict who's going to win?" the former Gogglehead suggested `helpfully'.

"Do you know how many variables there would be?!" Izzy asked, a chord of disbelief in his voice. He himself wasn't sure why it was so: Tai had suggested plenty of bad ideas in the past, and it was hardly time to be surprised over one that in comparison was practically sensible.

"Ugh, I give up," he finally groaned, slouching back into the seat. Matt elbowed him and grinned, rubbing in how badly the attempt to rally support had gone.

"Good old Tai, always obsessed with team spirit," Gomamon said from the floor next to Joe.

"Yeah, just he's supporting the wrong team," Joe sighed, rolling his eyes as he returned to his notes.

"No I'm not!" Tai yelled over the seat back, not even bothering to turn.

"He didn't mean it like that you idiot," Mimi huffed, turning away from the pair and heading back towards her fellow bored friends. She fell down on the sofa alongside Izzy, while Kari closed her eyes and sighed again before returning to casually chatting with the Digidestined of Love.

"So, how's your course going then?"

"Ugh, don't ask. I now know why everyone says that the second year of university is the hardest."

"I told you all you should've done some work last year," Izzy commented, still staring at his laptop. Mimi looked over, still rather irritated.

"Small price to pay for a social life, _Izzy_," she stressed, promptly reaching over and pushing down the screen. He looked to her as if she had just shot someone.

"Don't do that!"

"Come on, talk to us. God Izzy, you're as bad as those two," she complained, gesturing over towards the other sofa as a combined cheer of happiness and groan of annoyance went up amongst them. Takeru finally decided to make his escape, standing up and wandering over towards the others, having to stand up being a far better prospect than having to sit down with the pair of them any longer.

"I have a social life," he insisted. "I was talking with some people from Hong Kong University about whether Kubuntu or Ubuntu is better."

"Do you just make these words up?" Tentomon chirped, looking towards his Tamer who sighed.

"You've never even met these people - they're not your friends Izzy," Mimi said, putting her arm round the boy's shoulders and pulling him `gently' in the direction of their conversation.

"But I was right in the middle of…" he began to protest.

He was interrupted by a rather large ringing sound, only this particular sound was rather more electronic than one would expect. Eyes turned in the direction of the handset on the counter next to Sora, crying out from its dock. She reached out, excused herself and answered the call.

"Hello?" she asked, curiosity paling on her face as she recognised the person on the other end of the line - definitely not one of their regular callers. "Oh, hello," she greeted after the person confirmed their identity. "What's up?"

Sora froze up, Biyomon giving her a worried look from alongside her in the kitchen as the apartment fell silent apart from the blaring sound of the TV. Joe looked up from his notes, and even those watching the cursed box turned to look thanks to the silence's prompting.

"What?" she exclaimed finally, eyebrows rising in surprise as she cast an anxious look over to those in the room. "But isn't this…I see…thank you, we'll be there right away…huh…who's here? Uh," she said, looking about at the group. "Me, Tai, Izzy, Matt, Kari, Joe, Mimi, Takeru and our Digimon…oh, okay, I'll tell Takeru and Kari to email them. Thanks, bye," she finished, closing the line and putting it down.

"What happened?" Kari asked, curiosity painted across her face.

"Rika's gone into labour a day early and we've got to get down the hospital," Sora summarised, exacting looks of surprise and shock from the group around her. "Takeru, Kari, you've got to contact the other younger Digidestined while we all get ready to go, okay?" she said, knowing the two would easily be the fastest out the door since they already had their coats and bags nearby. They had come simply to visit their siblings and friends, but it looked like the plans had changed.

They nodded in response, D-Terminals quickly withdrawn from their pockets. Kari looked across to Takeru, knowing that their D-Terminals, without an effective `carbon copy' system, would instead need to send individual emails. "You email Yolei and Cody, I'll do Davis and Ken," she ordered, her brother's commanding streaks not lost on her.

Takeru frowned, nodding in response and mentally sighing. "Okay," he replied, beginning to add the first name. Kari looked at his face for a moment, a frown bent onto her features before she herself began to work on her task.

Oblivious to the emotions running between the two, Sora looked across the room, seeing her biggest challenge as she wandered over to Matt and Tai. Her footsteps drew closer, the boys already fearing the inevitable as she picked the remote off the armrest. She flicked the television off, looking in their eyes as they gave disappointed stares. "Aw, but we'll miss it all," her boyfriend groaned.

"Ugh, I've been waiting weeks for this game," Matt added, sighing as he pushed himself up. "Just our luck," he dismissed it. There was no helping annoying coincidences like this, even if Tai thought to the contrary.

With a grin to his girlfriend, he attempted to bluff his way out of the situation. "I'll just stay here and see the rest, and I'll catch up to you guys afterwards. She's going to be ages in there anyway," he suggested, a highly optimistic smile on his face as he contended with Sora's steadfast stare and crossed arms. Finally, he sighed, standing to his feet as Agumon watched his Tamer resign from the side of the sofa. "Fine," he said, trudging off like a scolded child to gather his things in their room.

She gave a slight smile as she watched him go, before turning to face the others. The older Tamers had by now vanished or were heading into their rooms, and - after a brief glance at Kari and Takeru to check they were okay with it all - she followed Tai into their bedroom, Biyomon promptly in tow. _"This is going to be interesting," _she mused, seeing glimpses of Mimi pulling out clothes, Izzy pulling out laptop AC adapters and Joe searching through his medical notes (no doubt for something on birth to help in his studies) as she passed their doors. It seemed none of them were entirely aware yet of the gravitas of the situation. They were about to welcome a new but familiar face to their group. _"I hope Rika's ready," _she sighed, vanishing into her bedroom.

* * *

_**Outside Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:04 JST**_

The black car continued to quietly rumble as the engine inside ticked over, ready to be put back into use as soon as possible. This was, of course, an intentional move on the part of the owner of the Mercedes, and not related to how she, despite having owned the car for a while, rarely drove it. Her work would normally dispatch something anyway, and she, being the star of most of her shoots, was always important enough to validate such a move on the part of the company.

Today, however, its use was thanks to the fact that her current task couldn't be less related to work, except perhaps a holiday. Its spacious interior, the perk of high salaries and popularity, would prove invaluable in its next use.

"Rika, I was so worried," cried its owner as she, carefully, for once, threw her arms around her daughter, her somewhat irrational fears of what would've happened otherwise thankfully not manifesting.

Rika gave Takato an uncomfortable frown as her mother hugged her, for once not simply because they were in a public area and her mother was overreacting. Right now, she simply wanted to sit down, although she doubted even that would prove soothing. She decided to put her newfound power to request anything to work.

"Can I get in the car now mom?" she asked, her mother quickly nodding and ushering her in as Takato watched. She initially refused help into the back seat, but yet another contraction made itself known. As she began to cringe and tried to resist the pain she was forced to wince, her mother and fiancé taking the hint and helping her without asking.

Promptly, as Rika breathed a sigh of relief once the pain subsided again, Takato gestured to Guilmon to get in on the front passenger seat, knowing that Rika would need as much space as possible right now in the back. Once he had done so, and once Renamon had vanished after a brief check on Rika, Rumiko and Takato both strode to their respective car doors, the latter climbing in across from his girlfriend. As he clambered in, he tried to show a reassuring smile to her but, thanks to his own shaky emotions, he gave little more than an anxious line.

With ease, thanks to the size of the car, he turned and buckled up, Rika doing likewise in a minor attempt to show she didn't need help in everything. Rumiko turned back to face the pair, trying to reassure her daughter with a smile.

"Trust me; I've been through this before myself. In a few hours time, you'll have a beautiful new baby girl, and everything will be alright."

Rika didn't answer, instead simply giving a slight nervous nod and glancing to Takato, who gently placed his hand on the back of Rika's hand where it lay in the middle of the centre seat. She pushed her fingers through the gaps in his, not wanting to let go. Her mother's words had only reminded her of the legacy she didn't want to follow if she could help it, and part of that was making sure she didn't lose him.

Rumiko turned back with a slight smile, pushing down on the clutch and bringing it up to bite quickly before even more quickly darting into first, checking the traffic and pulling out to their right into the road. Time was not free to be wasted, and she wanted her daughter to have full medical care as soon as possible. That very moment made her thankful for having learnt how to drive, even if it seemed unnecessary given her career.

The car raced along the street on the left side of the road, the traffic around them never dying in this city. Rika stared out of the window, seeing the tall buildings flow past as Renamon almost sightlessly flicked between them; buildings ever so familiar but which she had never looked at in any detail before. All were so different in their own way. Some short and stubby, others tall and lean, some conventional, some highly advanced in design. But all represented something, something so familiar: her life, or rather, her old life, the one set to change that very day, and before she'd even had a chance to say goodbye. She sighed, looking down at the panelling on the door handle, the luxury meaning little to a girl who saw her mother's wealth as a convenience rather than something to be flaunted at every opportunity.

Takato, feeling the tension in the air, thanks in particular to the crippling silence, decided to at least attempt to get the conversation going again. "So…Rika's mom…"

"Takato, just call me Rumiko," she insisted, barely looking over from where she was driving. Rika looked up, her attention captured from the intricate details of the life she was going to lose very soon.

"Uh…okay…where are Kristy and your gr…moth…Seiko?" he said, stuttering over what to call Rika's grandmother.

Rumiko let loose a slight smile at Takato's bumbling nature; it was one of the few things Rika had told her about their relationship and why she was in love with him, although it did strike her as odd that at the same time it was one of the things she criticised the most. "They stayed behind to call everyone."

"How are they getting to the hospital?" Rika asked in a half-interested and slightly monotonous voice as she tried to ignore the feelings down below.

"She said she'd take a taxi or a train once they were done and had got all your things."

"Good," Rika mumbled, her thoughts more concentrated on getting to the hospital than having her clothes and other things with her. She'd inevitably end up in a hospital gown, after all.

Takato felt Rika's hand clench up again, and he gripped back, looking to her across the seat and trying to put on the most confident expression he could. "It's going to be okay."

"Hmm…" Rika simply mumbled in response.

* * *

_**Telephone network**_

_**15:06 JST**_

"_**Katou Restaurant and Tavern, Katou Tadashi speaking."**_

"_**Hi, this is Henry. Can I talk to Jeri please?"**_

"_**One moment Henry…"**_

Footsteps and shouts crept down the receiver, the man's voice as booming as ever. A flurry of footsteps came down the stairs, a brief interchange following between the girl and her father before she answered.

"_**Hey Henry."**_

"_**Hey," **_Henry said, his voice wavering and shaky from what he knew. Jeri, of course, didn't hesitate to notice this.

"_**What's wrong? You kinda sound…off."**_

"_**Seiko called me just now, and Rika's gone into labour," **_Henry answered, scarcely believing that he was truly saying those words. He had still doubted that he would even say them the next day when he expected the event to happen, let alone a day early.

"_**What?! But…it's early?!"**_

"_**I know. Seiko called me and asked if I could call the rest of our group."**_

"_**Oh, uh…I can help if you want?"**_

"_**Thanks."**_

"_**Ai and Mako are too young, so they're out. I'll call Kazu and Kenta while you and Suzie try and get a hold of Ryo."**_

"_**If he's anything like usual he'll just pop out of nowhere anyway," **_chirped a new voice over the phone, a scuffle following as Henry staggered back in surprise.

"_**Terriermon! Stop listening into my calls!"**_

"_**Momentai!"**_

"_**Maybe you should call Ryder and Mari first then? Then you can hunt down Ryo later at the hospital if you can't reach him now, and after all you can't forget your fellow Angels," **_she said optimistically, unfortunately pushing all the wrong buttons in Henry's mind.

"…_**yeah."**_

"_**Huh?"**_

"_**What?"**_

"_**Are you okay?"**_

"_**Don't worry."**_

"_**Henry."**_

"_**Yeah?"**_

"_**Please don't keep things that are worrying you hidden from me. I hate seeing you worry yourself to death."**_

"_**It's just…it's…"**_

"_**Yeah?" **_Jeri asked, a brightening tone in her voice.

Henry sighed. _**"I'll explain when I see you at the hospital. I don't really want to explain things over the phone, okay?"**_

"_**Hmm…okay…guess it'll be a way to pass the time."**_

"_**Yeah. I'm still wondering what to take with me. We might end up having to make a bed out of hospital chairs."**_

"_**We've slept on worse."**_

"_**Yeah, but at least in the Digital World you don't have hospital staff telling you to budge."**_

"_**Terriermon, what did I say?"**_

"_**Don't worry Henry, I don't mind," **_Jeri said, a slightly cheerful tone to her voice.

"_**See Henry, even she agrees with me. You're always making megas out of rookies."**_

"_**I think you mean mountains out of molehills."**_

"_**See, there you go again Henry: getting stuck on the detail. Momentai already!"**_

Henry simply sighed down the phone line in response, a smile of amusement creeping across Jeri's face before she frowned again and changed the subject. _**"Rika must be really stressed right now."**_

"_**Yeah, and it'll just get worse when we all turn up," **_her boyfriend added.

"_**She'll be glad to have us there though. I hope at least."**_

"_**You never know with Rika."**_

"_**No wonder Takato is always so confused," **_Jeri laughed, smiling.

"_**Nah, that's just `cause he's stupid," **_once again Terriermon interrupted. Henry simply sighed, while Jeri continued to laugh quietly.

"_**He's not stupid Terriermon, he's just in love,"**_ she explained.

"_**Yeah, and love makes people do stupid things," **_Henry added.

"_**Funny, because I know plenty of people who do stupid things on their own."**_

Henry sighed deeply, realising that time was rather pressing. _**"So, anyway, I'll see you at the hospital then?"**_

"_**Yeah, okay."**_

"_**Are you okay with getting there and all? It's a bit of a way for you."**_

"_**I'll be okay. If I get tired, I can get Leomon to carry me."**_

"_**I wouldn't want to be a pedestrian seeing that," **_Henry noted, the idea of a huge bipedal lion being something that once upon a time would've made him run for the hills. Now, it seemed tame, without the pun intended.

Jeri chuckled, nodding even though he couldn't see her. _**"Yeah. I'll see you later then."**_

"_**Yeah, see you."**_

"_**Love you lots."**_

"_**Love you too."**_

* * *

_**Streets of Shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:07 JST**_

Rey was glad to have a seatbelt on as for good measure she gripped tightly onto the sides of the middle seat, Takehiro driving them past an amber light overhead and crossing the intersection in a hurry. Mie gave him a scolding look, glancing to their future granddaughter in the third seat between them in the van. "Slow down, we're not in _that_ much of a rush."

"_Even if this is all earlier than it's meant to be,"_ Rey thought with a sigh, as Takehiro lightened up on the gas.

"Sorry dear," he apologised afterwards, the van turning left around a corner and its driver groaning as they came face to face with one of Tokyo's notorious traffic jams. Indeed, even on a Saturday, it appeared that the city was not free of their curse. He quickly re-planned their route in his mind, planning to dive down a few backstreets to make their journey to the hospital a fair bit faster. Even so… "It looks like we're going to be getting nowhere fast," he said, turning off at the first opportunity.

"That's no problem," Mie said, looking to her granddaughter. "It'll be a nice time to chat. You must be very nervous."

Rey let loose an exhaled chuckle, smirking and shaking her head. "That doesn't even begin to cover it."

"Well, I'm sure it'll all go well. You're here, after all."

"Yeah, it's just…I'm about to be born. That doesn't even make sense."

"Neither does our son being some God-thing," said Takehiro. "But still, it makes things more interesting, even if our lives are interesting enough as they are," he added, a smile on his face as the delivery van found itself back on a main road, albeit one a fair bit closer to the hospital. It was still rather congested however with shoppers, but it was nothing compared to the weekday peak.

"Oh…that reminds me…have I missed anything since I left? Oh, and, how's the bakery going?" she asked, Realmon looking up at her Tamer from her lap. What did she expect to have happened?

"Nothing much really. Rika has been a bit ill but I guess it's been life as normal, whatever that is," Mie explained. "And the bakery is doing even better now than before, plus we finally got a replacement for that useless oven, even if it did need the whole bakery to burn down to do so."

"It wasn't that useless. It just had a certain knack to it," Takehiro insisted. Mie rolled her eyes in disdain upon hearing her husband's words. She looked to her granddaughter.

"Unlike your grandfather, I count needing to be hit with a hammer before it works as a problem."

Rey gave a slight smile as Takehiro chuckled, shaking his head and returning to what was more important right now. "Not long now before we get there. This is going to cost a fortune in parking."

"Do you think she's here yet?" Realmon asked her Tamer, looking up with a curious expression and wondering what was going through her mind. Of course, she had a pretty big hunch what was bugging her the most.

"Probably," Rey replied, frowning. _"She shouldn't be though,"_ she mused with a sigh, looking out the window as the street rushed by.

* * *

_**Streets of Shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:08 JST**_

"Shinjuku General Hospital please," cheered Kristy enthusiastically as she bundled into the back of the cab, Seiko settling in on the front seat and noting the driver's unnerved gaze over the pair of Digimon. DarkBiyomon climbed in warily, whilst Kudamon slithered in and took up his usual place about his Tamer's shoulders. The two humans made an odd contrast, a grey D-Vice with a purple ring on Seiko's arm and a black one with a pale blue ring on Kristy's.

"Don't worry, they're not going to do anything," Seiko reassured, noting the man's expression. The thirty-something looked over his shoulder again, giving a suspicious look before nodding and starting the meter. The older woman breathed a sigh of relief, whilst Kudamon told his Tamer to put her belt on.

"What's that strange smell?" DarkBiyomon asked, looking about from where she sat on the seat opposite Kristy in the back.

"Hmm…I don't know," Kudamon pondered putting his nose to the air and taking the musky scent in, something that Kristy didn't seem to either mind or have noticed. It was far from `New Car Smell', indeed, it was the exact opposite, and the worn interiors agreed with such a thought. The driver looked briefly annoyed at how this supposedly `friendly' creature had already insulted his cab (and most taxis like it), but he decided against bringing it up.

"So, what's got you guys in such a hurry then?" the driver asked, swinging the car round a corner far later than any driving test would allow.

"Not enough of a hurry to make a move like that: slow down!" Seiko complained, a look of anger creeping across her face at what he had done.

"Fine, fine," he grumbled, returning to the wheel as an uncomfortable silence descended.

"My granddaughter is in labour," Seiko finally explained in a bitter voice.

"Congratulations!" the driver said, purposefully making an over-careful turn in a mocking manner. Seiko ignored the man's actions and turned to look at her granddaughter, the girl's partner and her own partner on the back seats.

"You three okay?"

"Yeah," Kristy said, still smiling and giddy with excitement at the prospect of a baby niece and not noticing any of the flaws in driving or in how pleasant the interior of the taxi was. Kudamon nodded respectfully, whilst DarkBiyomon did so warily.

"Yeah," she replied, frowning. Seiko gave a light frown in response, turning back to see where they were going as they ducked down another side street. She gave a stern gaze to the driver, who rolled his eyes and returned to `careful' driving.

"So, you're nearly a great grandma? Don't hear of many of them these days, normally it's just three generations," he continued to chat. Seiko noted a no-smoking sticker on the overhead sun-protectors, but doubted such a rule was always adhered to by its owner. The packet of fags in the cubby holder was a dead-giveaway.

"Yes," Seiko asked, hoping she could silence this conversation sooner rather than later by not giving him anything to continue talking with. The driver's attitude had completely put her off the idea of any conversation with him. Of course, he perhaps had other ideas. After all, he was a taxi driver.

"So, do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

This journey couldn't be over sooner.

**END OF PART ONE**

* * *

**A/N:** Part Two will deal with their arrival at the hospital and the first complications which arise, and should hopefully be up fairly soon since I've done the majority of it at the time of writing. I'd like to apologise for the delay in completing this, but, to be fair, what I've written so far is the equivalent of about ten normal (3000 word) chapters and I've had a lot of very long chapters lately so I haven't exactly been doing nothing. I've also been busy setting out my plans for **Book Seven: Escapes**.

Until next time…

B.C.


	77. Epilogue Part 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the original characters introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated otherwise here or elsewhere by myself).**

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

**A/N: **And now for the second part, which is a fair bit longer than the first because I'm cutting this into sections to meet natural plot-divisions, not simply word counts. In any case, enjoy!

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

_The Trick to Birth_

Part Two

* * *

**SATURDAY, 27****th**** FEBRUARY 2011**

* * *

_**Shinjuku General Hospital, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**15:21 JST**_

The hospital entrance loomed over them as they made the walk from the very short term parking bay towards it, Rumiko having assured herself that the cost of a fine if she left the car there too was long was a tiny price to pay given the context of events. Of course, she had also decided that, if the chance arose, she would move the car in any case, but right now other matters were more pressing.

Her daughter, of course, in her usual style, didn't particularly want help and so instead was trying to stride towards the door, a rather hard thing for her to do when she was at full term and not yet benefiting from a wheel chair. In the light of it, calling an ambulance earlier on would perhaps have been a more logical option. Takato looked uneasily up at the sign above, musing about the sheer gravity of what was to happen. Guilmon, at his side, stayed silent, his interest held by ongoing events.

Renamon materialised alongside her Tamer, a frown passing between them as the automatic doors slid aside and let the small group onto the endless speckled floors of the hotel. The reception, was, of course, all-too-familiar to Rika from the great number of times they as a group had visited it in the past year, be it for the simplest check-up or the gravest emergency. It was strange to think that this was the end of this chapter of her life, but at the same time the beginning of a new one.

Regardless, there was one person from this whole experience who was definitely worth keeping in check with.

Rika flashed a smile to Dr. Fumiko Imai standing and awaiting them by the receptionist's desk with a wheelchair. She was a woman who had practically become the practitioner to the whole of their group (at least those based in Shinjuku, that was) lately. She doubted it was entirely a coincidence: Fumiko seemed to enjoy dealing with their cases and was in a high enough capacity to ensure she was able to. Plus, Hypnos as always had its involvement even if Rayleigh's appointment as Chief Cabinet Secretary had forced Yamaki to tone back on his interference with the Tamers somewhat.

Fumiko looked equally pleased to see one of her favourite patients, and she knew she would be seeing another soon enough if the group's normal practices were at work. Where there was one Tamer, the rest were sure to follow, including one particular boy whose remarkable feat of survival still racked her mind to this day, even if he had gone some way to explaining it.

* * *

"I am not entirely human, you see," he replied, the doctor cocking her head in curiosity.

"So what are you?"

"Well…it's strange but you are going to have to just believe me. I am the leader of a group of ten Angels, these beings who are…well…I would say holy but we're not omnibenevolent."

"Uh…come again?"

* * *

Even then, he didn't seem to think that was the cause either. What was clear, however, was that both Rika and Ryder were extraordinary individuals for both similar and different reasons. Indeed, the whole group seemed to have a particular…strangeness in general.

Then again, she doubted that anyone who raised monsters to fight and protect the city from attacks would exactly be normal.

"Hey," she greeted warmly, looking across the group, two Digimon and three humans. The blue-haired woman knew that for all of whom the next few hours would be extremely stressful. She glanced down at her chart, contemplating the bad news she would have to give in a second. Well, perhaps not bad news, but it would at least be against Rika's wishes, and, indeed, her own.

"Hello again," her patient's blonde mother greeted, a slim smile on her face.

"Hey," Rika greeted, not as optimistically as the rest. Fumiko moved the wheelchair out in front of her, gesturing to it. Rika nodded, turning and, with the collective help of Fumiko and her mother, sat down into it. Takato took a step forward to help but unfortunately was unable to find any way he could help.

Rika gave a great sigh as she settled down, relaxing into the comforting chair.

"So, this is it," Fumiko said, inhaling and noticing as Rika, Rumiko and Takato collectively did likewise to steady their nerves. "You nervous?"

"Petrified."

"What about you Takato?" Fumiko asked, catching the brunette off guard as she turned to face him.

"Uh…yeah," he answered, his eyes lost in the room. The vast number of patients, most in here for illness or disability, and in respect of that they were the lucky ones. They were in here solely for a good reason, even if that good reason meant a lot of pain for Rika in the process. And of course, a lot of pain for Rika meant a lot of pain for him, since she was a great fan of sharing the pain.

"_**Socialist pain. Can't beat it, eh?"**_

"_Huh?"_

"_**Ugh, never mind."**_

Noticing that Takato seemed to have drifted yet further away from reality, Fumiko turned her attention back to Rika and the tricky task of telling her the bad news. "Now, you see, I have to be honest with you and say I won't be with you throughout this whole process," she said, a slight frown on her face. Rika's frown deepened, disappointment flashing across her features.

"Oh."

"You will be taken care of by the midwives and Doctors of the maternity department, but I'll try and pop by and also be there for the birth, okay?" she explained, knowing that her other patients would be stealing her time. Well, to be fair, she had a lot more duties to attend to than one patient, and giving all of one's time to one single patient outside of emergencies was a complete no-no in this hospital.

"Okay," Rika said, the news a big hit to her already shaky nerves. _"Great, so I don't even get the one hint of reassurance I thought I'd have."_

"Come on, I'll take you to your room," Fumiko said, putting her hands on the handles of the wheelchair. Rika nodded, her doctor doubting that the helpful gesture could make up for the disappointment of her not being there. They headed towards the nearby corridor, Renamon setting off in quick pursuit before vanishing into the shadows of the hospital.

Takato took a step forward to follow, but was once again caught off guard as a hand planted on his shoulder from behind. He turned his head, Rika's mother looking down to him with a slim smile as Rika was pushed by Fumiko out of sight.

"Are you okay Takato?" she asked, deep concern in her voice about the boy who seemed to be in a terrible state of confusion still.

"Sort of," he mumbled, frowning as he averted his eyes. Guilmon gave his Tamer a sorrowful stare, deep concern laden in his large gold eyes for his Tamer. "This is just so big."

"Takato, we haven't talked that much but now that you're on the way to being my son-in-law I thought I'd tell you how thankful I am for everything you've done to help Rika."

Takato looked rather bewildered, not expecting the sudden expression of gratitude. "Huh? Really?"

"Well, even if how we got here was a bit of an accident, I couldn't pick anyone better to be the father of my granddaughter. I know that Rika agrees with me even if she wouldn't say it, at least not often."

"Yeah, but…I'm scared to death already and we haven't even started. How am I meant to cope when she starts screaming and everything?" Takato exclaimed, panic brimming in his gaze. Rumiko kept a rather stern stare, her words friendly yet still delivered with the force of someone else's parent.

"You'll cope because Rika needs you to cope. Rika thinks so much of you, and I do too. I've seen you and your friends doing so many things on the television which scare me to death about my daughter's safety. I mean, she could be killed, but somehow you guys cope, and I get the impression a lot of that is up to you. Shouldn't this be a lot easier by comparison?"

"**Yeah, but normally we just get by with blowing things to kingdom come." **_**"Although that could be a solution here too…"**_

Takato wisely continued to ignore his alter-ego's hidden comments, frowning. "Plus, this is a kid we're talking about here. People still treat me as a kid myself, and I've never even looked after a cousin or a sibling in my life, let alone changed a nappy or anything. I can't deal with babies."

"You look after me pretty well Takato," Guilmon said from below, a grin on his face and evidently a complete lack of concern about calling himself a baby in the process.

Takato nodded, patting his partner's head. "Yeah, but you're not exactly a baby, no matter what Impmon says. I mean, if Rika gives birth to something as big as you, I'd be worried."

Guilmon chuckled, as did Rumiko. "Yeah…uh…that can't happen…uh…is that what you mean Takato?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know why you're not confident: you've coped with him pretty well. I remember when I first saw you all on the television, fighting that giant pig. How on earth such a friendly creature as Guilmon could become…uh…" Rumiko began, pausing thanks to her lack of any detailed knowledge on the subject of Digimon, even despite Rika's attempts to teach her something via the card game. Of course, Guilmon wasn't in the card game, at least beyond Takato's cards and a few recently issued new cards from the company who published the game. His mother, of course, had encouraged Takato to take on the corporation since, after all, he was the original creator of Guilmon. Takato himself didn't really mind, and would rather stay on the good side of at least one organisation when it seemed that plenty of others were turning against them.

"WarGrowlmon."

"Yes, well, in any case, how he does it is beyond me."

"I don't quite get it either but it's helpful, huh?"

"You can say that again."

"Still, Guilmon isn't much like a baby. I'm not sure he's enough experience to care for a kid, even if looking after him originally was difficult."

"Trust me, it's the same with children. I didn't have a clue when I first had Rika; neither of us did, and both Kiyoyuki and I were so scared until we realised something," she said, taking a glance to the corridor again where Rika and Fumiko had long-ago vanished to. She made a mental note that they would need to catch up quickly, if not to steady her shaky nerves then simply to be able to know where they had taken her to. "We realised that we weren't alone. My mother was there, and each of us had each other anyway. You're not alone in all this."

"Yeah, I know, but…they can't support us all the time and we're only kids. Plus, what if Rika and I want to stand on our own two feet?"

Rumiko chuckled, a smile creeping across her face. "By which you mean what if Rika doesn't want to have to rely on everyone?"

"Yeah, okay, I did mean that…but…what do we do?" Takato asked, peeved by not getting an answer yet.

Rumiko gave a smile, one slightly unnerving for the boy as she gave an inconvenient truth. Her hand landed on his shoulder as she looked into his eyes. "You grow up," she answered, before looking across to the door. "Now come on, Rika's waiting," she added, removing her hand from his shoulder and gesturing away with a smile. The boy frowned and nodding as he took in what she had said. The pair finally began to walk away.

"Mom!" called a voice across the room, making the older woman stop in her tracks and turn to see a new pair of figures, each with a Digimon, cross the threshold. A smile arose on her face as she saw her mother, looking slightly worse for wear, and Kristy, smiling obliviously as ever. Alongside the former walked DarkBiyomon, and on the latter's shoulder as ever sat Kudamon.

"_So they took a taxi then," _Rumiko surmised, as she and Takato took steps towards them. Kristy gave her mother a big hug, the woman looking down and smiling before rubbing her hand through the girl's reddish hair.

"Is Rika okay?" Seiko asked, her tone far more serious.

"Yeah, she and the doctor have already gone up to her room," Takato answered.

"Let's go then Mom!" Kristy pleaded, grabbing her mother's arm and beginning to walk away before finding herself held back by Rumiko's tight grip.

"Not right now Kristy," she said, glancing up to her own mother who nodded in agreement.

"Aw…why not?"

"Right now Rika just needs some space to settle in, and the doctors need some space to do a lot of tests," Seiko explained, smiling to her granddaughter. "But, I promise, later on we'll go and visit her, okay?"

"Aw, but I want to go now."

"You can stay here and make sure everyone knows where we are when they arrive," Takato suggested, forcing a smile on his face as he bent down to the twelve year-old. "We could really use the help with that," he added, knowing they would be stressed out enough without the pressure of meeting and greeting the flood of Digimon and Tamers that would soon arrive. It didn't even bear thinking about.

"Okay, I'll help," Kristy replied, nodding and smiling. Rumiko looked down to Takato, a smile on her face as her point that Takato could cope was yet again proven. Takato gave an uncomfortable expression under the gaze, standing back upright again as Kristy wandered back towards Seiko.

"I better stay too," Seiko added, her daughter nodding.

"Okay, I'll be back here soon once Rika's settled," Rumiko said, looking to Takato who nodded in agreement. The pair turned, beginning to walk towards the corridor as Kristy gave a light wave. Guilmon trailed after, once he had reciprocated the gesture.

Watching the trio head away, Seiko frowned. This would be a very long ordeal for all concerned, regardless of how long Rika was in labour. She turned down to DarkBiyomon, a frown on her face which was quickly responded in kind by the black bird.

* * *

The pillows were thankfully nice and comfortable as Rika let her head fall back onto them, a smile crossing Fumiko's face as the girl was finally given a chance to relax. Albeit, unlike how she would want to relax, at home in pyjamas lying on her soft futon, she unfortunately was lying in a fairly bright hospital room (although there was a dimmer switch for her to use if she needed to) with a medical gown on and a large bump obscuring her vision and comfort. "There you go," Fumiko said, pleased that at least she had managed to do something to help her. Renamon nodded in gratitude from nearby, whilst Fumiko made a mental note of concern that the girl's mother and fiancé had yet to arrive, as much as it had helped to streamline the process of getting Rika changed and into the hospital bed. The wheelchair sat out of the way nearby, its task served.

"Thanks," Rika said, her voice oddly timid for a girl usually so confident. Her nerves were already shaken, the reality of the event setting in. A midwife stood at the far end, preparing a number of items which Rika didn't even want to see yet. She doubted she would ever want to see the tools of the trade, but the pregnancy guides (and her mother at one point) had unfortunately given her a rather clear idea how they were used.

She cringed as she remembered, quickly ignoring the thought and looking to Fumiko again, hoping casual conversation could comfort her.

A bleeping noise quickly interrupted her before she could say a word. Fumiko looked down, frowning and searching her doctor's coat for a small electronic device and peering over at the screen. Her frown deepened further as she looked up to Rika, mouthing an obscenity under her breath as her mind quickly processed what the pager was telling her. "Ugh, sorry, but, I have to go quickly…my heart patient is having an attack," she said, already half way to the door. Her heart wanted to stay as she looked down to the speechless girl, but her mind told her that she had a duty.

"Okay," Rika finally mumbled, Fumiko rushing away down the corridor instantly after she had said so, the older woman ruing herself constantly for having to leave the girl.

Rika clutched the bed below and told herself not to be scared as she looked about the room, seeing the midwife and Renamon but knowing she may as well be alone.

Renamon stood, not even sure what to do now that the doctor had been forced to leave. She pondered asking the midwife, but the woman seemed preoccupied with both preparing the equipment and also trying to keep her mind off the rather large fox standing behind. Renamon wondered if things would be different if she were not there. She frowned, looking down to Rika, who looked more and more anxious by the moment.

"_This is stupid…I know I'm okay…pregnancies don't happen that fast…plus, mom and Takato will be here soon…and there are loads of medical people around me. Why am I afraid?"_ Rika asked herself, trying to reassure her nerves with a determined thought.

A shiver ripped down her spine, her mind repeating the question but the tone now far less sarcastic and far more worried for herself and her emotional state.

"_Why am I afraid?"_

* * *

The doors to the front of the hospital whizzed open, a redhead girl who looked slightly similar to the one currently in labour (minus the bump, of course) striding through, confidence in her eyes but worry in her heart. Nothing was right, and she was feeling more and more guilty every moment about what she had inadvertently done. She had changed history, and this was only a relatively small thing. Still, she had extended her own life by a day, her birthday back by a day. It didn't bear thinking about what those simple minor things could've done.

But how? Had she put Rika under more stress than she needed? Did knowing the date she'd give birth make her more worried about it than otherwise, when it would've been a mere surprise (albeit a scary one nonetheless)?

Alongside Rey walked her grandparents, Takahiro and Mie, and on her shoulder sat Realmon, her golden eyes staring into the hazel ones of her Tamer with deep concern. They crossed the room to the familiar figures of Seiko, Kudamon and Kristy, those beings quickly turning to face the newcomers, smiles on their faces.

"Hello," Takahiro called across the room as they drew in close.

Rey, however, merely took on a worried expression. "Where's Rika?" she asked, leaping straight to the point and surprising both her great grandmother and aunt, as well as, of course, her grandparents.

"She's in the maternity ward already," Seiko answered, gesturing towards the corridor. Rey nodded, giving a light bow before striding off in that direction, ignoring Kristy as she objected.

"But didn't you say we had to let her settle in Grandma?"

A light smile crossed the woman's lips, seeing Rey vanish out of sight around the corner quickly, evidently set on reaching her mother and be damned to anything else that tried to take priority. "I doubt that Rey would listen dear. She wants to see her mother, after all."

"Aw, but I want to see her too."

"Soon. Anyway, where were we?" Seiko asked, looking to the two adults who had joined her, now without their accompanying granddaughter.

"What time did she arrive?" Mie asked.

"Only about ten or so minutes ago. Takato and Rumiko are in with her right now, and I think we should give her a chance to settle in before we all go in there."

"Yeah, I can understand that," Takahiro agreed, looking across to the door. "After all, it looks like there is going to be no shortage of visitors," he said, the doors once again sliding apart to beckon a new set of figures: three humans, two animals and one with a large block-like form. Eyes scanned about as their owners entered, quickly sighting the group of parents and the younger girl and setting off towards them.

"Hey!" Suzie called, a smile on her face. She was evidently completely oblivious of the serious nature of the situation, a feeling which Kristy shared, and Seiko wished she could have had as she contemplated the girl not far away in the same building.

"Afternoon," Mie replied, Henry, Kazu and Suzie coming to a stop. Whilst Terriermon and Lopmon attracted some attention, being not exactly human and clearly moving around a lot for stuffed animals, the far larger form of Guardromon was drawing a few eyes in his direction. None acted upon their concerns however, the attitude in the hospital by now being simply to let any Digimon pass. It seemed unlikely that they would have any illness, if they could carry anything like that at all, and certainly it would be very unlikely to pass to any humans.

"Hey," Henry said, less enthusiastic than his sister. "Is Rika here yet?"

"Yeah, she's down the hall in her room already," Kristy answered, smiling. "But we'll go see her later."

"Uh…okay…" mumbled Henry, surprised that the shorter girl was giving him an order.

"Aw, that sucks, why not now?" Kazu complained, huffing.

"Because seeing her later is the only way you'll survive today," Terriermon quipped from Henry's shoulder, his ear clutching onto the boy's head and steadying him. A big grin, as usual, was plastered on his face.

"Terriermon!"

"Momentai! Don't deny the truth Henry!"

"Ugh…I think you'll find it's to let her settle in before she has us all crowding round…right?" he asked, looking to Kristy who nodded to confirm his suspicions.

"I can't wait to see the baby," Suzie cheered. "Babies are so adorable!"

"Yeah, I can't wait either! So cute! A little baby niece, aw…" Kristy cooed.

"Yeah, aw…you're so lucky."

Mie rolled her eyes at the two girls. "I think there's a lot of work for Rika before then," she advised, the concept bringing up her own memories of when she had had Takato, memories with one clear common denominator. _"Painful work too."_

* * *

Takato stood back, not wanting to intrude on the various women at various steps of labour as Rumiko peeked into each room, quickly ducking out when she failed to see her daughter inside. Rumiko stepped back once again, shaking her head at the boy as he frowned, looking down to his red and black partner as an idea occurred to him.

"Hey, Guilmon…can you smell Renamon or Rika anywhere around here?"

Guilmon cocked his head, before putting it to the ground and sniffing about. He paused, evidently the vast range of medical smells and cleaning playing havoc with his keenest sense, but, regardless, in the end, his bat-like ears peaked up. "This way," he said, beginning to make off down the hallway. Rumiko flashed a smile to Takato, while the boy simply breathed a sigh of relief. The pair chased after the dinosaur Digimon, ignoring the stares of bewilderment from patients and doctors walking past. They continued on along the maternity ward, before finally coming to a stop outside a particular room.

Takato paused, wandering over to the door which featured a small metal name-tag on it: **Maternity Room 29**. He peeked in, a look of relief crossing his features before he opened the door, the trio entering the room and closing the door behind them.

His eyes took a brief moment to take in the room, tracing across the very pale blue walls, the speckled floor, the array of equipment being prepared by the midwife who (as the door open) paused in her attempted conversation with the girl (to no avail) who currently lay on the centrepiece of the room: the hospital bed. Seeing her mother and fiancé, she breathed out a sigh of relief, her trepidation retreating slightly as she looked up to them. Renamon glanced up too, seeing the large red dinosaur and the grin which crossed his face upon seeing her.

"Sorry about being so late dear," Rumiko said, quickly crossing the room to her thankful daughter. "Your grandmother and Kristy arrived and we had to tell them where we'd be."

"Will she be in later?" Rika asked, recalling someone who was perhaps the most maternal of their household: Seiko Hata.

"Of course," Rumiko replied, Rika giving a light smile and looking across to Takato. Before she could speak, however, the midwife finally took her chance to do so.

"Hello, my name is Setsuko Hina. You must be her mother and the father, correct?" she said, evidently neither surprised by the age of the boy nor the age of the girl's mother. She did, however, seem to take a brief moment to place exactly where she had heard of the mother before. Her mind briefly recalled the model known as `Makino' who she had seen a passing glimpse of a photo of in a display in a shop at one point, before pushing the issue down for now for reasons of professionalism.

"Yeah," Takato replied. Setsuko nodded, her suspicions confirmed. Hearing chatter in oddly non-human voices, glanced across the room to the red dinosaur currently engaged in chatter with the taller fox who had previously oddly escaped her notice. Her old-ish and wizened eyes became unlike they had been in a long time: surprised by a pregnancy, even if the younger doctor who had served as the girl's obstetrician had noted about the Digimon before. "Uh, don't worry about him, he's harmless," the boy added.

"Hi!" said the Digimon dumbly, noticing he was being watched and raising a claw to wave.

"Hello," she greeted, her voice hesitant in how to react to this creature. Regardless, given it hadn't attacked her so far, she doubted she had anything to fear, and quickly returned to her duties. "So, are you feeling confident?" she asked Takato and Rumiko, knowing how things could be in such young pregnancies. She judged the age of the older Nonaka as the model wandered towards her, and decided that, even discounting the likelihood that she was wearing a range of age-reducing cosmetics, she had been prey to a teenage pregnancy herself. As for the boy, she could tell that he was not going to be an easy case, given how he had yet to even talk to the mother of his child yet. Was he afraid of her? Or was she afraid of him?

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Rumiko said, taking it all in her stride and recalling her own experiences as she flashed a look of reassurance to her daughter, watching events from the bed.

"And you?" the brown-haired midwife, her hair tied in a neat bun, asked Takato.

"Uh…" Takato mumbled, caught off guard by being specifically asked.

"_**Just say "yes" Takato,"**_ Chaos prompted after a periodical silence.

"…yes Takato."

Setsuko raised an eyebrow as Chaos mentally berated Takato. _**"Dumbass," **_he muttered, quickly waking up Takato and sending him into apologetic mode.

"I mean…yeah, I think so…" he said, looking over to Rika who looked split between laughing and cringing at his actions. "Are you okay?" he finally asked.

Rika frowned lightly, nodding without saying a word as Takato took a few wandering steps towards her bedside. He opened his mouth to speak some reassuring words, before realising that he didn't have any. An uncomfortable silence followed as he closed it again, turning to face the midwife and his future mother-in-law in the hope they'd break it. Unfortunately, neither came through for him at that very moment, but fortunately, Takato had a certain other family member he could rely on to help out…

The door whooshed open, Setsuko looking upon another redhead who looked oddly similar to the first. Her eyes soon traced across to a yellow creature on her shoulder, as the girl took a few steps in and froze up, her eyes looking about at the room. Indeed, they seemed to completely gaze over, more interested in the room than in its occupants.

"_This is where I was born…"_ she thought, rendered speechless by the concept as Setsuko finally spoke.

"Excuse me, do you know this girl?"

Rey continued to stare about, barely noticing the woman until her mind finally snapped onto the words she had heard. "Oh…uh…what did you say?"

"I asked…"

"She's my sister," Rika explained, pulling them out of a difficult situation, or so they thought.

"Sister? Hmm, strange, I wasn't aware you had a twin," Setsuko noted, scratching her chin and looking over the new girl again. Rey looked across to Rika, cursing her mother for forgetting that they were of very similar ages. She then pushed back the urge, recalling that Rika was under far too much stress right now to even begin to consider such comparably trivial matters.

"They're not twins; I just had them both within just over a year," Rumiko said, attempting to explain away the difficulty they had ended up in.

Setsuko nodded, knowing it was a possibility even if the act of breast feeding usually acted as a natural deterrent to such close pregnancies. "I see…so, what is your name?"

Rey paused, wishing she had more time to fabricate this story before she had to use it. _"Crap…names, names…oh, wonderful, well done Rey, great time to forget every name in exist…"_

"Ivy Nonaka," Realmon interrupted, deciding that silence would only leave their midwife more suspicious. Suspicious of what exactly was another question, but regardless, it was better that Rika's labour passed without the doubt. Rey cast a curious glance to her partner at the name, one that Realmon gave a slight nod too before bowing to the woman who would be helping Rika through the process of labour "And my name is Realmon, pleased to meet you."

"Hmm, a very anglicised name surely?" the older woman asked, irritating those in the room further with her questions.

"Angli-what?" Rey asked, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment.

"My ex-husband spent a lot of time on business overseas and, since I named Rika, it was his turn to name our second child," Rumiko explained, dearly hoping that they could finally be done with the probing questions.

"Aha, okay," Setsuko said, it being clear to everyone in the room right now that she wasn't the kind to brush things off easily.

"_Ugh, she's just like my mother…watching out for everything," _Rumiko thought, frowning lightly.

"So, will Rika and Ivy's father be here later?" the midwife asked, glancing about at those in the room as a collective frown arose.

"He left when they were young," Rumiko answered, shaking her head.

"I see," Setsuko said, nodding as she continued to build up her image of the patient's situation: an invaluable tool in ensuring the best possible care. It wasn't entirely simply because of that: she had in the past been noted many times over her fifty-odd years to be a highly curious and inquisitive person.

"So…how long is this all going to take?" Rika asked from across the room, changing the subject and her voice taking on a worried edge once again. She dearly hoped it wouldn't be an excruciatingly long and drawn out birth, and the possibility of having a caesarean was even less appealing.

"We base the progress of labour on the dilation of the cervix, and…" the brunette midwife began, pausing as Rika began taking deep breaths and gave a shiver of pain.

"Mom," she whined, this contraction stronger than all those preceding it. Hands gripping into the mattress, she watched as Rumiko and the midwife quickly rushed up to her, the former easily the best source of reassurance even if the latter was evidently a well-trained and experienced midwife.

"Just breathe…"

"Rika, trust me, you'll be fine," Rumiko said, gripping her daughter's hand tightly.

"They're going to get progressively stronger from now until the birth," Setsuko said as she inspected Rika in more detail, her words conflicting with those of the girl's mother and not helping steady her nerves. "Later I'll be able to give you an epidural, but right now you're not far enough dilated so it'd be better to avoid that course of action," she said, knowing that, even if the girl wasn't particularly listening right now, the impression of knowledge and experience she gave would help reassure her in the long term.

Rika nodded, sure enough only barely hearing the words of the medical professional. If she had, she would probably have asked for pain relief straight away at any cost, well, to an extent at least. She looked across to Takato and `Ivy', both looking like deer caught in headlights by the sight. A frown graced her face, the support she expected to get from both of them not materialising at all. Rika finally relaxed again, falling back onto the pillow with a groan.

"Mom, I don't want to do this," she complained, the harsh reality of it all already overwhelming her. If that was just an early contraction, then she didn't want to even consider how it would end.

"Just think of the baby dear," Rumiko said, before glancing across to Takato with a frown, who had only taken a few steps closer in the drama of it all. Was he that struck by surprise? _"Come on Takato, Rika really needs you right now."_

* * *

The doors once again parted, cold air brushing in from the chilled February day outside and contending with the heating system inside. Even so, the frozen spectres lashed at those unfortunate enough to be seated near the opening, as well as at the pair of humans and their accompanying creatures who stepped through. One was far larger than the other, and had to duck slightly under the opening, whilst his fellow Digimon, a small, bug-like creature, simply rode on his blue-haired partner's shoulder. Jackets graced both, a further testament to the scathing chill - a greyish coat over the boy and a pale yellow one over the female brunette.

From their positions, now seated in the coloured plastic chairs adjoined to one another about the waiting room, Seiko, Takahiro, Mie, Henry, Kazu, Suzie and Kristy all looked up. Henry was first to get to his feet, a slim frown graced his face as he recalled their phone conversation. _"How am I going to explain this one? I don't understand what's wrong with me- not even Rey could work it out. Heck, even Ryder had difficulty. I know I'm meant to tell her, but what do I say? It's not like she can say anything new that the others haven't, and I've had enough sympathy about this. I know she'll want to help, but…am I just making a big fuss about this all? Maybe this is how being `awake' feels? Maybe everything is okay? I mean," _he thought, glancing across to Kristy, her D-Vice and necklace prominently about her person but with their significance still, oddly, going unnoticed by her, evidently a part of some form of self-deception on her part as an Angel. _"Kristy hasn't even noticed yet, and I was sure she'd have awoken by now. But…with Jeri…still…it feels unfair not telling her what's bugging me when she just wants to help…she does deserve to know, doesn't she? I don't know what she could possibly be worrying about me thinking now, but I know this can't be the worst of it, if she even knows."_

"Jeri, Ken!" Kristy called, smiling as she practically leapt from her seat and wandered over to greet her fellow Tamers, clearly not lacking any energy, awoken Angel or not. Leomon was gathering a number of looks from those around them, both because of his size and inhuman form.

"Hey," Jeri said as she looked down to Rika's sister, a girl who seemed so unlike her sibling and yet so alike her in so many ways. Kazu got to his feet, he and Henry wandering closer to the newcomers as they drew closer themselves.

"Is Rika okay?" Ken asked, looking to his fellow Tamers with a concerned gaze, one he was quickly joined in by Jeri as they looked to the group. Seiko nodded as she got to her feet, gesturing down the hallway.

"Rumiko, Takato and Rey have gone to see her so I think we should give them a moment," she said. Ken nodded in agreement, and Henry wandered over and passed a mix of a frown and a smile to Jeri. A thought occurred to Henry as he recalled their phone conversation and the searching that followed, and he looked to the other blue-haired boy in the hope he could find his answer.

"Ken, you've known Ryo for a while, do you have his number at all?"

Ken looked briefly surprised by the remark, and reached for his phone, naturally turned off because they were in a hospital. "Yeah, of course, but why?"

"I couldn't get in contact with him. I've only got his mobile number, and he wasn't answering," Henry said with a concerned look.

"Oh, right. He did say once that he gets appalling reception where he lives. I've got his home number though, if you want to call him?" Ken suggested, holding up his switched-off mobile.

"Well, I was hoping you could, given you know him better."

"Sure, if you want," Ken answered, nodding in agreement. "I'll have to go outside though."

"Great friend you are Henry, sending him out into the cold," Terriermon quipped from his Tamer's shoulder. The boy frowned, going to complain about Terriermon pointing out something that as a result made him feel guilty, but being beaten to it by a certain brunette.

"Yeah, if you want someone to go and brave the cold to call the coolest Tamer around, other than me of course, then say no more," Kazu said, grinning widely.

"I thought you were done with the hero worship," Jeri asked, mentally searching for the last time the boy had shown that particular facet of his personality.

"Okay, so I'm actually really bored. I mean, come on, this place is rubbish: the TV doesn't work and it looks like it's a thousand years old, and we can't even leave this place `cause Rika could give birth at any moment. I wish I'd brought a handheld."

"So, moaning from him aside, who's going to call Ryo already?" Terriermon asked, looking to his Tamer and Ken.

"I'll go do it," Ken said, brushing aside Kazu's offer and outburst. "I'll look out for Yolei and the others while I'm there," he added, Henry nodding as his fellow blue-haired boy turned and headed back towards the entrance.

"But Ken, I'll freeze to death if I have to go out there again," Wormmon complained as the pair walked out of earshot.

"We've been through far worse in the Digital World before. I've got a jacket anyway," Ken replied, smiling at his partner and pushing down the memories of exactly when he had been in the freezing cold in the Digital World before. _"Those days back then are the last thing I want to remember, I'm past that," _he asserted, inwardly knowing he'd never forget about his time as the Digimon Emperor.

"But what about me?" Wormmon replied, Ken chuckling as they walked back out through the doors, passing Kenta and MarineAngemon on the way and briefly nodding to them.

The shorter boy wandered towards his fellow Tamers and Takato's parents as a number of girls about them in the hospital room couldn't help but think his partner was adorable. Of course, them thinking that was at Kenta's expense, but in any case he knew it was more attention than he'd otherwise be getting.

"Geez Kenta, late again," Kazu berated him as he reached them. At least this was one way he could pass the time: mocking Kenta.

"Hey Kenta," Jeri greeted in a far more friendly manner, whilst Henry nodded respectfully and Kristy waved to the small pink fairy-like creature alongside him.

"Hey guys," Kenta replied, nodding and acknowledging the sight of the various parents, grandparents and friends of the mother and father-to-be.

"Please tell me you brought a games console," Kazu continued.

"Huh? No, why would I?"

"Because I'm bored to death here!" he complained. "Henry, does that thing play games or anything?" he said, turning to face the blue-haired boy and gesturing to his D-Vice.

Henry frowned, once again reminded of his Angelhood. "No, it doesn't, sorry," he said, recalling how Ryder had added games to his. Between angst over his newfound position and the curiosity about his new green D-Vice, the idea of adapting it like Ryder's had been had oddly never occurred to him.

"Ugh…"

Noticing Henry's reaction, Jeri gently tapped him on the arm and gestured for them to stand aside. He shook his head, mouthing "later" as she gave an irritated frown, wondering what could possibly have been bothering him and why he couldn't simply tell her. She wondered if it was simply another case of him worrying himself over relatively nothing, but given all the events which had happened to him in the past six months it seemed unlikely. She made a mental note not to let up on finding out, before nodding and falling down into a chair with a slight huff as a concerned look crossed his face.

"I'm hungry too," Kazu continued to moan. "Kenta, do you have any money on you?" he asked, turning to look at his best friend as the boy tapped his wallet within his pocket.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Then we're going to the vending machines," he insisted with a grin, grabbing his friend's arm and dragging him away.

"Hey, but…I wanted to know where everyone is," Kenta complained, MarineAngemon and Guardromon following the pair with a chirp and a quiet hiss of engines respectively as they headed off down a corridor.

"There'll be plenty of time to find out once we have food," Kazu said as they vanished from earshot.

"Aw, they make a great couple," Terriermon mocked with a laugh.

"Terriermon," Henry groaned quietly, running a hand through his forehead. This was going to be a long evening, and probably night too. He glanced across to Jeri, deciding to tell her as soon as things settled down a bit more…if they ever did.

"Momentai!"

* * *

"So…" Rey finally spoke up, looking to Rika and Takato. They were her sole companions (other than the Digimon) in the room now that Rumiko (to Rika's objections) had left to go back and check up on Seiko and Kristy, and that the midwife had left to arrange various things which consisted of too many long words to stick in Rey's mind for any length of time. "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh…" was all that Rika said.

"Nice and descriptive," Realmon commented, looking aside to the boy who still had yet to truly spark up a conversation with the girl who was having his child. What was wrong with him? _"I know that Rey's father, or, at least father-to-be, isn't really renowned for courage and is known more for his fear in situations like this, but isn't this going to be the point where he finally decides to `man up' and be there for Rika and Rey?_ _Then again, it's not like this is television, but still…I thought he'd develop more than this."_

To be fair, Realmon had noticed how Rey herself wasn't that good at talking to her mother in this state either, and neither were really substituting for Rika's own mother.

"How are you feeling now?" Takato asked, trying to say anything to make it seem that he wasn't as scared as he really was. It'd all suddenly hit home, and he knew in his heart of hearts that he simply wasn't ready for it all. Regardless, his attempts not to let it show didn't work very well.

"Fantastic," Rika spat, arms crossed.

"Huh?"

"That was sarcasm Takato, and it's nice to hear your voice for a change. Christ, I was worried you'd simply do a crossword whilst I was screaming in excruciating pain and pushing a baby through my vagina!" she said, her outburst of anger deep-seated and followed by a tense silence. She continued glaring at the boy. "What the hell is wrong with you? What happened to "I'll be there for you"?"

"Uh…" Takato mumbled, not sure how to reply.

"Can you two just calm down?" Rey pleaded to her parents, not liking it when they ever fought let alone during such pivotal moments as this.

"Yeah, that's brilliant Rey, why don't we take a rational move rather than storming in here and confusing the midwives?"

"**I can't tell, is this just another mood-swing or are you really angry at us?"** Chaos asked, genuinely bewildered by Rika's sudden scathing comments about them.

"Shut it," Rika spat, before leaning back into the bed and looking at the row of instruments only just peeking into sight on the table at the other end. "I don't know," she murmured, closing her eyes sadly and crossing her arms. A hand went to her forehead, whilst worried looks crossed Rey and Takato's faces. "I'm so bloody petrified right now, and neither of you are doing anything to help," she said, a mix of fear and anger carried in her voice.

Takato stared on, shock pinning him to the spot. Had he already failed? Had Rika already lost his trust? What could he do to fix things?

"_**Takato, for crying out loud, don't just think, just do the first thing that comes into your head."**_

"_But that normally goes wrong!"_

"_**It's the thought that counts!"**_

"Listen, I think we all just need to calm down or this is just going to be more painful so…" Takato finally said, hesitating on his words as Rika gave him an inquiring look, albeit one still containing her pissed-off expression from beforehand. _"Come on Takato, this is your only chance…don't lose her, don't lose her…" _"…uh…how about a drink?"

"Excellent, call the barkeep up and get me a pint," Rika said sarcastically, glaring at him.

"Then what do you want me to do?!" Takato argued back, frustrated by how his attempt was shot down. _"So much for it being the thought that counts, Chaos."_

"_**Okay, it's 50% thought and 50% delivery of that thought that counts."**_

"Ugh…then just get me a bottle of water. It's not like they'll let me drink anything else," she grumbled, falling back into her bed. Takato went to reach out to her, but hesitated, knowing how many times that course of action so quickly had led to awry results. He shied back, turning to Rey.

"What do you want?" he asked, the girl seemingly locked in contemplation as she stared at her peeved mother.

"Oh, uh…just a lemonade or something please," she answered, Takato nodding and looking to the small fox-like Digimon on her shoulder.

"I'll just share her drink," Realmon replied, eyes quickly cast up into what to some people looked like nothing as Renamon took her concentration away from her Tamer from a moment.

"I'm fine," the Kitsune answered, looking back to Rika and wondering what she could do to make the girl calmer. This wasn't Rika being protected from a monster or a ghost: this was her being protected from herself! All she could do was make things easier for the girl, and even then it seemed there was very little she could do, or, indeed, was allowed to do. She certainly didn't want to leave her Tamer's bedside even if it would make passing messages to those down the hall easier. In any case, she also had a responsibility to her own child, even if its egg seemed to be far less needy in its hatching than Rey was in her birth.

Takato nodded in response, stepping over to Rika and gently placing his hand on her shoulder with a frown. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, the deep-seated nervousness having returned to her voice. Takato wanted to think that it was because of their argument, or because he would be leaving the room, but something told him that things were not so clear-cut as he turned around and gestured for Guilmon to follow him.

Rika watched them leave, a frown seemingly permanently etched onto her fact as she sighed deeply, cursing herself for taking out her irritation and pain on him. _"Was I too hard on him? He's as scared as I am, isn't he? I guess…I guess I just wanted one of us to have our heads on the right way round during all this, even if it wasn't me."_

"_**Rika…it'll be fine."**_

"_Harmony, it doesn't matter how many times you or mum or the midwife or anyone says that, it's still going to be a lot of pain and I don't think I'll be able to bear it."_

"_**We've been through a lot of pain in the past."**_

"_Yeah, but that was in battles. This is constant and coming from an already painful area. I mean, I've been having these contractions for a week or so now: it's not like breaking an unbroken leg. It just makes things worse and worse and more painful and I wish there was a drug the nurses could give me that made it oh so easy but from everything I've seen and my mother has told me I doubt it exists."_

"_**Rika, trust me. It will be fine."**_

"_Can't you reduce the pain or something Harmony?"_

"_**I'm afraid not. This isn't a physical injury, there's nothing to cure and no hormones or chemical beyond the dozens of ones already mixed up in your bloodstream and nerves to lighten the pain."**_

"_Then…how long will this take?"_

"_**It can be anything from an hour to a day."**_

"_Crap."_

"Rika, are you okay?" Rey finally spoke up, interrupting Rika's mental conversation with her alter-ego.

"Of course not…" Rika began, quietening her voice as she saw Setsuko return to the room and flash a smile across to her as she, almost uncaringly, continued her work. Was she that sure that it was so early in the labour that she didn't need to pay very attention in every possible second to her patient? Or did she think her relatives were doing an adequate job in that respect? Either way, she wasn't too sure, but right now, she wasn't exactly fond of the idea that it was a form of `tough love'. "I'm giving birth to you in a few hours," Rika said in hushed tones.

"I'm sure you can cope, Rika," Rey whispered back.

"Well duh, I don't exactly have a choice in the matter even if I don't want to do it," Rika complained, before sighing deeply. "Listen, I'm not angry at you, sorry. I'm just angry…period."

"Oh, okay," was all that Rey could think of to say in reply, before she cursed herself for not being more coherent and helpful at such a difficult moment. "Listen, about the few hours thing…this isn't right."

"Yeah, I know. That's one of the things that's worrying me. I always thought everything would go well because, well, I've got you here to prove it, but…if you've changed things, then they can change more and more and everything can go wrong. What if you have changed Destiny? What happens if there are…complications?"

"I don't know."

"Ugh…all of this is just getting on…" Rika began, before groaning in pain again and leaning her top half up again to place her hand on the offending area, Setsuko wandering promptly across the room again and demonstrating clearly that she wasn't being as absent to affairs as she seemed.

"Okay Rika, just breathe, breathe…Ivy, talk to her," she said, looking up to the other redhead who took a short time to even respond to her own name. Setsuko frowned, she could tell something was odd here, but how did she ask? And was it even any of her business? She hated being left out of things, however, particularly given the vast range of other interesting births and the stories around them she had experienced in her time in her chosen profession.

Rey froze up, even after she realised she was being asked to do something. She stared at Rika, her mother casting but a brief glance of longing towards her for reassurance but the girl being unable to provide it as she clenched her eyes tight, hoping the reality would go away.

It refused to do so though, coming back to tell her that she was alone here. Even Takato and Rumiko had gone. And now here she was, being asked by a midwife who didn't even know her real name to reassure her own mother as she went through one of the painful contractions that were nothing compared to the eventual horror of birth.

Or, more concisely… _"Aw crap!"_

* * *

"Mom!" Kristy cheered, her enthusiasm still not dwindling as she smiled at the sight of Rumiko. "Can we go see her now?" she asked, Seiko getting to her feet and looking to her daughter with a concerned look.

"I think she still needs a bit longer to settle in first," Rumiko told her, recalling the girl's expression during her visits and her on-edge state. Whilst she was sure some familiarity would be nice for Rika, she doubted that she would entirely be welcoming to a huge barrage of people coming to visit and asking questions. The midwife had also seemed rather uneasy about their group already, and it didn't seem worth making the situation worse just yet.

"Aw…"

"How is she?" Seiko asked, Takato's parents getting to their feet and joining the conversation with similarly concerned faces.

"She's in a lot of pain but I think she'll be fine," Rumiko explained, frowning.

"How long do they expect it'll take?" Mie asked.

"The midwife says that it's still at an early stage, so I think it'll take a while."

"Poor Rika," Kristy said, looking up with a now-saddened expression at the parents.

"How is Takato doing?" Takahiro asked, knowing that the boy could easily have been hit by `dad-shock' when he got there.

"He's…quiet," said Rumiko, before a small smile of promise appeared on her face. "But I think he'll manage in the end. It's all a bit much for him now."

"I'm sure he'll cope," Mie said, a smile on her face about her son. "I've seen him do lots of other difficult things after all."

Rumiko nodded, smiling before gesturing towards the exit. "In any case, I have to go move my car before I get a huge fine," she noted, Seiko nodding and chuckling as her daughter wandered across the room, past the other Tamers, to the exit.

As she reached the doors, she nodded in acknowledgement to a large party of newcomers she passed, all very familiar to her thanks to them being Tamers.

"Finally," Tai said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going to freeze to death out there."

"What happened to being the holder of Courage?" Matt jibed, a grin on his face.

"Whatever, I just want to watch the game," Tai replied, looking towards the television. "Don't want to miss your resounding defeat after all."

"You wish."

"Okay, enough of the sports," Mimi huffed, speaking for all of them who were sick to death of all the banter on the way there.

"Yeah Tai, we're here to see Rika," Kari added, looking up to her brother with a stern expression he was sure she had got from their mother.

"Okay," he sighed, frowning and looking across to their fellow Tamers. Oddly, there were less than they expected - only Henry, Jeri, Suzie and Kristy seemed to be scattered about on the seats, Leomon taking up nearly two seats nearby. Had the others gone to see Rika? Or was everyone just not here yet? Given their subway journey, it seemed unlikely that no-one else could've arrived yet.

"Hey," Takeru called to them, the four Tamers smiling and Suzie waving back.

"Hey guys," Henry greeted, nodding to the rather large group, consisting of Tai, Sora, Matt, Mimi, Joe, Izzy, Takeru, Kari, and all of their partners. In other words… "Haven't seen you guys together in a big group like this since the TV show," he added, noting with a smile the fact these were the original eight Digidestined.

Takeru took a glance back, it quickly dawning on him what the boy was referring to. "Wow," Patamon noted from his shoulder, the thought oddly never having occurred to any of them. "It's just like old times."

"Yeah: Tai and Matt are still acting like idiots," Mimi added, glaring towards them. Jeri raised an eyebrow in curiosity: what was going on?

"Come on Mimi, what would you do if you were missing a…uh…fashion…show?" Matt asked, messing his words as he tried to think of something Mimi wouldn't want to miss.

"Friends and family come first - I thought you'd realise that most of all Mr. Keeper of Friendship," Mimi replied, looking down on the two as they continued to act like children.

"Yeah, well, we're here now so let's put the game on," Tai said with a grin, looking towards the television on a rack in the corner and wandering towards it as Mimi rolled her eyes. Matt followed, as Tai reached up and pressed the button to switch it on.

And pressed it again.

And again.

"What's wrong Tai?" Agumon asked, looking up with a curious expression as Tai continued to jab the power button.

"This stupid thing isn't working," he complained, a look of disappointment sweeping across Matt's face. "Let's see," he continued, pausing and looking over it. "Now just to," he began, drawing his hand away and preparing to slam the side of the box with it.

"Tai, don't do that!" Joe called, a look of worry on his face. "It's the hospital's television, you'll break it!"

Tai turned, grinning. "No, I'll fix it Joe. I've fixed plenty of things this way," he added, reaching to hit it again.

"Yeah, like my laptop," Izzy noted sarcastically, Tai pausing and frowning as he mentally conflicted with himself. He finally sighed and took a step back, admitting defeat.

"Fine," he groaned, looking across to Matt. "But what do we do then? I don't want to miss this. I've been waiting to see his team's defeat for ages."

Matt brushed aside the comment on his team, glancing to the hallways. "There's got to be another television in this place somewhere."

"Yeah, they have those ones for the patients to watch," Gabumon added, Tai nodding and grinning before Gomamon quickly stole his excitement.

"They're not going to just have a television lying around for you to watch you know?"

"Yeah, the ones they do have will be for the patients," Joe added, his voice of reason still not resonating with the former leader and the lone wolf of the group.

"Simple: we can just fake cough and they won't be able to tell the difference," Tai suggested, grinning.

"Tai, you'll just end up catching a real disease if you're not careful," Kari complained, rolling her eyes at her brother.

"Would it kill you to be social?" Gatomon asked, nodding from her Tamer's head.

"Heh," Matt laughed, slapping his hand on Tai's shoulder as both of them grinned together. "Nothing could be more social than watching the game together," he said, eliciting nothing but groans from the group around them.

* * *

With a rumble and a clunk, the bottle of mineral water landed in the tray at the bottom of the vending machine. A hand reached in to scoop it out, before a frown passed over the face of its new owner. Tiny bubbles gently rose every so often to the top of the bottle, a supposed sign of the `goodness' contained within what in reality probably had no actual benefits over stuff from the tap. _"Besides the fact that it has a nicer bottle."_

"_**Yeah, but the rest is total nonsense. I worked in one of those factories once and spat in a bottle of a test sample. They said it tasted better. QED."**_

"_Ugh, I never know whether to take you seriously. And what does QED mean anyway?" _Takato asked as he held the bottle by the neck, two cans of soda already in his pockets.

"_**Quod erat demonstrandum."**_

"_Uh..."_

"_**That which I set out to prove."**_

"_Then w...?"_

"_**It sounds smarter than `ha, I proved my point'," **_Chaos explained with a slight huff. _**"Now, can we get off this bullshit and go onto the real subject here?"**_

"_What's that?"_

"_**That you have fewer balls than I thought."**_

"_What?__!"_

"_**Jesus, you've faced huge red blobs, crystalline things which think they're God, Demons and, most amazingly of all, Rika, both in and out of the bedroom…and yet **_**this**_** is what makes you wet your pants? Okay, I know that everything makes you wet your pants, but for crying out loud can you cut the angsty emotional crap just for once?"**_

"_But I'm scare…"_

"_**So's she!**__** So just grow some balls, go in there, and scream like a man when she grips your hand so tight our fingers turn purp…wait…why am I telling you to do this? I hate when she does that! Quick, Takato, go in that room over there and jump out the window. Hurry! There isn't much time!!!"**_

"_No, I can't just leave her."_

"_**Crap. But if you don't want to leave her, and you're too scared to be with her, what the hell are you going to do? Spend the rest of your life standing by this machine with a bottle of mineral water in your hand? Geez, that's almost as boring an incarnation as when I was a hermit once."**_

"_No, I want to…but…it's a kid…"_

"_**So? You've met kids before, haven't you? You're still alive."**_

"_Yeah, but, I didn't have to change the nappies of those kids. And, plus, I was simply entertaining those kids: I didn't have to look after them endlessly. I don't really see my distant cousins that often anyway, well, other than Kai and he's a direct cousin."_

"_**Well, you're lucky really, because you'll be able to keep that distance."**_

"_Huh…oh…yeah…I know, but…I'd feel wrong. And, even if Rey does have to stay at Rika's, that doesn't mean I don't want to do my share of helping. I'm more worried about my parents really: what if I end up spending more time at Rika's house than I do at mine?"_

"_**Then they'll disown you."**_

"_Really? I don't think…"_

"_**Takato, are you really stupid enough to even believe something like that? Of course they won't disown you, they're not idiots. They know how much you'll be going through, and if anything they'll help."**_

"_This is almost helpful."_

"_**The longer I talk, the more likely Rika will give birth before you get back, and the less pain I suffer."**_

"_Oh."_

"_**Hey, I'm doing this for your sake too. For God's sake think of your hand! What will you do without it? You won't be able to change a nappy, you won't be able to make bread, you won't be able to…"**_

"_These all sound like good outcomes."_

"_**Fine, fine, but what about…hmm…say…in sex?"**_

Takato turned a tinge of red, his alter-ego continuing his habit of bringing up subjects to make him nervous. _"Shut up," _he thought in a mumbled tone, before his conversation was interrupted by something nudging that very same hand.

"Takato, are you okay?" Guilmon asked, gently pressing his snout against his Tamer. "You went all quiet and all."

"Yeah…just talking with Chaos, that's all."

"Okay. Are we going back to see Rika and Renamon now?" he added, Takato giving a slight frown as he stared into his partner's cheerful innocent golden eyes and remembered the other half of this equation: Realmon.

"_How's Guilmon going to be a father? As much as he's learnt, he still acts a lot like a kid himself."_

"_**Isn't that, you know, what Dads are for?"**_

"_Huh?"_

"_**Being fun."**_

"_Oh, yeah, I guess, but…I don't know, I just thought this'd be affecting him more than it does."_

"_**Guilmon doesn't think about stuff like that. As dumb as he can be, he just seems to take things as they come**__**, and he does well for it."**_

"_I wish I were like that," _Takato contemplated, before both he and Guilmon, still awaiting his answer, were called from down the hallway.

"Takato," greeted the voice, interrupting the boy's thoughts and making him turn to face the older woman: Dr Fumiko Imai. Her blue hair as always was left loose but cut relatively short at her shoulders, a must for anyone working in such a hygienic setting. A large white coat flowed over a pair of blue scrubs, and a welcoming smile as always was held on her middle-aged face, one seemingly carrying just as much if not more wisdom than the older Mrs Hina who was Rika's midwife.

"_At least she asks fewer questions," _Takato mused, a smile reaching his lips as he recognised her. "Hey," he replied, waving the hand with the mineral water in it.

"On the drinks run, eh? I'm guessing the water is for Rika, right?"

"Yeah, although I'm not really sure why I got it. The midwife would probably get her some anyway."

"I think Rika just wants the familiarity and control really to help her ease her nerves. Speaking of which, how are you feeling?"

"Uh…terrified?" Takato replied, noting how this was one of the rare occasions where he and Rika's doctor had talked alone. Certainly, it was the first time he had had any sizeable conversation with her, and for that reason it almost felt like talking to a once close friend who one had not seen in a while, or someone else's mother, or perhaps even the ex of a best friend. Minding every word one says, trying to find common conversation, and of course, the general feeling of nervousness that comes from having nothing but a single thing in common (that one is aware of).

Fumiko gave a light chuckle, her slim smile not leaving her lips. "Don't worry Takato, that's completely normal. We call it `Dad Shock'."

"'Dad Shock'?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately, in the way the health system works, with pregnancies we concentrate far too much on the mother and usually forget the father. I like to try to reverse that trend but given how Rika is so…dominant in most discussions between us, I haven't had much chance to talk to you."

Takato, of course, knew that wasn't the whole of the truth. Rika was dominant, sure, but Takato had also been avoiding talking during their many appointments whenever he could, primarily because he was worried that at any moment the doctor would turn around and point the finger of blame right in his direction. Given what he knew of Dr Imai, he doubted she would ever even consider doing such a thing, but the way the rooms were all laid out to cater to women and containing items which made him uncomfortable hadn't exactly done much to dissuade the perpetual feeling. But, here they were, alone and talking, as the seconds to the birth ticked away, but whatever he tried to do that feeling never went astray. "Yeah," he mumbled, once again not being very talkative. She gave a light frown, looking across to his still-enthusiastic partner.

"Guilmon, are you looking forward to your child?"

"Yeah," Guilmon said cheerfully. "We'll play games all the time, and I can show her Guilmon bread. Or we could make some shaped like her!"

Takato gave a slim smile, Guilmon's plans for what he would do with his daughter cheering him up somewhat. _"Not a selfish bone, or, lump of data I mean, in Guilmon's body," _he mused, remembering how Guilmon never hoarded his bread all to himself.

"Looks like you've already decided what gender she'll be then. Don't be disappointed if it goes the other way, okay?"

Guilmon looked confused and turned to Takato. "Takato, I don't get it, why would Rejimon be a boy?"

Takato flushed red, knowing that the doctor still didn't know the full details of their situation. "Uh…never mind," he said, dismissing the point.

"Hmm," Dr Imai mumbled, not really understanding what was going on here but adding it to the large pile of evidence for `something strange going on' rather than raising the point right now. "In any case, you both will have to be prepared. Caring for a child is a big responsibility, both for mother and father."

"Yeah, I know but…I'm…"

"Worried you're not up to it?"

"Yeah…I mean, I couldn't even really talk to Rika in there, let alone help her out. I'm so scared that I'm worried I'm going to make a run for it."

"But you haven't Takato, and I know you won't. You're just like everyone else: worried and feeling like everything is going too fast. I've seen it so many times and I've helped so many people, so you just have to believe me when I tell you that it's all going to be alright."

"Yeah, lots of people have told me that."

"Maybe that's proof you should believe them then?"

"Yeah, but…we're…different. Rika and I, you can't say we're like every other couple you have to help."

"I've dealt with plenty of teenage pregnancies before Takato - I've seen most things."

"Yeah, but…"

"And I've dealt with far worse cases than this of the father lacking confidence. One guy almost jumped off the roof until we managed to coax him down. As I said, it's our own fault for being blind to the father's side of things. I can't see you ever going that far though."

"Yeah, but…I'm meant to be helping her out right now, and I've really just come here to get this soda to escape. I'm useless."

"You're trying to help Takato, even when you don't feel you can do so directly. I wouldn't call that useless."

"When I suggested coming here, I forgot that she couldn't really drink anything, and she yelled at me, and I feel…"

"Guilty? Takato, seriously, she's just stressed. Heck, she's about to push a human out of her. Wouldn't you be?"

"Yeah, but…I don't think she'd get that angry over just a simple drink. She's angry at me for not doing anything…she said it too…"

* * *

"That was sarcasm Takato, and it's nice to hear your voice for a change. Christ, I was worried you'd simply do a crossword whilst I was screaming in excruciating pain and pushing a baby through my vagina!"

* * *

"…she criticised me for being unhelpful and quiet. I feel crap: I made her angry by doing nothing," he said, frowning and dipping his head to look down to the speckled floor. Dr Imai frowned, glancing quickly at her watch and realising she couldn't spend too long with either of them, be it here helping Takato or there helping Rika. She reached out, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, albeit his height was equal to hers thanks to the exorbitant rate with which teenage boys grew.

"Listen…Takato, let's go see her. I was on my way anyway, and I haven't got too long. With me there, she'll feel a lot more relaxed, trust me, and then you two can talk, okay?"

"…okay," Takato mumbled, the woman noting how uncertain he still was. She put out her hand, the boy glancing to it and taking it, almost like a depressed small child. They began to walk back towards the ward, Guilmon following in their wake.

Takato frowned, words said not too long ago echoing once again in his mind…

* * *

"Yeah, okay, I did mean that…but…what do we do?" Takato asked, peeved by not getting an answer yet.

Rumiko gave a smile, one slightly unnerving for the boy as she gave an inconvenient truth. Her hand landed on his shoulder as she looked into his eyes. "You grow up," she answered.

* * *

"_How?"_ he wondered, as they turned a corner.

* * *

The plastic chair was nothing compared to the boy's usual computer chair or their apartment's comfy sofa's, but unfortunately it would have to suffice right now, as would his lap in lieu of a desk as he planted his laptop on it and opened up the lid. He gave a slight smile at the familiar Pineapple logo as the system booted up, and he tapped in the password, granting him access to his whole world. Well, almost.

A head crept over his shoulder, a big grin on its face. "Oh Izzy," Tai said, a disturbingly cheery tone to his voice. "Could we watch the game on there?"

Izzy frowned, looking up and gesturing to his screen, a program of computer code open that was gradually being added to by the studious boy. "Sorry Tai, but I'm busy working on an assignment that my Computer Programming Tutor set me."

"Oh come on, what happened to having fun and spending your time socialising?"

"I decided to make most effective use of the amount of time I have now."

"Yeah, and I was going to do that by watching the game."

"Ugh…" Izzy groaned, Tai still clearly interested in using his laptop to his own gains. "I'm busy using it Tai, and, in any case, do you know how much using a place like this' Wi-Fi costs?"

"A lot? But, I'll pay!"

"With the amount of data watching it online would cost, if we could find a source that is, I really do doubt you could given we're all cash strapped students. And most of the things online which provide it are insanely expensive."

"Ugh, fine. But could we check up the score later?"

A curious expression crossed Izzy's face as he turned to look at his friend. "I thought the whole point was that you want to see the game to see how the score develops."

"Hehe, wrong there Izzy, the whole point of this is working out whose team is better," Tai laughed, Matt giving a smirk and walking up to him with another competitive jibe.

"So it's pointless then?"

"For you," Tai replied, Izzy simply groaning at how absurdly competitive they had become over this particular game.

"_That's why I don't follow sport__s," _he thought, taking a brief glance up across the room to see a tall brunette and a shorter boy returning, the latter looking rather disgruntled and holding a number of candy bars and the former looking enthusiastic and eager. Following behind them clanked a robot and on the shorter one's shoulder sat a small pink fairy.

"Hey guys," Kazu greeted, waving to those who had arrived while they had been away by the vending machines. Tai gave a grin, hoping that he and Matt would no longer be alone in being obsessed about the game. Kazu seemed far more like the type to be a baseball supporter, and, he hoped, a supporter for his team too.

"Hey," he called back, nodding to the younger Tamer and getting to his feet. Jeri raised an eyebrow at Kenta's considerable amount of confectionary as she gestured towards it.

"How much did you buy?!" she asked. Leomon likewise looked across to the pile and mirrored his Tamer in expression, even if his appetite was somewhat lured by the sight, a product of perhaps eating too much usually when in his rookie form.

"Enough for all of us," Kazu said, grinning from ear to ear and grasping one of the chocolate bars from the pile. He threw it to Jeri, who was caught completely off-guard by the projectile. Thankfully for her, Leomon wasn't, quickly grabbing it and passing it down as thanks were uttered. Kazu threw a few more packets to the group, similar calls of gratefulness passing over them as he continued to grin. "That's just how generous I am."

"Yeah, out of _my_ money," Kenta moaned, the lightening of the difficult-to-carry load barely outweighing the expense and ingratitude that Kazu had weighed on him.

"It's charity," his best friend replied, completely unaffected by the other boy's complaint. Kenta simply groaned in irritation, as Tai wandered up to them with Agumon, as always, in tow.

"Hey, do either of you support the Swallows? Or, you know, the other guys, the Giants," he asked, as always fishing for support for his team and practically whispering the name of the opposition.

Kazu narrowed an eye, giving an incredulous look to the older Tamer he usually had a great deal of respect for. "Are you kidding?! Both of those teams suck. The only reason anyone's interested in today's game is because it's two teams from the same city playing and so there's a bunch of stupid rivalries," he said. Tai glanced to Matt and dismissed Kazu's point. This wasn't just some stupid rivalry, it was life! Or rather, it was baseball, and right now, it felt like the same thing to Tai. "It's only a friendly anyway, no need to get so hyped up about it."

"So you're not up for watching it if we can find a TV?"

"Ugh, count me out. I'd rather stay here and bore myself to death."

"Uh, okay…what about you Kenta?" Tai asked, giving up on the louder of the two boys and hoping he could at least foster some support from Kazu's `cheerleader'.

Kenta simply shrugged, shaking his head. "Sorry Tai, I'm not really interested in baseball. I don't even know what you two were just talking about."

"Ugh, fine. Thanks anyway," Tai groaned, turning and wandering back towards Matt sitting in a seat across the room, a defeated look printed on the Gogglehead's face. Matt barely looked surprised, having pretty much already given up himself. Tai sighed deeply as he fell down in the seat, groaning. "I give up."

"Heh, join the club," Matt replied, frowning. "As much as it pains me to say it, I think Kazu's right about this being stupid. I mean, maybe when the season is on and it actually makes a difference, but right now does it matter at all?"

"I guess not." The brunette sighed and looked back to his friend. "I'd still like to find out the result later on though."

"Then we'll ask Izzy then, it can't be too expensive just for a little bit online."

"Anyway, I guess that means we're bored to death for the next few hours. What are we meant to do to pass the time?" Tai sighed, looking about the room at the groups of people sitting around as Matt did likewise. Suzie, Kristy, Henry and Jeri had settled into a conversation, as had Seiko and Takato's parents who were also talking to Joe about how this was relevant to his degree. Mimi and Sora chatted, whilst Izzy continued to type away near them, absorbed into his own world. Finally, their siblings, Kari and Takeru, were chatting, both them and their partners evidently making themselves comfortable for a long stay as Patamon almost looked fit to go to sleep on one of the seats.

"So, have you talked to your sister much lately?" he asked, recalling the reason why Kari and Takeru had come to visit them at their apartment.

"Well, a bit, but you know what it's like with family members. You try to chat online, but you can never think of anything to say," Tai said back, Matt giving a slight nod and a slim frown.

"Yeah, same. I mean, I should have got used to talking to him on the phone or online given, you know, our parents and all, but I always get so busy in my life, and he's busy too. And great, now I feel guilty for that."

"I'm sure he understands."

"Of course he does, it's Takeru; he probably feels just as guilty as me," Matt said, a grim chuckle transpiring on his lips. "Still, I get the feeling lately whenever I do see him that something's bugging him."

"Do you two talk to each other a lot about your secrets?"

"Never. I guess we're just not that close, you know?"

"Nah, Kari and I never share that much but we're close siblings. You two need to stop being so hard on yourselves, sure you live apart but hell, so do Kari and I now. Hehe, it makes life easier at times without having family members around to bug you all the time but sometimes I really just miss sitting down to my mother's latest experiment at cooking."

"Is her cooking really still that bad?"

"No, she's had enough practice that it's usually actually pretty good. Only, I'm always worried the next dish will be the one which kills me…she does the strangest combinations of food."

"If you die, I get all your stuff," Matt darkly quipped, Tai chuckling and shaking his head. He gestured down to his partner.

"Agumon's first."

"Thanks Tai," Agumon replied, smiling across his large maw and teeth.

"To be fair though buddy, my stuff is rubbish," Tai added, flashing a grin to the Digimon as Matt chuckled.

"Join the club," he laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Do I get your stuff if you die Matt?" Gabumon asked, Matt giving him an incredulous look.

"What's all this talk about us guys dying? Come on, give us a chance."

"Sorry Matt," Gabumon apologised, his Tamer chuckling as the two humans and two Digimon each appreciated the rather dark humour that was now bouncing about.

"God this is bleak," Tai complained, leaning back in his seat. "I can't believe we're even considering this."

"Yeah, particularly given that we're here for a celebration of new life," said Matt, nodding in agreement. "So, how has your International Politics essay been going?"

"Not well. Seriously, sometimes I wish there were just two countries, at least then it'd be a lot easier to remember."

"Or if we all were friendly with each other."

"How is Economics?"

"Ugh, it's depressing talking about what happened in 2008 and 2009. I thought all that recession stuff was meant to be like thirty years ago, not three."

"I still don't get why you took that subject, you never liked Math."

"Yeah, but I understand it, and it sounds like a good degree for a CV. Plus, it's sort of fun, particularly once you get the hang of having so many names, diagrams and ratios, and better still, the dissertation doesn't have to be all words which I suck at."

"Ugh, if I had a lot of maths in mine, I think I'd have to get Izzy to check it all over…or do it all for me."

"What do you prefer in International Politics then?"

"Noting how everything is really screwed up and wondering how the Digimon fit into everything."

"Yeah…I hope that the governments see they're not dangerous so long as you're friendly with them," Matt replied, patting the fur on his partner's head.

"It's not like we're less war-like," Tai said, frowning. "This subject gives such a bleak view of the world."

"I see."

"Hey, is your band still going through troubles?" the former Gogglehead asked, hoping to change the subject to something more positive but unfortunately not picking the wisest of subjects.

"Personally, I don't think we'll last the month. Now we're all at University, we just don't have the time or the money to meet up, and Yoshirou and I have argued so much about what our band should be doing that I don't think we even want to be a band anymore."

"That sucks."

"To be honest Tai, it just isn't fun anymore. Back when we were fighting Arukenimon and Mummymon, we were young enough and new enough to it all that we could just play and even get some pretty big gigs thanks to my dad's involvement in the media business, but now it's different. People are dying now Tai, and I don't think we can keep treating this as some game."

"So much for being the clear-cut good guys. My course has taught me that there's no such thing. I guess it's a better view of the world, but I loved it when things were so much simpler."

Matt nodded wholeheartedly in agreement. "Yeah. No Demons, no Chaos and Harmony, no politics, just File Island and an evil monster ruling over it. Never thought I'd reminisce on that, but it was fun. To be honest, being able to just have fun like when we were kids is why I wanted to watch the game with you guys, even if we'd argue. It's the one thing where I know who I support these days."

"Yeah," Tai said, nodding. "Plus, you wanted to see your epic defeat," he said with his tongue firmly in cheek.

"Oh ha, ha."

Meanwhile, across the room on another set of chairs, and in stark contrast to their siblings, Takeru and Kari were actually talking about affairs relevant to why they were all there to start with. Gatomon and Patamon had taken up a pair of seats for themselves too, the waiting room thankfully not too busy and the Digimon meaning that most people left them well alone, be it out of fear or out of respect. Right now, it suited them just fine but, as the teenager's siblings were discussing at the same time, in the future it could prove to be a major issue.

"It's strange: today feels so normal even when it's going to be so important in so many people's lives," Takeru noted, glancing about at the dull waiting room and its multitude of patients at various levels of illness.

"What did you expect - everything to be shining and everyone to be smiling?" Gatomon asked cynically.

"Heh, true," Takeru chuckled, looking to Kari who nodded next to him. He cast his eyes across to the other Tamers in the room, currently all chatting and trying to find the best ways of passing the unknown number of hours still to pass. Not everyone had arrived yet, either, but given the distances involved for a lot of them and the sudden nature of the alert, it wasn't really a surprise.

"I just hope Rika is okay," Kari sighed, frowning. "She must be so worried right now."

Takeru gave a smile despite the adversity they were talking about, and looked to Kari, who listened carefully to his words as, like everyone in the room, they dithered on the line between optimism and pessimism. "I know, but I'm sure when she sees the baby she'll be happy. My mother always told me that the best moment of her life was when she first held me in her arms."

"What about your brother?" Patamon asked.

"Him too," Takeru quickly added, looking back to Kari as a smile returned to her face, a thankful sight for the boy for more reasons than one. He stared at it periodically, before forcing himself to pay attention again to what she was saying.

"…how cute they are," Kari finished her sentence. "I don't think Rika will say that though, even if she thinks it."

Takeru nodded, filling in a good guess of how her sentence had started in his head and mentally berating himself for ignoring her to once again think about _that_. "It's going to be weird for Rey seeing herself."

"So long as she doesn't touch herself, she'll be fine in the end I'm sure. We don't want _another_ Sleipmon incident."

"You know, I don't really know what happened with all that."

"Well, I don't really know the details either, and I get the impression even Ryder is guessing with a lot of it, but…basically…when we fought the Royal Knight Sleipmon in New York, it turned out that he was the same Digimon as the Kudamon we know, only having time travelled at some point. When they attacked each other, there was this big burst of energy and it caused a lot of damage. They ended up as one Sleipmon thanks to it all, and Kristy's digivice was destroyed. Kristy had to put herself in danger to stop him…"

"Reminds me of the old days," Takeru reminisced.

"Yeah, well, somehow she grabbed an arrow of his out of thin air and made her D-Vice from it, and then, she just…vanished. I remember the look on Mari's face: she was so scared - we all were - we thought we'd lost Rika's sister when she was depending on us to keep her safe. But then, it turned out that she had joined Sleipmon in the biomerge and stopped him, thankfully for us actually since we didn't want to fight him. We hated the idea of fighting a friend," she said, a frown deepening further on her face as she said it and noted the irony of recent events.

"Seems like you guys had as rough a time as we did here in Tokyo still."

"Yeah, the Royal Knights were just plain evil," Kari asserted, recalling the endless assaults they had taken on them supposedly to impose the will of their `Lord' Yggdrasil. Couldn't they see the wrong of their own ways?

Takeru frowned, not sure whether he wanted to see them as simply clear-cut evil, particularly given how some of them had apparently turned to their side when they realised what was going on. Of course, it was too late by then, and they themselves had paid the price. But, he knew that, particularly for Kari given her Crest and her past experiences with that side of the spectrum, it always seemed simpler just to think of things in black and white, darkness and light, good and evil. Part of him wanted to call her out on it - after all, they had had plenty of discussions as a group on such subjects in the past with little holding back of opinions - but the other part of him held him back; that part, of course, being infatuation, something which unfortunately had the unique power to cause anyone blighted by it to accept every word said by the object of affection as gospel. Takeru simply cursed himself again for thinking that way and letting it get a hold of him.

"You okay Takeru?" Kari asked, noticing Takeru's hesitancy to reply and frowns.

"Never mind," he replied, shaking his head dismissively. He didn't want to talk about that with her, at least not yet. _"Will there ever be a good time to talk about it though?"_

Evidently, now was not the time, as the automatic doors once again shunted apart and let four newcomers into the room: once again two Digimon and two humans. One of the Digimon was reptilian, the other more avian, and they were followed by a dark brown haired and a purple haired boy and girl respectively, all eager to find out about how their friend was. Kari gave a smile upon seeing the pair, before taking an uneasy glance back to Takeru to analyse his expression, one which looked slightly pessimistic at first but not enough so to make it worth asking about. She gave a quiet sigh, standing up and wandering across to one of the newcomers with a smile, one quickly returned.

"Hey," Davis greeted, waving to the large amount of people amassed in the waiting room who uttered greetings back to both him and the girl next to him. Takeru stood up, following Kari across to Davis and pausing in his tracks as the couple met lips in a kiss, looking briefly (although, for Takeru, it seemed like a lifetime) into each other's eyes before returning to normal again, Davis' hand ending up around the girl's back.

"Oh get a room," Yolei complained, a slight huff to her words as she shivered from the cold, a problem slowly being remedied by the overhead heating in the waiting room. Kari simply gave a light smile, while Davis huffed.

"You've done worse with Ken in front of all of us," he complained. Yolei glared at him for the remark. Naturally, fate elected that moment to, rather appropriately, have that particular person return. The doors swept aside as Ken dropped the phone into his pocket, Henry getting to his feet out of curiosity and looking across to the boy with Wormmon on his shoulder.

"So, is he on his way?" he asked, Ken nodding in reply.

"Yeah, but he'll be a while still. Hopefully he'll be here before Rika gives birth," Ken explained, it being Henry's turn to nod.

"He usually turns up just in time anyway," Terriermon noted, Henry nodding and returning to his seat, glad that at least he could take one weight off his heavily laden mind.

Ken nodded in agreement, albeit having a slight niggle of doubt in his mind that Ryo would use his partner after having detected some hesitancy about the dragon as of late when it came to the boy's transport decisions. He decided to inquire further into it before turning to face Yolei as she wandered up to him. A smile crossed their faces before they met their lips in a deep kiss, Davis rolling his eyes.

"Yeuuugh…" Veemon complained, imitating a gag reflex.

"See, my point proven," he insisted, gesturing across to them.

"Are you saying it's a bad thing Davis?" Kari asked, the question a trap for the boy and one that he'd knew he'd have to be a hypocrite to answer. Of course, that had never stopped him before.

"Only when it's not me doing the kissing," he said brashly, a daft grin on his face which the girl couldn't help but smile at, even whilst shaking her head in disbelief.

"You really think you're the best kisser in the world?"

"No, it's not that. I just don't have to watch myself kissing."

"Ah."

Takeru quietly sighed as he watched. He couldn't help but escape the feeling that he was rather suddenly being left out of proceedings as the two couples greeted each other, a reminder that only he and Cody were single in their group of `New Digidestined'. Doubtless, thanks to the age-old law of Sod, Cody would find someone before he did, even with the brunette being 13 and only just beginning to enter the thick of that chaotic period in a person's life called puberty.

Patamon, hearing his Tamer's exhaling as he flapped towards the blonde, flew down in front of his face with a concerned expression. "You okay Takeru?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the boy replied, scratching his forehead under his hat as an excuse to divert his gaze. "Listen, I think Cody's taking a bit too long, I think I should go call him and find out what's the hold up," he said, recalling how the failure of their internal communications Chiyo incident had led a great number of them to invest in a cell phone, their D-Terminals and D-Vices evidently not as reliable as they thought.

"Okay Takeru," Patamon replied, easily able to tell that the boy was trying to find a way out of his present situation. After all, one didn't spend virtually every day with one's Tamer and not turn their reactions into a fine and well-learnt art.

The boy wandered across to his fellow `New Digidestined', barely making eye contact with them as he explained where he was going. "I'm going to go call Cody and see where he is," he explained, receiving nods from Yolei and Davis and a concerned gaze coupled with a deep frown from Kari, experience, friendship, and a vast amount of evidence telling her that something was up. Having the remotest of inklings what it was, however, she declined to ask about it for fear of the consequences, leaving the boy with little more than an absent nod on her part.

"Remember to do up your jacket, it's freezing out there," Davis advised with a smile, gesturing to the boy's greyish-white jacket. Takeru looked to him and nodded, the urge to demonise him subdued by his benevolent intentions.

"Thanks Davis," he uttered as he did as he was advised before stepping toward the doors again. They opened before he reached them, beckoning for him to step out into the harsh, cold air outside, something which simply made him frown further. A blonde woman passed him, a smile on her face and a nod passing to him and his partner: Rika's mother.

"Hello Takeru," she said, before dispensing a piece of advice. "Don't be out too long or Rika might give birth while you're away," she said, evidently not aware at all of why he was going outside. He simply nodded, deciding not to correct her as she went forward to greet the others. He took a brief glance back at the welcoming hospital, before continuing onwards into the cold.

* * *

"Rika," said a voice, Rika looking up from her almost unconscious stare at the ceiling tiles from where her head lay on the pillow and seeing a very reassuring sight by the door. A smile crossed her face as she pushed herself up, the midwife giving a light bow in acknowledgement and respect to her junior in age but senior in rank. Likewise, Fumiko bowed, Setsuko stepping aside to allow the doctor and her accompaniments Takato and Guilmon a chance to talk more in private to the patient. A smile of relief crossed Rey's face when she saw Takato again, the panic of Rika's earlier contraction a very worrying one. The concern crossed her mind, however, that Rika didn't seem as relieved to see Takato as she was.

"How'd it go?" Rika asked, remembering the reason why the doctor had had to rush out in such a hurry in the first place.

"The patient's fine," Fumiko lied, knowing that telling Rika about the patient's fatal heart attack would merely make her feel worse. "How are you?" she asked, whilst Takato passed Rey her soda and received utterances of gratitude in response.

"The contractions hurt more and more each time," Rika said, not holding back on the impossible-to-doubt truth she had discovered in the past few hours. Fumiko gave a concerned look, before she let a reassuring smile escape her lips.

"We'll give you your epidural soon to ease the pain," she explained, glancing to the midwife and making it clear that counted as an order. She looked back to Rika, a guilty frown on her face. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to go deal with my other patients again in a second, but is there anything I can do before then?"

"Well…I'm feeling a bit more relaxed now…does everyone want to see me?" she said, the task necessary but still begrudging for her to have to endure. Sure, it would be nice to see them, at least at first, but given the sheer number of people sure to come she wasn't sure if she could tolerate answering the same questions repeatedly given her current emotional state.

"They're probably all already here," Rey noted, recalling how she had arrived with Takato's parents. No doubt the place was quickly filling up with Tamers.

"Would you like to see them Rika?" Fumiko asked, taking a brief glance to Takato and wondering why, despite her questions, he had yet to step up to the bat. She decided to make a point of getting him involved.

"Yeah, but…can I see grandma first?" she asked, knowing she would have a lot to talk about with the eldest member of their family. After all, she had already had a chance to talk to her mother, and, indeed, had been surprised how much of a help the woman had been even with her bad driving, and, of course, even if right now she had gone to move her poorly-parked car.

"Sure, I'll go and send her straight up on my way to my next rounds."

"I think I should go see them too," Rey added, giving a slight smile at the memory of her arrival at the hospital as Realmon leapt onto her shoulder.

"Yes, I think you may have seemed a bit rude last time," she said, a light chuckle escaping Rey's lips at the thought. They obviously understood her rudeness, but the way she had completely blanked them out apart from when she needed answers - she could tell where she had acquired such a skill from.

Takato glanced to Rey and Fumiko as he subtracted the pair from the equation, wondering if they were intentionally conspiring to leave him alone so he would have to deal with things. Fumiko gave him a quick gesture of the eyes, reminding him of their previous discussion.

"I'm going to be busy right through to the end of my shift by the looks of it but I'll try to pay you a visit when I can, okay?"

Rika frowned, the fact she wasn't going to be with her favourite doctor who had come to know her so well over the past few months still worrying her. The midwife, whilst attempting to be reassuring and caring, simply couldn't compare, particularly since she didn't know their personal situation and the complications it provided, and Rika had no intention of telling her either.

"I'll be back soon too," Rey added, her mother nodding in response. "Are you going to be okay in here?" she said in the direction of Rika and Takato, Takato's mind taking a short while to realise that she was talking to him as well as his fiancée. He paused, before giving a light nod just after Rika did so.

Fumiko wandered to the door, Rey promptly following as the doctor made it clear she had very little time to spare right now. The redhead left the room, whilst the blue-haired woman gave one last look inwards at its occupants, making it clear to Rika that she could rest easy, making it clear to the midwife that it was epidural-time, and making it clear to Takato that he couldn't stand back and do nothing any more.

The door swung shut, an odd silence settling as Rika looked across to Takato, the boy trying to steady his nerves by taking a seat on the side of the bed. He fumbled, the bed proving to squash downwards a lot further than he expected. He gave a nervous glance towards Rika's lower half, hoping he hadn't accidentally caused her some pain by making a portion of the bed fold downwards. He looked up to her face, the ending of an eye-roll at least telling him that he had thankfully avoided his fear, albeit only his temporary one.

"So…uh…what does it feel like?"

Rika raised an eyebrow, the question an unexpected one. "Well…imagine being kicked in the balls continually."

"Uh, okay…but, um…how would you know what that felt like?"

"Well, how else am I going to try and describe this?!" she asked, quickly losing her temper thanks to her highly irritable state. "Sorry," she finally mumbled, a surprised look taking a short while to subside from Takato's face, his mind trying to tell him to not let that stop his attempts at conversation with the girl.

"That's okay."

Rika nodded, finally using the most eloquent and neatly-defined description to exactly show the boy what she meant. "It's just…painful, okay?"

"Okay," he replied with a nod, finally remembering the bottle of water firmly gripped in his hand. "Oh, and I got you this," he said, taking a careful look at the midwife to see whether she approved or not as he held it out to Rika.

She reached up and took it whilst the midwife gave a reassuring smile to the boy, one which caught him rather off guard as his impressions so far of the midwife had been that she was less-than-friendly to people causing problems in her work. Takato watched Setsuko briefly as she put together the equipment for an epidural, before looking back to the intended recipient.

"Thanks," Rika said, a cup of water on a nearby table making it clear that Takato's gesture had been rather pointless. He hoped that the old adage, about it being the thought which counted, was accurate. "Is it busy out there?"

"Out where?"

"In the hallways."

"Uh…it's sort of quiet here but it was busier on the way here earlier."

"Oh. Okay," Rika mumbled, before explaining what had only been an attempt at making conversation. "I thought this place would be full of screaming mothers and babies."

"Not any that I've seen. I think they do it all in one room here."

"Great, so I'm stuck here for ages then," Rika grumbled, crossing her arms. "A chance of scenery would've been nice. How am I meant to pass the time anyway?"

As if to answer her question, a sharp pain ran through her. She winced, tightly closing her eyes as her hands tightened into fists and a mix of panic and sorrow crossed her face, the former at the sudden pain she was feeling and the sorrow at the fact it would only be the first of many.

Takato froze, staring at Rika's creased face and hearing her agitated breathing. He looked down at her hand, her fingernails pressed into her own tightened fist so much that Takato assumed the only reason she hadn't noticed that part of the pain was because the pain from her groin was far worse.

Fighting the urge to simply stare on at what was happening, his hand reached out for hers, edging closer and closer before it stopped.

"_How do I do this?"_ he thought, that fighting instinct homed on the battlefield evaporating all-too-quickly and being replaced once again with fear. He glanced across to the midwife, searching his mind for her name but not needing to do so as Rika let out a cry of agony.

Setsuko rushed across, her task and the assumption the boy was looking after her distracting her from paying attention to the redhead. She clenched Rika's hand, too busy with calmly talking to the girl (and hence completely contrasting with the girl's emotions) to notice that Takato wasn't doing likewise.

Takato looked down at his hand as Rika began to breathe normally again, her mind too diverted by the pain to notice his moment of self-doubt. He stared, his digits looking frail and useless to his eyes as he felt so…guilty.

"Right, Rika, I'm going to administer the epidural in a second," Setsuko explained, glancing across to what she had nearly finished preparing as she was finally able to let go of her patient's hand. In everything she did, she was so professional, so experienced, so much better at reassuring Rika than Takato was, a boy who couldn't even do what he had done a thousand times before and clasp Rika's hand in his. All of which, of course, planted one harrowing question in his mind.

"_Does she even need me?"_

* * *

The endless hiss of traffic wafted across the car park to the concrete hospital as footsteps walked along the tarmac pavement at its front, moving out of the way of the main entrance before coming to a stand. Likewise, wings stopped fluttering, a small orange and cream flying mammal settling on a blonde's head with a concerned expression.

"You okay Takeru?"

"Yeah Patamon, I'm fine," he asserted, quickly reaching for his cell phone before the Digimon could inquire further. Flicking through the names, he reached Cody's, and pressed the button. He put it to his ear, pausing and listening.

It rang, once, twice, thrice, four times, five, six, and then went to voicemail. He frowned, cancelling the call before he placed a message.

"He must have his phone off."

"He's not really running that late Takeru," Patamon noted. "Not everyone is here yet anyway."

"I know, I just wanted to check up on him."

"Takeru, are you hiding something from me?" the mammal asked, already having a clear idea of what secret his Tamer was keeping but not wanting to say it out loud for fear of breaching trust.

"No, of course not."

"I can tell Takeru," Patamon continued, not wanting to let this point settle this time as he crawled forward, peering down over the boy's face. "I've been your partner for six years now, I know you too well to think it's nothing."

"Seriously Patamon, it really is nothing."

"You love Kari."

A surprised expression crossed the boy's face, not expecting his partner to voice the fact in such a blunt or sudden manner. He took a moment to collect himself, something which gave Patamon all the proof he needed.

"I…I…" Takeru began, planning to attempt to bluff his way out but giving up quickly when he realised he'd failed. "I guess so, yeah."

"Then why didn't you tell me? We're Tamer and partner Takeru, we should tell each other everything," Patamon said, fluttering down in front of his Tamer's face.

"Because I don't want to believe it."

"Huh?"

"Everything worked, and everything was fine. We were all friends, and Davis was going out with Kari, and I was fine with that. And then, along comes some stupid crush and it all goes wrong - it's all my fault!"

"I thought crushes were natural? Do you decide on them then?"

"No, but…"

"Then how is it your fault?"

"I should be able to stop myself, that's why. Kari and I have been friends for so long…I don't want to wreck that," he said, sinking down to sit on a small concrete wall running around the hospital, separated from the wall of the hospital by a thin strip of flowerbed in the middle. His hands settled on the sides of his head as his elbows sank, misery welling onto his face. "But every time I talk to her, every time I see her dance or take a photograph or even just smile I can't help but think that I want to be with her," he explained, memories and images flashing across his mind as he said so.

"Then why not tell her?"

"I can't do that," Takeru insisted. "She's happy, and I want that first and foremost. I don't want to wreck everything she's built with Davis just for me, and I don't want my friendship with either of them to be destroyed by a stupid crush on one of my closest friends," he added.

"But…"

"Things just aren't meant to happen this way Patamon. I don't _want_ them to happen this way."

"But they are."

"I know. That's why I want to ignore it all, but every time I talk to her, every time we hug, even when she kisses me occasionally, I feel like I don't want to. It's great, but then…every time I see her kissing Davis, or Davis helping her, or her even just emailing him…I hate it."

"You guys email each other all the time."

"I know. And I don't want to make Davis look evil…he's a great friend and he doesn't deserve any of this. I just…I just don't want to acknowledge that this exists at all Patamon, and that's why I didn't want to tell you," he said, his eyes welling slightly. "Sorry," he apologised, his head sinking further down until it simply was filled with the sight of the harsh concrete slabs below.

"Takeru," Patamon whimpered, his voice full of concern as he flapped down and in front of the boy's face. "Don't cry."

Seeing the face of his partner, Takeru simply frowned further. Even in trying to prevent all damage (other than perhaps to himself) he'd still managed to hurt something, and it was their bond, something which was meant to be so tight that each partner would eventually know everything about the other. "I won't," he mumbled, wiping away the formulating tears and forcing them back. Now wasn't the time: they were here to celebrate Rey's birth and be happy, not be sad. The mere fact that he felt sad deep down regardless only served to intensify that feeling, as he nodded and got to his feet.

"You know I'm here to talk," Patamon said. "You always say we're meant to talk out our problems and so must you."

"Which makes me a hypocrite too," Takeru complained. He breathed in deeply the `fight or flight' instinct currently rushing through him as he looked towards the hospital doors not far away, staff and patients rushing in and out without even noticing his presence. Eyes glanced about, looking for some form of temporary diversion, and catching it in the form of a short brunette with a large yellow-shelled Digimon partner by his feet only just beginning to wander across the car park.

"Look, it's Cody and Armadillomon," Patamon said, gesturing across to the newcomers with a small black finger. Takeru nodded, hoping that any sign of the near-tears in his eyes had vanished as he swept a sleeve across them again for good measure.

"Hey Takeru, Patamon!" the boy called, waving across as Takeru and Patamon wandered and flew respectively towards him. A smile crossed Cody's face upon seeing his friend, one that faded upon seeing reddened cheeks and once he began to ponder why the boy was outside.

"Hey Cody," the older boy greeted as both stopped, facing each other.

"Are you okay Takeru? You've gone all red in your cheeks," Armadillomon noted in his usual southern drawl, echoing his Tamer's thoughts as he peered up at the boy towering over his short stumpy form.

"I'm fine," Takeru insisted, contrary to the Digimon's correct observation. "It's just cold out here," he added, pulling his jacket over himself a bit more. Cody wasn't completely convinced, and decided to voice his other question.

"Why were you out here anyway? Isn't everyone inside already?"

"Yeah, I just came out here to call you and get some fresh air too, but your phone was off," he explained, gesturing to Cody's pocket. The boy nodded.

"Yes, I turned it off in advance before I forgot."

Patamon shivered. "Brr, it's cold out here. Can we talk inside?" he suggested, both Takeru and Cody nodding in agreement, albeit the former had a lump quickly manifest in his throat at the suggestion of seeing _her_ again. The two boys began to walk towards the entrance to the hospital, Digimon in tow both on ground and in air.

"So, who's here already?" Armadillomon asked, looking up to his friends.

"All of the Digidestined but you and me, and most of the Tamers. Rika, Takato and a few of the others are in Rika's room but we're mostly just bored and talking."

"Talking isn't boring," Cody insisted, a slim smile on his face. "It'll be nice to have a chance to catch up," he added, as the first set of automatic doors parted in front of them.

Takeru nodded and gave a light smile, looking forward again with a frown at the figures inside. This was it; a moment not long waited for but not well wanted either. As they crossed the small distance between each set of doors, they began to feel slightly warmer. The chill became distant and then vanished entirely as the second doors parted and allowed them to walk straight under a heater, the sensation a pleasing one.

Their entrance quickly drew attention from those in the room, Digidestined both new and old now occupying a large share of the seats along with the Tamers and some of the adults. Takeru's eyes quickly caught Kari's, concern in both but concern that wouldn't be voiced. Davis looked on; seemingly blissfully unaware of what was happening right in front of him.

"Hey Cody," Yolei called, the two newcomers quickly crossing to the seats as those already in the room stubbornly refused to move, already well planted in their comfortable positions.

"Cold out there still?" Joe asked, a smile on his face as he recalled their expressions only a moment ago upon entering the room.

"Very," Armadillomon answered succinctly. Cody settled onto a seat on the other side of Kari to Davis, something that both irritated Takeru and proved to be a sense of relief too, an excuse to sit further away from Kari and Davis than he had last time. Patamon gave him a sad frown as he sat down opposite the couple, slightly staggered off to one side so he wouldn't endlessly have to stare at them. Kari, noticing the distance, gave a frown but said nothing, whilst Gatomon raised an eyebrow at the flying guinea pig.

"_Takeru and Patamon don't seem very happy - I wonder what's up," _she pondered, deciding to raise the point quietly to her partner later rather than make a fuss now.

Just as soon as Takeru, Patamon, Armadillomon and Cody had become settled, another familiar group of people entered the room, albeit this time it was from the internal corridors. A smile crossed many faces at the sight of someone who had become the Shinjuku Tamers' effective `resident doctor', Doctor Fumiko Imai, before a wider smile followed at the sight of the redhead by her side and the yellow fox on her shoulder.

"Rey!" Kristy cheered, smiling as she leapt from her seat and rushed over, Kudamon gripping onto his partner tightly once he had got over the shock of the sudden movement. Seiko and Rumiko followed at a more sedate pace, the latter having paused to speak to her mother, other daughter and Takato's parents about how things were in Rika's room.

Kristy threw her arms around Rey's legs. The taller girl, once she had got over the surprise of the girl's enthusiasm, gave a light smile and looked down as she gently patted her aunt on the head, something still bewildering to her. "Hey Kristy."

"Can I go now?" the girl asked, desperate to see her sister. "Please!" she pleaded, Rey frowning and looking to Fumiko as she remembered what they had arranged.

"Well, actually…" Fumiko began, looking across to Seiko as the woman quickly got the message.

"Oh, okay," the grandmother of two replied, realising that Rika had requested her specifically. She frowned, to her daughter and then to Kristy, wondering how they would once again put the disappointing news to her. She looked to DarkBiyomon, hoping that her near-constant companion would have a useful answer, but a shake of the head made it clear she would have no such luck.

"What's wrong? Can't I go see her?" Kristy asked, pouting in annoyance and crossing her arms. "I'm bored of waiting!" she said, Rika evidently having had a great impression on her personality in the year since they had first met. To any outside, the fact they had only known each other for a year seemed odd given they were sisters, but merely served to demonstrate the effects of the Cataclysm and the odd lives of the Tamers.

"Listen Kristy," Seiko said to her granddaughter, the girl looking up into the older woman's eyes. "I know you've been waiting a long time, and that you want to see Rika, but she just wants to see me specifically right now. Next time, I promise you'll be able to go, and she'll be happy to see you."

"I could bring her up in about ten minutes if you want?" Rumiko suggested, glancing to Takato's parents. "Maybe you two want to come then too?"

"Sounds like a plan," Takahiro said, having not even had a chance to see his son yet since they had arrived. Mie nodded in agreement, but Kristy still looked unimpressed.

"Fine," she huffed, arms still crossed as Seiko flashed a look of relief to her partner. "But you promised!"

Fumiko chuckled, smiling. "And promises have to be kept," she said, hoping to help the situation by playing with Kristy and not against her. "Speaking of which, I need to go and help some very lovely patients who are probably in pain right now waiting for me," she quickly added, waving to the group.

"Bye!" Suzie said, waving across at the woman. Kristy gave a quick wave, still irritated by the delay in seeing her sister. Seiko gave a respectful nod, before both she and Fumiko headed towards and out through opposite corridors, both with patients in mind.

Her grandmother now gone along with any chance of seeing Rika in the next five minutes, Kristy huffed back towards her seat, Kudamon keeping wisely silent as the girl settled down. "This is so boring. Where's Mari? She's normally fun to play with."

Kazu looked up, the thought suddenly occurring to him that they had missed someone in their counts other than just Ryo. "Yeah, you're right. Where are they?"

Henry frowned, reminded of his fellow Angels both by the sight of Rey, now sitting down near him and Jeri, and by Kristy's words. As a result, those same old problems came back to his mind right when they seemed safely out of it, and as a result of that also, Jeri gave a concerned expression in his direction, wanting to say something but being interrupted by the overall conversation bouncing about the room.

"Maybe they're just lost?" Gomamon suggested from where he took up a whole seat, similar actions by many of the Digimon evidently getting on the other hospital visitors' nerves.

"Hey," Rey whispered to Jeri, whilst the debate continued around them. Jeri gave a wave back, a frown still on her face but quickly replaced by a forced smile when she realised it was the wrong time and place.

"How? They've been here a thousand times. I mean, they may be stupid," Terriermon began, glancing down to his Tamer and anticipating a complaint about his comment. Oddly, there was none, something that rather unnerved the dog-bunny as he pressed on with his words. "But they'd be really stupid to get on the way _here_ of all places."

* * *

_**Streets of Shinjuku**_

_**16:06 JST**_

"We're lost." Ryder announced dramatically, looking up from where he was peering over the map on his D-Vice screen.

"What was your first clue?" MiniDonmon asked sarcastically, looking down from the mess of brown hair on his Tamer's head as they came to a stop on a street corner. Mari groaned as the boy peered about, hopelessly lost in the labyrinth that was Tokyo.

"Why did we have to follow your stupid shortcut?" Mari asked, groaning once again as she joined him in peering over at the map. Sure enough, it no longer gave any clear indication of where the hospital was, and, indeed, didn't even seem to have the right city on its map.

"So we go past the Champs-Élysées and through the Arc de Triomphe and it's on the left?" MiniDonmon quipped, DarkRenamon near-silently flowing into existence nearby. Mari looked up to her, an idea occurring to the girl. She reached deep to find their link and tried to focus along it with her thoughts.

"_Do you know where it is?" _she attempted to say. _"Do…where…is?" _is all that DarkRenamon heard, however, the Digimon giving a frown and hoping she would get better results as she attempted to reply via the same manner.

"_Yes, I do Mari," _she replied, but Mari simply heard _"I…Mari."_ Both Tamer and Digimon frowned deeply, DarkRenamon unfortunately having to make the step of moving closer to them which, whilst demonstrating that she could make the effort to do so, proved further that their bond was completely failing where it counted. What was strange was that neither could see a reason for it in every time they had discussed it. They didn't feel distant at all, indeed, simply becoming Tamer and partner in the first place had taken becoming very close even beforehand.

The Kitsune joined Mari, Ryder and MiniDonmon in peering over at the screen, frowns on the faces of all and a sense of guilt in Ryder's mind as they did so. "Okay, I'll admit, we're screwed," he said with a sigh, ruing himself for getting so lost.

"DarkRenamon can guide us there," Mari suggested, the fox nodding in agreement. "She's learnt this city like the back of her paw." Ryder nodded, but then flashed a grin as he held up his wrist, D-Vice still prominently displayed on it.

"Ah, but can a fox play Tetris?"

"Probably if you search on the internet enough," MiniDonmon answered, his Tamer chuckling as both Mari and her partner groaned.

"Let's just get moving, okay?" she asked, DarkRenamon raising an arm and gesturing away down the street. Ryder and MiniDonmon nodded, the four beginning to walk (or fly) in the direction given. The roads were narrow and high walled, few shop and house fronts on this side of the buildings as they passed a few people in the street every so often. The world was busy enjoying its Saturday, or, as Mari suspected, screaming in agony in Rika's case. _"I hope she's okay."_

Ryder glanced back along the road, pausing in his step as he saw a flash of blonde amongst the people on the pavement. "Ivy?"

"Huh?" Mari said, worried what she'd see when she turned around. She followed Ryder's eyeline to the other side of the road, the boy quickly shaking his head at the sight of a random blonde girl across the road.

"No, wait…that's not her," he muttered, turning back to face Mari with her arms folded across her chest and an eyebrow raised in irritation, both DarkRenamon and MiniDonmon near her with concerned expressions.

"Are you purposefully _looking_ for her now?" she inquired, a slight glare in her eyes.

"…sort of," he mumbled.

"Ugh, Ryder," she sighed, groaning at the boy as she contemplated that what had just happened could repeat itself in future a lot. "Please, please, please don't let yourself spend every day from now on looking at every blonde girl you see and wondering if it's her."

"To be fair, we're in Japan so there aren't going to be that many," he suggested, the girl frowning and sighing.

"I know, but that's not the point," Mari replied, yet she seemed unwilling to explain what was. Ryder raised an eyebrow, pondering what her true point was, but she quickly changed the subject before it could simply be attributed to jealousy. "Now come on," she insisted, gesturing onwards and beginning to walk.

"Fine," Ryder sighed, irritated that he'd already managed to get her upset. One thing he'd learnt since he met Mari was that, particularly when it came to love, she had a short temper. Unfortunately, he was normally its victim. _"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to see that short temper a lot in my life, however long _that_ could be?"_ he wondered, but no answer came from the depths of his mind as they all continued to trudge towards the hospital.

* * *

_**Shinjuku General Hospital, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**16:06 JST**_

"Grandma!" Rika cheered upon seeing her new guest, her Swiss cheese of a conversation with Takato interrupted. Seiko smiled to her granddaughter, quickly wandering to her bedside. Takato stepped back, noting how Rika (thankfully) seemed more relaxed since the epidural, at least regarding the pain side of things if not the emotional side.

The older woman kissed the redhead on the cheek, the latter instilled with new reassurance at the sight of the eldest and wisest Nonaka (even if she was technically a Hata). DarkBiyomon, wandering after her Tamer, looked to the midwife who gave her a curious and suspicious look as she arrived, before looking up to Takato and Guilmon.

"Hello," she greeted, nodding and receiving a likewise nod in return from Takato.

"Hi," Guilmon chirped, smiling obliviously to the emotion of the boy above. Given the distraction of Seiko talking to Rika as he stared on sadly, it was a miracle he even noticed at all.

"_Everyone here is so much better at supporting her,"_ he mused, staring at the various medical apparatus arranged near Rika, at the bed sheets and drink supply kept neatly by Setsuko, at the reassuring talk and gestures being given by Seiko. Renamon stood a constant watch over it all, completing the triad of health, reassurance and safety. What role did he play? _"I just mess things up every time I try to help," _he thought, recalling how his earlier attempts had simply resulted in her irritated or angry outbursts. She was upset enough as it was.

His arms sagging to his sides, his mind falling into a state of depression and attempts to reasons with himself failing, Takato simply leaned back against the wall, and watched.

And Rika, catching a glimpse out of the corner of her eye, frowned.

* * *

_**16:29 JST**_

The automatic doors parted once again, some very frozen figures walking under the heater and breathing deep sighs of relief at the sensation. Their minds unfrozen, Ryder, Mari, MiniDonmon and DarkRenamon looked about at the room, seeing who was already there. They quickly noticed it was almost everyone they expected to be there, something which simply hammered home their long and winding journey to the hospital.

"Hey," Davis called, waving across the room. "What took you so long?"

Mari and Ryder glanced to each other, uncomfortable frowns on their faces. "Don't ask."

**END OF PART TWO**

* * *

**A/N:** If you're looking for other things to read to keep you occupied in-between updates, I recommend `Wish In A Bottle' by Potgenie. It's a fantastic little short story, and is based around a simple premise that allows for great exploration of the relationships between Takeru, Yamato and their parents, in the context of the divorce. It's certainly given me a new insight into that particular facet of the Digimon series.

Heh, also as a random side note, I now really like more than one Japanese anime series. Well, in other words, I've now actually watched the whole of more than one whole Japanese anime series, namely Digimon and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (which is well worth a watch if you can hunt it down). I watched two episodes of the sub, and the whole series in the unbelievably reliable dub. Thanks to Crazyeight and Digital Dive for recommending it to me.

Until next time…

B.C.


	78. Epilogue Part 3

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the original characters introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated otherwise here or elsewhere by myself).**

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

**A/N: **Now the third (of four) parts…we're so close to the end now! Just a few more loose ends to tie up here and there, not least Rika giving birth, and then it's smooth sailing right into the middle of Rayleigh's dastardly plan in Book Seven. Enjoy!

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

_The Trick to Birth_

Part Three

* * *

**SATURDAY, 27****th**** FEBRUARY 2011**

* * *

_**Shinjuku General Hospital, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**19:29 JST**_

Darkness had settled outside, but it would've been difficult for someone to notice if they hadn't left the hospital recently. The lights inside brought a permanent daytime, perhaps brighter, and thus meant that for many stuck inside the only indication that night had fallen was the changing patients, particularly on weekends when drink-related injuries would usually increase tenfold.

Of course, for those with more leisure time on their hands thanks to having spent hours and hours waiting, there was always another indication: television.

It wasn't the best television, of course, the bulky device on a stand looking rather like it hadn't been replaced in fifteen years and with the colours faded along with the black plastic about the cathode tube, but in any case, it was still a television.

The soap opera flicked away on the screen, the sound turned down as the episode started. About Sora and Mimi, the pair of young women who had turned the television on in the first place to watch it, the rest of the group were resting, sleeping or quietly chatting. All the while, patients arrived and went, leaving to a game by Kazu and Kenta of `guess the illnesses'.

Some passed the time by going for a walk round the area of the hospital they could access, and others, once they had realised they would be in for a fairly long stay, had used the chance to pop out for food. Izzy still typed away, albeit he had given up on the programming and had now moved onto a game of DOOM, one which Ryder watched from where he leant on the seat back behind, a bored expression constantly on his face as the tedium continued to get to him.

At that moment, two young men returned to the room, one blonde with his fair fuzzed up and the other brunette with his hair, well, in almost the exact same style if spread about a fair bit more. Both shared a faintly glum look on their face, one which changed to shock when they saw the two girls watching the television.

"…how?!" they stuttered together, amazed that it was working given their previous escapade.

"Plugged it in," Mimi answered, as absently as if they had just asked her if she'd fed the cat.

Tai and Matt, both tired from wandering around looking for someone who wasn't too busy to ask the score from, combined groaning with cursing the heavens for their own thoughtlessness. Their task of finding out the score on their trip around the hospital was inevitably doomed to failure - people in this hospital were either asleep, having treatment, had been inside the establishment long enough to have lost all links with the outside world, or were too busy storming about and saving lives to bother with such trivial matters.

"I give up," Tai groaned, even Agumon and Gabumon staring on at their Tamers with a look of disbelief at how much this was affecting them. Boredom had set its sharp, ugly claws into their minds, although dull, faceless paws would perhaps be a far more apt personification, and so the slightest thing out of the ordinary quiet chatting, snoring, typing or footsteps would get their attention.

Agumon sniffed at the air, instantly creating something of interest as he cast his eyes over towards the open doorway, and a pair of familiar figures just entering it.

"Hey, look Tai, it's Ryo," the orange dinosaur said, gesturing with a short clawed finger toward the Digimon he had smelt and the brunette, unbeknownst to them nicknamed the `Legendary Tamer' by some. As he looked to his purple and yellow partner, also dinosaur-like, a concerned look flashed upon his face and was quickly reciprocated, before both he and his partner looked back to survey the waiting room.

A frown crept onto Tai's face as he recalled the context in which he had originally known Ryo - a boy of the same age who was purportedly the only person who could stop the evil Milleniummon, a boy they had in the end betrayed because of fear, fear of what might happen otherwise. Even today, looking at the boy now strangely two years his junior and who he had had a number of reconciliation conversations with, he still couldn't put aside the guilt he felt.

Regardless, Tai was not half bad at maintaining face in such a situation. "Hey Ryo," he called, drawing the oddly distracted boy's attention to their position as a group in the increasingly crowded waiting room, the Saturday evening's nightlife already beginning to put pressure on the system. Ryo gave a warm smile, but there was something decidedly but ambiguously off about it as Tai looked on. He hoped it wasn't for the same reason he was hesitant about the boy.

Unknowingly yet fortunately for Tai, Ryo's concerns were mostly unrelated to that situation, but instead revolved around the large purple and yellow dinosaur walking alongside him towards the large group, or, at least, the beast within him which recently seemed to go from phases of crazed and erratic control, striking fear into Ryo's mind, to times when he would simply be normal, good old Monodramon. The latter was not reassuring for the boy at all - if anything, the resultant tensions was more fear-inducing than the actual times when Milleniummon was taking control.

Noticing some concerned looks from the group, he forced his smile to be wider and his tones to be warm, not a difficult task mind you as he was used to smiling and being confident in concerning situations. He raised a hand to wave, completing the effect. "Hey guys."

"Ryo, you finally made it!" Kazu greeted, a little bit of the worshiping tone still in his voice at the sight. Those days, thankfully for Ryo, were now over, albeit the high level of respect left over wasn't a bad point by any means. Still, it wasn't like they ever truly bugged him - he simply took them in his stride.

"Yeah, sorry for taking so long. We couldn't get on the first train here. Typical Rika, being difficult by going into labour during the rush hour," he said, a tone of bemusement more than bitterness in his voice. "How is she anyway?"

"We haven't been up to check up on her lately, but the absence of any high pitched screaming is a good sign I'm sure," Ryder answered, relishing in the fact that something interesting was happening at last. There was only so long one could watch someone playing a video game without succumbing to mind-numbing boredom thanks to the passivity of it all, and his short-lived attempts at playing it when Izzy had offered had merely served to demonstrate his ineptitude at one of the pivotal games of the genre.

Ryo nodded, and in the process caught a glimpse of a thoughtful expression on Davis' face. "Wait, you've got Cyberdramon. Why'd you need to take the train?"

"Uh…" the `Legendary Tamer' stuttered at first, taking a glimpse down to his partner. Perhaps now would be the perfect time to tell them, with the majority of the group gathered in one place with not much else to do, but…they also had a lot of other worries. Angels and Demons, Rika giving birth, school, life, bioemergences, soaps, everything - they didn't need to be bothered with it before it became a real issue. Indeed, telling someone could simply cause Milleniummon to change his tack and become more open and destructive in his plans.

It seemed that, even without being physically there, even without actually doing anything at all, his constant enemy still managed to find new ways to torture Ryo.

"Monodramon was feeling a bit tired and we found these discount vouchers in a newspaper the other day so it seemed worthwhile."

"Yeah, plus with his holiness the Right Dishonourable Bastard Rayleigh in charge…"

"Terriermon," Henry scolded, the response now a tightly-tuned instinct. Next to him, lying across the seats, Jeri stirred from her sleep, Henry keeping his voice quiet to ensure that he didn't wake her too fast.

"…it's probably safer down here," Terriermon continued unabated. "And Momentai Henry," he quickly added, not wanting to break with tradition. Evidently from the groan that followed, neither did Henry.

"Yeah, true," Ryo agreed, a giving a grin at the back-and-forth between the pair. _"Some partners contrast, some compliment," _he thought, glancing down to his `mongrel'. _"God knows what mine does."_

Of course, not all took Ryo's excuse for what he said it was. Some passed it off as simply one of Ryo's traits - he always seemed to talk a lot and say very little, keeping his cards (a pun if ever they had heard one) close to his chest. Ryder, meanwhile, thanks to his knowledge from home, was able to fill in the gaps in his half-asleep head and put it down to Ryo's simple and perpetual concern about Milleniummon, nothing more, nothing less, and he was half right in that thought. But, one, probably Ryo's oldest and closest friend, knew better.

Ken took a step towards Ryo, gesturing away from the group as the Tamers began to return to what they were doing before the newcomer had arrived. A frown graced the brunette's face, not surprised that his friend had seen through his excuses, as they both wandered towards some seats further away from the Tamers and from other users of the waiting room, but still close enough for their conversation not to be seen as suspicious because of its private nature.

"Are you alright Ryo?"

Ryo flashed one of his grins again, trying to glaze over the problem and Ken's concerns. It, of course, fooled neither Ken nor Wormmon, the bug moving from Ken's shoulder to the seat back as he sat down. "Of course I am - why do you ask?"

"Ryo, I can tell that something is bothering you."

The boy decided to try his luck with excuses one last time. "No, seriously, everything's fine. I just had a tiring journey, so much for a punctual and easy rail system."

Then Ken said the words which any liar hates to hear. "Ryo, I think you're lying," he stated, his expression serious and unaffected by Ryo's bluffing attempts.

Ryo sighed, resigning himself to having to tell at least something about his errant partner to his friend. Any more attempts would simply dig him a deeper grave, and of the many lessons in life he'd taken from his fellow Tamer Takato it was that there was a point where you needed to down tools and stop digging. "Fine," he sighed, frowning before a grin came to his lips. "How'd you guess?"

Ken chuckled, smiling in response. "You'd never look at Monodramon like that if everything was okay."

Ryo nodded, a slim smile appearing on his face which soon settled back down into its now-usual frown, a glimpse taken once again at the purple and yellow dinosaur. "Yeah…" he trailed off.

"So, what's wrong then?"

"It's Milleniummon."

An involuntary shudder ripped down Ken's spine, his eyes widening. The concept had occurred to him - after all, Ryo's life never seemed too spent too long away from Milleniummon's one - but the fact his friend was now actually confirming it was horrifying. "What?!"

Ryo's tone took on a strangely calm and resigned tone, whilst his overwhelming depression about his present situation came out of hiding. "He's slowly taking over Monodramon again, even after he hatched, and he is gradually taking him away from me and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Oh…" was all that Ken could reply. He looked down into Monodramon's eyes, golden pupils tinged with sadness but without holding a single hint of the beast supposedly ready to take him over at any moment.

Ryo glanced uncomfortably across to the remainder of the group, who, having realised they couldn't hear the secretive conversation, were now only paying the slightest of attention to the pair. "But they've got so much on their minds already, so I'm not telling them until it becomes an issue."

"I understand."

"Let's hope that'll still be a while away then," Wormmon suggested, the idea that it would never become an issue dismissed without even thinking about it. They knew Milleniummon all too well for that.

"In any case, you don't need to keep worrying about it alone, even if you don't tell all of them. You've got me and Wormmon, after all," Ken reassured. "I learnt a while back that friends are what you need to pull yourself out of something like that."

"You don't need to tell me Ken, I saw it on TV," Ryo laughed, recalling the now-extinct TV series, a victim of the cataclysm.

"Heh, yeah," Ken laughed back, before a curious and concerned expression crept onto his face. He glanced across the room to a brunette, his girlfriend's head resting on his shoulder and his leaning back onto the top of her head as both dozed, the appeal of sleep gripping them. "Ryo, do you think Ryder knows about you and Milleniummon?"

A frown crept onto Ryo's face as he shrugged. "I'm not too sure. He seems to know something but I'm afraid to ask."

"Hmm…"

Meanwhile, across the room, another set of tired eyes blinked open, the world slowly becoming less of a blur as a nap was awoken from thanks to the noise of the new arrivals. A hand gently swept the eyes clear of rheum before that same hand pushed its body up. The girl twisted around into a seated position, looking to the boy next to her. She glanced further around, seeing a contented smile at the sight of her awakening from her partner, Leomon, the lion beast looking rather large for the two plastic seats on which he sat, whilst Henry's partner and a few others around the group gave a similar expression.

Except, expectedly, Terriermon's smile was more mischievous than contented.

"Well done Henry, you woke her up."

Jeri gave a light-hearted chuckle, shaking her head. "No, you didn't, I'm fine," she insisted. "I'll sleep through it all if I'm not careful," she added, a hand going to check her brown hair hadn't become a mess of frizz. Whilst it seemingly had stayed ordered, her mind certainly hadn't, and as she glanced around more things began to slot into place. She was about to call for Ryo's attention to say "hi", but right now he seemed too distracted with talking to Ken to disturb him.

Finally, something clicked in her mind, something she couldn't quite remember beforehand that she had to do. She looked up to Henry, a neutral expression on her face as she tried to avoid poisoning the well on whether she was happy or sad about what she was going to be told.

"Henry, can we talk now?" she asked, the boy's expression dampening.

"_I've been dragging this out all too long, and it's not fair leaving her wondering if it could be a lot worse than it really is…I have to tell her,"_ he decided, nodding and standing to his feet before putting out a hand. "Okay," he said, Jeri taking the hint that this conversation would be rather more suited to a more private area than there.

She took his hand and thanked him as she was helped to her feet, the pair soon headed away towards a nearby corridor with only Terriermon and Leomon in tow.

* * *

A thin layer of water rapidly vanished from a pair of hands as Takato returned to Rika's hospital room from the bathroom. A curious glimpse on Rika's face quickly faded when she saw it was just Takato again who, whilst keeping her company, had done little more than that over the course of the past few hours. Guilmon followed in tow, his wide gold pupils surveying the room to see Renamon nearby who smiled back to him as he cheerfully wandered towards the mother of his soon-to-hatch child, the fox quickly and gracefully kneeling down and showing him the egg once again.

The midwife, meanwhile, was absent. On its first occurrence this had served to irritate Rika, instilling her with fear that Setsuko would be away at the exact time when she began to actually give birth, but given the length of time she had been lying in the same hospital bed with the same random contractions she no longer cared. A tired glaze passed over her eyes, but the pain from below was a good enough deterrent to any attempt at sleep.

"Hey," Takato called, having become used to the room and the sight of Rika's pose but with an uncomfortable tone still remaining, now centred entirely about the redhead. He wandered over to a seat by the side of the bed, one perhaps less comfortable than the edge of the bed but vastly preferable now thanks to his previous attempt at sitting on the edge of the bed.

Rika's decidedly neutral expression fell into a light frown, Takato still making himself distant again. What was she to do? She knew she couldn't simply _order_ him to be closer, since if anything that would simply scare him further away. "Hey," she replied, giving the lightest of nods before settling her head back down further onto the pillow. She didn't expect any particularly riveting conversation to take hold and pass her boredom - unless, of course, Chaos made one of his unscheduled interruptions. Rika found oddly that this was one of the first times she had been glad for such an irritation.

"How does it feel?"

"Same."

"Oh, okay."

"Good piss?"

"Uh…I guess."

Rika gave a slight roll of the eyes, amazed that Takato had even replied to her dry quip. Was this what constituted conversation for them now?

"So…uh…" Takato began, hesitating as Rika wondered whether he was about to set the flames conversation alight or simply put them out completely. "How long do you think you're going to be off school?"

Evidently the latter turned out to be the case. "However long I need. Mrs Asagi better not give me homework or I'll raise hell."

"**Wouldn't that be my job?"**

"Shut up," Rika scolded, secretly hoping he wouldn't.

"**Jeez, was simply adding some interest to this conversation. Takato, this is seriously worse than when I was a hermit."**

"**Hermit? Pah, I've been worse."**

"**Worse than a eunuch?"**

"**Nearly."**

"**I rest my case - you couldn't hope to match the sheer depression of being neutered to preserve a bloody singing voice."**

"**I could, I'm sure."**

"**How? What would you cut off?"**

"**Uh…sure I couldn't match exactly **_**that**_** but I could've been through worse. Like, you know - when you hunted me down at a young age. Living to the ripe old age of two is not fun."**

"**You did the same to me. You know how this game works."**

"**Ugh, of course, how could I forget? Wait, I think I know worse: remember that time when we went to that Church and almost…"**

"**No! Never speak of that again."**

"**Fine. You know, it's worrying that I remember that so clearly when most of my memories are terrible."**

"Wait, you almost what?" Rika asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"**Don't worry," **Harmony replied.

"No, I want to know," Rika insisted. "Tell me."

"**You wouldn't **_**want**_** to know if you knew what it was."**

"Uh…come again?" Takato asked, confused by the paradox of their words.

"Ugh, you guys didn't do something stupid like pissing in the holy water did you?"

"**Yes, of course Rika, we pissed in the holy water," **Chaos replied, rolling his eyes in disgust. **"What do you think we are, little kids?"**

"Could've fooled me."

"So what did you guys do then?"

"Yeah, how the hell did you two get in a Church together without having destroyed it all beforehand? I'm guessing the Church doesn't exist anymore, right?"

"**Peh, don't ask me," **Chaos shrugged.

"So you destroyed it?"

"**Hmm…no, I think we left it intact in our fighting," **Harmony recalled, putting a hand on her chin.

"**See, we're becoming sloppy in our work. I long for the good old days."**

Takato ignored his alter-ego's wishes for a time when being brutal was allowed between them. Then again, after the events of 2008, perhaps those days weren't entirely over "So was the Vicar or whatever still alive afterwards?"

"**Yeah. Traumatised too."**

"Oh god, you guys didn't have sex in front of him did you?"

Both Harmony and Chaos' eyes widened. **"No!"**

"**No!"**

"**God no!"**

Harmony gave a shiver, casting a bewildered gaze over at Takato. **"Why the hell would I ever want to have sex with that moron?"**

"**Ugh, yeah. I mean, there's practical jokes, and then there's just some things which are plain wrong."**

"But you guys have had sex before, right?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow.

"**Yeah, of course. Just not together, until you two morons screwed that all up," **Chaos replied, a bitter tone to his voice. **"Look at where that got you," **he said harshly, Rika giving a deep frown in response to the comment.

"Uh…so you two simply wouldn't ever use sex to your own means, like, to frighten Vicars?" Takato asked.

"**Oh, I used sex to my own means alright, all the time. Being a woman in the past was terrible and particularly powerless if I didn't use my particular talents to full effect. Just, I didn't use it to terrify…how did we even get onto this suggestion?" **Harmony asked, eyes widening. **"Why would we **_**want**_** to scare Vicars?"**

"But you said you did scare one…uh…didn't you?"

"**Yeah, but not intentionally."**

"Then what were you two doing in a Church? I mean, it's not like you believe in God or anything other than yourselves," Rika asked, her belief beggared by this very suggestion. In any case, it (and the absurd chatter surrounding it) had proved to liven up the conversation between them, albeit she and Takato had done very little actual conversing with each other (as themselves, at least).

"**That's for us to know and you to endlessly torture yourself over until you die," **Chaos answered.

"Harmony, tell me," Rika demanded, looking inwards.

"**No."**

"But, we're the same person. Why can't I just look through my memories?"

"**Because I won't **_**let**_** you do so."**

"Ugh…"

"Wait…one of you didn't kill the other one's husband or wife at the altar, did you?" Takato reasoned, hoping dearly it wouldn't be true.

Rika's eyes widened at the suggestion from Takato, the thought never having occurred to her.

Chaos glanced to Harmony and back, a grimace on their faces. **"Something like that," **the female one answered, feeling a deep guilt for what they had done in the past.

"That's horrible," Takato complained, not liking the concept one bit.

"**We've done worse," **Harmony shrugged.

"Hmm…you know you said you'd never sleep with each other," Rika asked, looking to Takato and the chaotic being that also was him, whilst at the same time looking inwards at herself.

"…**yes?"** Chaos replied, uncertain where this point was leading.

"Well, what if the other one was jaw-droppingly attractive?"

Harmony paused, chewing her lip before shaking her head quickly, amazed she'd even paused to contemplate the suggestion. **"No, just no. I can find another thousand handsome men out there, I don't need **_**him**_**."**

"**So much for deeper values. You know, "look at **_**inner**_** beauty," "until death **_**us**_** do part," "an **_**eye**_** for an **_**eye**_**,"** Chaos jibed, looking sharply into the eyes of a being he was once forever bonded to, an idea that in light of events since was completely laughable.

Harmony rolled her eyes at his attempt to score critical points out of all this. **"We believe in the last one - what do you think we've been doing over the past few years? And besides, we never die Chaos. We just reincarnate. How do you not get this by now?"**

"**But maybe, we actually **_**can't**_** die naturally, but we just keep killing each other so we never find out?"**

"**Your fault."**

"**Pah. And I also like to think it's more an eye for a head. Why would I want an equal trade?"**

"**You're impossible."**

"**Don't you just love me for it?" **Chaos quipped, grinning.

"**Ugh…"**

"God, you two are like a married couple!"

Chaos simply snorted at Rika's suggestion whilst Harmony gave a slight roll of the eyes.

"**Bad enough you guys forcing us to have sex, let alone be wedded,"** Harmony complained.

"**I reserve the right to raze the Church to the ground."**

Rika looked to the ceiling, wondering how the situation could possibly get any worse (as much as listening to their alter-egos arguing passed the time and proved a distraction to the contractions down below). She looked across to Takato again, realising that it very easily could and had got worse. In all this time of listening to their other selves, they had barely spoken, not that silence ever made any difference to that.

She looked to the other side, trying to clear her mind of the subject, and saw Guilmon and Renamon, the former sitting on the floor transfixed by the rumbling egg he cupped in his arms and the latter half-watching him contentedly and half-watching the door, ever-vigilant and ready, and even more so at a time when they could be interrupted by a midwife who had no idea of their split-personalities.

"_Why is it that Renamon and Guilmon seem to be getting through this so much better than Takato and I? Is it just because Guilmon doesn't realise what being a father means, or does it just mean completely different things for Digimon? It's not like they have anything to base it on. I wish Takato was like that," _she thought, looking back to the boy who had begun reading the labels above the knobs and switches on a slightly yellowed electronic medical box of some form, searching for something to do. _"I want to blame it on him, but I can't think of anything to talk about myself. What happened to us? When did we become this distant? I thought he was going to be here with me, helping me through this all but he's done nothing at all," _she thought sadly. _"Is it my fault?"_

Takato glanced up from the device, taking a curious glance over at Rika's face as he noticed her watching him.

"You know, if you're that bored, I really wouldn't mind you going down to talk to everyone in the waiting room a bit more."

"But…I'm meant to be here with you. Uh…I mean, I want to be here with you. Otherwise you're going to be here all alone."

"Then just send someone up to talk. I'm bored out of my brains and our conversation isn't exactly riveting," she said, before feeling she'd said too much, a feeling cemented by the slightly hurt look on the boy's face after she said so. "…sorry," she mumbled.

"Uh, well, if you want me to go."

"If you want."

What followed was one of those uncomfortable moments where both inaction and action would make the situation worse, the silence even more torturing for the pair as Takato pushed himself slightly up off the chair and tried to decide whether to let himself back down again or go.

"Oh, just go for crying out loud."

Takato frowned, looking to Rika and realising that, whether he stayed or went, he would still be irritating her. Did his mere existence irritate her too? Why wouldn't it? He was so useless, and so many other people would've done so much better in his place. To hell with `Dad Shock', this wasn't a psychological condition - this was his just him and his ineptitude.

He finally stood up completely, letting out a deep sigh as Renamon watched them, the events going straight over Guilmon's head as his Tamer wandered to the door. "Who do you want me to send up here then?" he asked, stopping and turning around.

"I don't know, Rey, my mum, Mari, Jeri, anyone."

"**Ah, so anyone who's a girl, okay," **Chaos said sarcastically.

"Ugh, just piss off," Rika said, exasperation permeating through her voice. Takato nodded, giving a slight and reciprocated wave before leaving.

The worst thing was, he wasn't sure who Rika meant: Chaos, or him.

* * *

The room sang with the sound of knives and forks clattering against plates, a dozen or so hungry mouths taking advantage of their break in their work to regain some stamina. From janitors to doctors, from administrative staff to surgeons, examples of plenty of hospital careers could be found in the cafeteria, the harsh lighting from overhead still not ceasing even in a place where it wasn't strictly necessary. Every so often, a pager or two would bleep and a doctor or nurse would rush out of the room, cursing Sod's Law for taking them from their food.

Eyes gazed over the scene, practical yet speculative ones which began to superimpose themselves on such a career, ignoring the faults of long hours, emotional strain and many years of student debt from medical courses they were already enrolled in.

"So Joe, are we here to eat or what?" chirped a small white amphibian creature from the young man's shoulder, snapping him from his trance.

"Uh, I don't think we…"

"Hey…uh…you," called a voice from inside the cafeteria, yet another thing pulling Joe's attention from what he was doing. He turned, looking back across and seeing a blue haired and highly familiar doctor there, a scattering of other medical personnel around her table having dinner just like her. He wandered towards her, a surprised look on his face that his self-guided and probably against the rules tour around the hospital coincided with her dinner break.

"Hey," greeted Gomamon, waving a flipper.

"Hey Dr Imai," he greeted, a bemused yet irritated look crossing her face.

"Just call me Fumiko," she replied, having told practically everyone in their group of Tamers to do so with marginal success. After all, she knew most of them pretty well now, even if it was only by association. "Take a seat," she suggested, gesturing to the chair opposite, a round and uncomfortable stool suspended on a bar from the plain white table. Joe nodded, sitting down and glancing nervously about at the cafeteria, hoping he wouldn't be told to "get out". With Fumiko here, that was unlikely. She gestured to her food, a mix of potato, carrot, a token piece of meat and enough gravy to drown whatever animal the meat came from. In other words, not the best or most appealing meals, but she still had an apologetic expression on her face about it. "I hope you don't mind if I eat while talking? We don't get very long lunch breaks."

"Go ahead," Joe replied, still not entirely sure whether he was allowed to sit here.

"So…" Fumiko began, chewing and swallowing a piece of carrot. "How's Rika?"

"Rey says she's fine," he answered, pondering dropping his medical career based solely on the food quality at hospitals, a place where there was a rather captive market. Glancing at sausages and chips on other plates, he could tell that Fumiko had gone for the most healthy and yet probably least appealing object on the menu. Still, if anyone got food poisoning, at least they were in the right place.

A concerned look crossed the doctor's face, not about the pregnant redhead but instead about her next question. "And Takato?"

"She didn't say."

Fumiko sighed, recalling how on each of the rare visits to Rika's room that evening she had felt an apprehensive atmosphere between the two, one that, despite Takato's worries, hadn't existed in any previous appointment or meeting with the pair. What were they doing to themselves? Was Rika distancing herself from Takato, was it the other way around, or was it both together? She put it down to `Dad Shock', but her personal connection to the pair meant she became far more concerned than she normally did when giving that particular informal diagnosis. Besides, it didn't explain Rika's distance, if she was purposefully putting it in place.

"Do you think those two will be okay?" Joe asked, concern deep in his voice.

"I think Takato will pull through in the end. You?"

"Yeah, I have to agree. Those two depend on each other, but it works both ways: If Takato manages to pull himself together, so will Rika."

"That's a good observation."

"Thanks," Joe said with a light chuckle, the unease in his mind lightening up despite the grim nature of the conversation and the room. "I notice that sort of thing."

"It'll be good for your medical degree. Second year, right?"

"Yeah."

"Heh, I remember mine. That was the first time I realised how far I had to go to be a Doctor - it seemed like such a long time."

"And was it?"

"It flew by in the end, particularly when I started at the hospital. As much as people warn you in advance, you really can't see how little you know about the practical side of medicine until you've worked in a hospital for real."

"What was the most difficult part?" Joe asked, intrigue in his eyes as he heard the woman's words, ones that he hoped would help him to better deal with his own future.

"Hmm…let me think…dealing with my first death was hard, I had that in my second week. I was fortunate to even last that long - one guy had his first patient die on him and it scared him away from the whole profession."

"So do you think I'd be able to deal with it?"

"Hmm…I'd say you would be. You all seem very hardened to reality thanks to being Tamers, and whilst nothing can compare to knowing you've failed professionally to save someone, we've all got to start somewhere."

"Thanks, I guess," Joe replied, a reassuring smile appearing on Fumiko's face.

"So how many people have died in your care in total?" Gomamon asked, not completely realising the rather callous nature of his question.

Dr Imai looked surprised to be asked, and slightly appalled as well, but she took it in her stride. "I'm not sure…does Ryder count?" she asked, a grim smile on her face.

"God knows. I don't think any medical textbook anywhere could explain that for me."

"Well, you'll learn that's true for plenty of medical cases Joe, but Ryder is…a special case."

"That's one way of putting it," Gomamon laughed. "He's like a cockroach…or Myotismon."

"Same thing," Joe said, preferring to put the memories of that particular evil away for good, just like the real thing (at least, hopefully).

"Ryder told me about him being an Angel," Fumiko explained in a hushed voice, making the leap to show just how much she knew about their situation. She doubted she would've been able to discuss much more with the doctor-in-training otherwise.

"Really?"

"So much for secrets," Gomamon said, disbelief in his voice.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to tell anyone," Fumiko chuckled, thankful looks crossing her companions' faces. "But still, it is…unusual."

"Unusual? It doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

Fumiko chuckled again, nodding in agreement as she flashed back to that conversation. "The thing is; he doesn't think it's because of his Angelhood."

"Hmm…if it were, then Henry and Mari are both invincible too. I don't think I'd like to test that."

The doctor sighed, nodding in agreement and eating a piece of potato. "Still, hopefully we'll find out someday. That's what makes this job interesting. Speaking of which…I think you could use some practical experience," she said with a smile on her face. "Textbooks are only helpful in diagnosis and treatment, but you have to know how to see the signs in the first place and how to make the right choices if you want to be a proper doctor. Plus, there's all the practical and hands on work."

Joe nodded in agreement, cottoning on to what the woman was suggesting. "So you think I should find a work placement?"

"No, I'm offering you a placement," Fumiko said, her smile continuing as her food continued to go uneaten, a hungry Gomamon quickly making it his prey and waiting for a chance to acquisition it.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You've been wandering around anyway by the looks of it - a week or so of a work placement would do you good."

"Well, if that's okay," Joe asked, deeply grateful for the offer. "When can you do it?"

Fumiko turned her eyes skywards, chuckling at herself. "Given I spend pretty much every waking hour I have either here or with my nose in a textbook, I'm pretty open to letting you join my rounds. When are you free?"

"Hmm…right now we've got a lot of important lectures and papers so I'm not sure I can do it in March or April, but maybe May?"

The woman reached into her lab coat, pulling out a small diary booklet and opening it, glancing through the dates as she flicked through to the particular month. "The week of the 9th any good?"

"Should be," Joe replied, nodding as the woman used a pen tied with a string to it to make a note of the date. "I'll talk to my lecturers and get the week off - hopefully they won't mind."

"Depends whether it's the evil one or the weird one," Gomamon noted, recalling his boring experiences of sitting in his Tamer's lectures, something which as a result made him avoid going to University with Joe most of the time. Life back at the apartment had television and you were allowed to sleep in without your snoring being complained about, which made life a lot easier. _"After all, Joe's taking the course - not me!"_

A bleeping caught the doctor's attention as she looked down to her belt, lifting up a pager and reading with a frown before standing to her feet quickly. "Sorry," she apologised. "Duty calls."

Joe chuckled, shaking his head with a smile. "Don't worry. Thanks for the placement."

"No problem. I'd have done anything to have had this opportunity back when I was a student. Now, I'd better go," she added, taking a step towards the door before a voice stopped her.

"Can I have your food?" Gomamon called, the woman smiling and not even turning her head.

"Go nuts."

"Thanks," the Digimon replied, promptly leaping on the plate and beginning to eat with all the table manners of a pig. Joe groaned, putting his hand on his head as the doctor vanished out of sight around the corner.

* * *

"Rumiko?" called a voice from behind the aforementioned woman, interrupting nothing as the group of Tamers and adults went through yet another long spell of boredom in their speckled-floor hell. Rika's mother turned, a smile on her face as she saw Mimi with her Digimon partner alongside, an anticipatory and ill-at-ease look on the younger woman's face.

"Mimi!" she said enthusiastically. "We haven't spoken in a while, have we?" she said, the orangey-haired girl settling down in the seat next to the blonde.

"Since the party when Takato proposed I think," Mimi said, a smile on both of their faces as they remembered the romantic event (albeit Rika and Takato's mischief and Henry's disappearance, not to mention Chiyo's involvement, had turned it rather sour at times). The smile suddenly dropped on Rumiko's face as a realisation hit her like a truck.

"Wait…you still haven't come along to one of my shoots!" she gasped, cursing herself for letting it skip her mind for so many months.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Mimi laughed, glad that the woman had recalled the matter before Mimi could even bring it up herself. She didn't want to feel she was nagging the woman into doing so.

Rumiko chuckled. "Sorry for forgetting, I've been extremely busy lately - my agent signed me up for a lot of shoots."

"So is there any way you can fit me in then?" Mimi asked, clasping her hands together as enthusiasm brimmed in her brown orbs.

"Of course," Rumiko replied, her eyes floating upwards as she tried to remember what she could of her schedule. "In fact, I know exactly when. It's a little way away, Friday the 13th of May, but the photographer is one of my favourites and he was the first one I worked with. He'll be perfect to help me show you the ropes with."

"Sounds great!"

"Let's just hope it's not unlucky, being Friday the 13th and all."

"Pah, I don't believe in that stuff anyway," Mimi said, dismissing it completely. Rumiko chuckled, nodding in agreement.

* * *

Henry wasn't really sure what they were expecting to find, but they had been walking for a few minutes in silence searching for a place to talk. Were they looking for another waiting room? For an empty hospital room? For a balcony?

The last seemed to be true to some extent, as they found themselves heading gradually upwards, the chance of them ending up back on the same rooftop they had originally learnt about Rika's pregnancy on. _"Strange how life works like that," _Henry thought, recalling how they had used it before so they could have a private chat with the parent-to-be. Right now, however, it'd probably be far too cold for anything like that.

He glanced back, seeing Jeri and Leomon following, the latter attracting a fair bit of attention that went unnoticed by the former, trapped in her own world of worry. Terriermon gave him a concerned look from his shoulder.

"You're going to have to talk soon Henry," he whispered. Henry sighed, nodding as he looked about, his intent for privacy looking to be a futile one. Finally, he spied a door for a fire escape stairwell - perhaps an unappealing place to be but at least it was quiet. He glanced to the still-distant Jeri; Leomon nodding in her place as they quietly entered the room.

Echoes of their footsteps rushed up and down the empty stairwell, the steps a perfect place for them to take the weight off their tired feet. Putting aside the idea that they would've been better off back in the waiting room, Henry settled down on the upwards set, gesturing for Jeri to follow. She nodded and did so, Terriermon leaping onto a step above whilst Leomon sat on the ones heading downwards.

"So," Jeri asked, feeling her every word was important. "What's so wrong that we had to come here to talk about it?" she asked, slightly aggravated by her surroundings. She then cursed her tone - if something were wrong, the last thing he wanted was to be complained to about where he wanted to get it off his chest. "Sorry."

"It's about being an Angel."

"Oh?" Jeri could hear the `off' tone in his voice. "What's wrong about it?"

"Nothing, that's the problem. I'm just not…it."

"Huh?"

"I don't feel like an Angel at all. Everyone keeps adding me to Ryder's group but I haven't even awoken, if I am one at all. I can't stop thinking about this either, it's driving me insane."

"But if you're not, how did you get home from 1945?"

"Yeah - that worries me even more. What if we did it wrong? What if Rey made me into a Broken Angel or something like that?"

"You don't look broken," Jeri said, a small smile on her lips as she put her arm around his back and patted him on his other shoulder.

"But I can only barely understand other languages, and I don't have any special abilities beyond that - all I have is this thing," Henry explained, gesturing to the green and black D-Vice on his wrist and tapping it to expand it into its full form. "Even if I _am_ an Angel, I'm no use in battles…I'm just, normal."

"Hello?! Henry, we kick ass in battles!" Terriermon interrupted, pumping a tiny fist and grinning as he got to his feet.

"Terriermon."

"What? I'm right ya know!"

"He's got you there," Jeri chuckled, before a slightly peeved expression grabbed her visage. "Besides, are you saying us Normal's are rubbish in battle?"

"No, no, I don't mean that," Henry apologised, shaking his head profusely and feeling for a second that he was Takato. Only Takato could stick his foot in it _this_ badly. "Since I became an Angel, we've faced many Digimon but every time I tried to do…something, nothing happened."

"Have you told anyone else?"

Henry nodded, frowning. "Rey and Ryder."

"What did they say?"

"She couldn't tell me anything, and he just told me I would eventually."

"So doesn't that tell you it'll work out alright? Rey _does_ travel in time, after all, and she knew you were an Angel," Leomon suggested.

"Yeah, but what if she made a mistake? What if I'm stuck like this forever?"

"Is that really a bad thing?" Leomon continued. "I would've thought the power to translate things is good in itself."

"Yeah, but it doesn't work as well as I thought it would. It's like…it's incomplete…like I'm not either."

"Henry," Jeri said, looking into the boy's worried eyes with a calm expression, amazed that he, such a logical person, was tying himself in knots with this. She couldn't pretend to understand everything that was going on with the Angels, and she obviously had no experience herself with being one, but what she did know was how to help a friend. She placed her hand on his D-Vice, the surface cold on her palm. "It's real."

"Yeah I know, but…"

Jeri simply giggled and interrupted him, the boy giving her a bewildered look. "You think too much."

"Sorry."

"Um…no need to say sorry," she insisted, smiling again. "Just…uh…relax," she said, pushing her head close to his. "Besides, if anything does go wrong, you've got all of us right behind you," she said reassuringly.

"So long as you don't demolish half of Tokyo first," Terriermon said, perhaps not the best words given the situation. Oddly, it was Jeri who glared at him this time, Henry simply contemplating that worst of fears with a worried expression.

"Terriermon!" Jeri scolded, Henry giving her a surprised expression, his eyebrows shooting up and his pupils wide. She paused in the moment, before giving an awkward laugh. "Oops."

"Ha! Sounds like you've spent too much time around us," Terriermon laughed, waving an ear cheekily.

"Next you'll be over thinking too," Leomon muttered, arms crossed where he sat on the step. Jeri glared, her cheeks pushed up tight in annoyance at how her own partner was now mocking her.

"Hmph, shut up," she mumbled, crossing her own arms while the lion smiled in amusement at the situation. Henry had to stifle a chuckle, even if the preceding jokes were partially at his own expense. She turned to him, as he pushed down the laugh. "Henry…" she began, her irritation quickly diverted from one source into another. "Um…why didn't you tell me yet? Or on the phone?"

"I didn't…" Henry began, pausing as he contemplated the irony of what he had to say. "…want to feel I was making a big deal out of it all."

"Oh."

"But, I was planning to tell you, just…I didn't."

Jeri sighed deeply, frowning lightly before shaking her head and deciding she wasn't about to punish him for his own doubts. "Never mind."

"Sorry."

"Even so…if you do want to talk…I'll be there."

A smile crossed Henry's face, and he nodded. "Thanks," he said, the guilt of making a big deal of things and not telling her either lifting slightly. She shifted forward, closer to him as he moved his head forward too, putting his hands about her waist and pulling their lips together in a kiss. As always, both Leomon and Terriermon looked away in disgust, the sight of their Tamers locked in such a bizarre act as bewildering as ever for them, and hence they were happy when it ended. The two teens looked into each others eyes contentedly before returning to each other's side, one arm of each still about the other. A brief but happy silence fell, broken when Henry lifted his free hand, looking at it curiously. "Hmm…it's still odd though: even if I have awoken, I don't feel any different…not yet at least."

"Uh-huh…" Jeri replied, tilting her head curiously. "What did you expect to feel?"

"Not sure but…I thought another strand of DNA would change things. Maybe I could test myself by seeing how easily I get injured?"

"We could push you down the stairs?" Terriermon suggested darkly, looking upwards through the stairwell.

"No, don't!" Jeri exclaimed, placing her hand on his quickly. "I don't want you hurting yourself to find out," she said, deep worry in her eyes.

"I wasn't going to," Henry replied, shaking his head. "I'm not that stupid."

"Yet," Terriermon added. "I give ya another month of this before you begin experimenting."

"If that were true, Ryder would've emptied a whole cartridge into his head by now in the name of `experimenting'," disagreed Leomon.

"And Takato and Rika would've flown into space," added Jeri with a giggle, a mental image of the absurd suggestion popping into her brain. "So just don't do anything stupid, okay Henry?"

"Heh, like listening to any of Terriermon's suggestions."

"Hey!"

"Momentai," Jeri and Henry said together, prompting a deep groan from the dog-bunny.

"Ugh."

**END OF PART THREE**

* * *

**A/N:** Hehe, it's one of those rare occasions when, at the time of writing, I can't think of anything useful or particularly interesting to put in the author's notes. Um…maybe just check out the wiki and the theme songs on there? Oh, and have a look through the spin-off things for Dimensions if you haven't already, since they are going to be compulsory reading before Book Seven (apart from Stratagems, which is still important for Book Seven and so is highly recommended reading before Book Seven). I've got the introduction to Book Seven planned out, and we'll be meeting a lovely new character who gets swept up in something rather bigger than she planned for…

Until next time…

B.C.


	79. Epilogue Part 4

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the original characters introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated otherwise here or elsewhere by myself).**

**A/N: **Now for the final part of this Epilogue, and, indeed, of the whole of **Book Six**. It's been a (very) long journey, but it's also been an exciting one too, and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Before we start, a few thanks. I'd like to thank E.S. Simeon for being my 600th reviewer and for providing so much support since I started this whole series. I'd like to thank Digi9346, Chaos Blademaster, WarBard, Roguespirit, DarkDremora4, Digital Dive, FireFairy219, Fireblast123, HarpieAna, Pjacthefighter, Potgenie, RGZ Archer, TheMightyBlues, Bsh41194, and all my reviewers and fellow writers who I've enjoyed chatting with about anything and everything.

Oh, and, of course, lest I forget, I'd like to deeply thank Crazyeight for all the beta reading, tips on writing, reviews and other support he's given, it's been invaluable. I look forward to all your support as we head into **Book Seven** and beyond!

Now, without further ado, on with the final part of **Book Six**…

* * *

**DIMENSIONS**

_**BOOK SIX**_

_Tricks_

By Blazing Chaos

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

_The Trick to Birth_

Part Four

* * *

**SATURDAY, 27****th**** FEBRUARY 2011**

* * *

_**Shinjuku General Hospital, Shinjuku Ward**_

_**23:29 JST**_

Pain. More pain. Repeated pain. And the worst thing was it was her own body subjecting her to it.

A long, pained groan escaped Rika's lips, as she struggled to keep herself comfortable in the present situation of near-endless contractions, everyone just that slight bit more painful than the last, to the point where the epidural had lost its effect. She bit her lip and breathed uncomfortably, not wanting to even begin to contemplate the harsh pain to come. Why was it lasting so long?

"_I'm so tired."_

Rika glanced aside, seeing Takato there, a deeply concerned gaze on his face as he stood over her, facing into an invisible wall so much that he knew he daren't move any closer or reach out to her. A tear blipped down her face, but whether it was one of pain or of sadness the redhead really couldn't tell.

"Breathe Rika, breathe," called a voice, but unfortunately it wasn't Takato's. Rika looked to her other side, seeing Setsuko, a woman who had been with her constantly for the past half hour or so as she drew ever-closer to the final stages of labour. The woman wasn't saying it, but it was clear: it was nearly over. The only problem was, the worst was still to come.

"_Screw it, I don't care how fucking scared he is,"_ Rika cursed, turning her head back with a defiant look to Takato. "Takato," she said, her timid voice not matching her thoughts. "It hurts," was all she could think to say, her words quiet and mumbled.

Takato stared on, not sure how to deal with her reaching out to him. Her eyes were so sad, her voice so quiet, and he swore he saw a tear on her face. In any other situation, he would've been right there - not only holding her hand but probably kissing or embracing her too, helping her up from her fall, be it real or metaphorical (although with Rika the former would be unlikely to ever provoke such a reaction). But now…he just…couldn't. His eyes looked over the intangible wall between them once again.

"_What's wrong with me?!"_

On any other occasion, the voice in his head known as Chaos would probably have used the opportunity to give a comprehensive list of exactly what Takato had asked for, but even he, the great tactless wonder, could tell now was not the time. _**"Takato, just hold her hand. You always said you would."**_

"_But I __just can't get over the idea that I'm going to be a Dad."_

"_**Whoop-de-doo, I'm so happy for you. I'm going to be a poet."**_

"_Uh…what?"_

"_**Ugh, don't you get it? Do I have to spell absolutely everything out for you?!"**_

"…_no…"_Takato thought, his nerves shot even further thanks to his alter-ego.

"_**It. Was. A. Rhyme. Now, just suck it up and hold her hand. Forget what the hell you feel right now - you'll have plenty of time to think it all over once she's born."**_

"_But…we're talking…uh…thinking about a whole new life here!"_

"_**Then don't! Christ, she may look like she's constipated and be holding back her tears like the cry-baby she secretly is, but she's still Rika…and Harmony, much to my irritation. Just hold her bloody hand and forget all the baby stuff…'cause you're driving me completely nuts."**_

Rika, seemingly to coincide with Chaos' pep talk, at that moment let loose a long moan of pain. Takato listening, Rika's urge to resign permeating throughout the noise, both painful to hear and painful for her, but the all-too-horrifying reality of how inescapable her present situation was lit up Rika's eyes like a wildfire. She breathed erratically, Setsuko speaking calmly as always.

"Just breathe Rika," she said, inspecting the girl's progress. "Not long now…just think of the baby girl you'll soon have."

"But it's so painful," Rika groaned, all attempts at keeping to her usual stoic and restrained self in her emotions quickly collapsing. "I want it to be over," she cried, fingernails pressing into the bed sheet in lieu of anything else as she was forced to sit up further. The idea that it was nearly over after hours of mind-numbing agony should've been a well-received one by her, but both outside knowledge and the increasing pain she felt with each contraction (even with the aid of the epidural) meant that she doubted she could last that long.

"_**Suck it up and be a woman."**_

"_Huh?"_

"_**Yeah, everyone said be a man but I think they're aiming far too high for you."**_

Takato, wisely, ignored Chaos as he caught sight once again of Rika's eyes, violet, pain-filled eyes reaching out for him but seeing only their invisible wall. He glanced down uncomfortably, seeing her hand still pressing into the bed, trying to vent her anger and distress in her usual manner - violence. Not that Takato could entirely put her down for it - at least she found some way to relieve her stress even if right now she'd probably have enjoyed more punching Davis, Ryo, Kazu, Terriermon, or a whole host of other annoyances in the face. Takato himself seemed to have a habit of bottling up his anger.

"_**Grab her hand. Grab her hand."**_

"_But it'll hurt!"_

"_**Uh…crap! Why did I suggest this?"**_

Takato breathed in, holding his breath and staring on at her shaking hand. Time seemed to pause, the words of Setsuko blurring into a slurred mess and Rika's breathing slowing and becoming more distinct in his mind.

"_Come on, she needs you Takato."_

"_**Why are you talking in the third person? Do you have **_**another**_** alter-ego?"**_

He barely heard Chaos either, as he lifted his hand, it creeping forwards slightly before juddering back, the sequence repeating. The world continued at its slow pace, making the move towards Rika seem even more painful.

Finally, Takato swallowed, pushing his fear down temporarily and summoning up just enough bravery to put his hand on top of hers.

Her eyes looked up in surprise, amazed that he was suddenly trying to reach out to her. His courage even extended to a smile, the girl turning her hand over and gripping his back as they made true and long eye contact for the first time that evening. Takato felt her grip tightly, something which didn't surprise him but which he still found painful, as did another.

"_**HOLY CRAP!"**_

The problem, however, with prolonged eye contact, is that at some point it has to end, and that could only mean ill.

Takato's eyes glimpsed away, seeing the large bump still dominating Rika's belly, his grip loosening almost instantly. Rika noticed just as fast.

"Takato?" she asked, not caring how frail and muted her voice sounded.

"Uh…" Takato mumbled, wanting to think logically but with his mind simply swamped by the sight of her bump. His grip suddenly dropped completely, as he made his excuses. "It's nearly over…I'll…I'll go get our parents and Rey," he said, not believing a word of what he said. Rika didn't believe him either, as he stepped back, the scared and saddened expression returning to his face only now about ten times more powerful. She grasped the air, part of her mind hoping he would see it, take the hint and be there again, but her sensible half telling her that this wouldn't be the case.

"Okay," she mumbled, her words not much more than that. He looked so guilty, as he began to wander to the entrance. Guilmon glanced up at Renamon, waving and beginning to follow his Tamer before Takato turned.

"Don't worry Guilmon, I'll be back soon," he said, the Digimon nodding, oblivious to what this all meant in Rika's mind.

"Okay," the dinosaur said.

"_He's going…not even with Guilmon…he's going…he can't!" _Rika thought, going to sit up but both the pain and the fact he had already left the room stopping her in her tracks as the midwife told her to settle down and relax again. _"No…no…no…no…no…no…" _she chanted to herself, her nails splitting the bed sheet as she dug into it again.

Renamon looked down to Rika, seeing the pain in her face and feeling that she had to do something to prevent it getting any stronger. She looked across to Guilmon, putting a paw to her lips and passing down the egg to him before vanishing altogether. Rika was too out of it to notice, her mind blurred by pain of the heart and of the body.

Guilmon looked down to the digi-egg in his arms, before looking back up to Rika, frowning as he saw the hurt look in her eyes. It something even his mind, not known for always being entirely in touch with what was going on, could relate easily to one particular emotion. _"Aw, please come back soon Takato. Rika looks really sad."_

* * *

A pen dropped onto a table, a signature drawn and an employee of the hospital finishing their shift with a sigh of relief. Hand ran through ruffled blue hair as the woman took a step back, smiling as she filed the card but feeling that it wasn't right yet to be happy. As much as her tired eyes wished for a quick trip home and a nice long night, her mind and her heart told her to do otherwise.

Fumiko turned, forgoing the formality of uttering a quiet goodbye to the nurse in the room who seemed not to be paying much attention anyway, the computer annoying her more than anything. She stepped out and into the corridor, turning and catching a pace. The number of non-patients intensified as she neared the waiting room, and she pondered, half with concern, whether Rika had given birth yet. Despite the fact, of course, that it would mean a fair bit more pain for the girl, she did wish that if it had to come to that she could be there at the time.

She frowned, before a rather tall object approaching made her stop in her tracks, wondering why it wasn't moving. She blinked, a brief look of surprise on her face.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," a British voice quipped dryly, the doctor chuckling and shaking her head in disbelief. Even with the fact she had met a number of Brits in her capacity as a doctor, never before had she met one with such an impeccable grasp of Japanese. Every subtle meaning conveyed, every drop of social status exhibited - a perfect translation. Perhaps too perfect, but, the doctor had noted several times, this wasn't remotely the most remarkable thing about the boy.

"_Besides, Mari seems the same. I'm getting the impression this is far from a lifetime study of Japanese…given they arrived here without a plan a year ago,"_ she thought, giving a smile. _"Must be an Angel thing." _"You could say that, although you made that joke the last time I saw you."

"I have a bad memory," Ryder chuckled, the pair taking a step to the side when they realised they were in the way of a number of trolleys and staff passing down the hallway.

"Or a bad sense of humour," MiniDonmon added from his Tamer's shoulder. The boy glanced to one side, into his partner's eyes, a brief jokey yet slightly tired glare conveyed before he looked back to the doctor.

"Quiet you."

"Either way, it's been a while, hasn't it? Are you still…" Fumiko paused, fishing for the right word to describe Ryder's bizarre condition. Life only had individuality in relation to death, after all.

"Alive? I'll get back to you on that one. You?"

"Busy, very busy, but surviving. How's Mari?"

"Sleeping like an Angel," Ryder noted, the comment seeming like a simple compliment from anyone not in-the-know. A quick blast of a smile passed between the pair, knowing it was better to keep the truth hidden. "I think she's gotten over what happened last year now."

Ryder was evidently side-stepping a point, and Dr Imai was no less than completely blunt about it. "Have you?"

Ryder frowned, not liking how the bad memory of his second kill was being dredged up into conversation, as much as Fumiko didn't mean to depress him. "I have to."

"Hmm…"

The boy gave a deep sigh, putting his hands in his pockets. "No rest for the immortal, I guess."

The doctor put a hand on his shoulder, a reassuring smile warming onto her lips. "Cheer up. You've been given a second chance…"

"Not to mention a third and a fourth," MiniDonmon chipped in.

"Yes, and you can't let it go to waste. You've got a gift, and, even if you aren't running the same risks when you go into battle as your friends, you can use that to your advantage. You can take the really big risks, and your friends will be able to survive because of it."

"Yeah, like sharing your immortality," the bat added.

"Doesn't stop it hurting like hell when it happens though," Ryder noted, putting his hand on his stomach as he remembered the pain there. Worse still, that only accounted for two of the eight bullets in total. Yet, oddly, none of them hurt at all. The memory, however, was hard to get rid of.

"What do you mean? Does death hurt that much?"

"No, I don't recall it really hurting at all but…it takes a lot to kill someone…and, far I be from being an expert on this, eight bullets is rather painful, even if it usually ends quick."

"Hmm, I see."

"Still, if it were Mari or I, I'd be pushing her out of the way just like that, immortal or not," he said, clicking his fingers with an enthusiastic smile. "Just…uh…don't tell her that. She's still not confident enough that I'm immortal and…well, I don't want to push my luck either."

"She doesn't want you to die," Fumiko surmised. "Given her…family situation…"

Ryder nodded. "Yeah…I'm all she's got," he said, a grim smile on his face.

Fumiko frowned, a tinge of guilt in her heart for raising the subject. "Listen, I'm sorry for bringing up the family thing…I think I pry too much."

"No, it's no problem," he replied, giving a smile to wash away the concern. "Hey, you've been helping her and I out so much, you're practically a family member anyway. Just…uh…don't raise the subject around her." An awkward smile appeared on his face. "I've made that mistake all too often."

Fumiko nodded, quickly glancing to her watch curiously. Midnight was fast approaching, and the signs of the tiredness were already manifesting on her.

"Oh, sorry…are you meant to be somewhere?" Ryder apologised, noticing the gesture. The woman quickly shook her head, smiling.

"No, I just clocked off work. Are you on your way somewhere?"

"Vending machine. Not really that hungry but it's about the only thing to pass the time now. Matt and Joe went out and got us all some rice earlier, but that feels like ages ago now. Plus, I don't really like the stuff, which didn't exactly help."

"I ate most of his," MiniDonmon claimed proudly.

"You know, I can't tell whether to complain or thank you for saving me from a difficult diplomatic situation," Ryder said, looking to his shoulder again and sighing. "I'm still not used to this country."

"You haven't even been here a year, so I'm not surprised," Fumiko surmised.

"It's not just that. Everything over here is so different from the UK, and most of the West too. In London, the biggest skyscrapers were in the City and Docklands, but here…they're everywhere! I mean, not as much as New York was, but still…it's just…big. And, whilst I've seen beautiful places in this country, there's still tons of concrete. Then again, home wasn't too different, although I do miss things like the Beeb and the fact it felt like a small country on a big scale. Here, it feels like a huge country squashed into a small one, and everyone's always on the move. I thought I'd enjoy the gadgetry, but I didn't realise how much crap was filtered out on the way to Britain. And then, there's all the odd customs going on that neither Mari nor I really understand, and whilst our friends are helpful it's a bit like an alien planet at times."

"What was life like at home?"

"Heh. You never visited someone without calling first, talking to your neighbours was strictly for lunatics only and it was all about the planning permission. God knows what they demolished to build this city, but I'm sure if it were home the Save Wimbledon Alliance would've blown a fit. But, for all its stupid faults and customs, it was home. I really do miss my family and friends, even if I have tons of people here who are my friends now."

"It's a universe away in plenty of ways then."

"Yeah, guess so. We have this saying back home that "home is where the heart is.""

"And is it true?"

As Ryder went to speak, the doctor's expression changed and kept him quiet a few moments long. She had glanced over the boy's shoulder, a new sight catching her smile as she saw it walking towards them with a quiet yawn. The boy turned, wondering what she was looking at and seeing it with a concerned smile.

"I really don't know," he replied, sighing as a tired Mari gave him a confused expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noticing how he seemed unhappy to see her. He shook his head, flashing a smile.

"Never mind, just making myself depressed again."

"It's your hobby," she said, the boy giving a light chuckle before Mari turned her attention back to what had attracted them in the first place. "Hey," she said to the doctor, the woman only a fraction taller than her as she waved a hand casually.

"Hey," Dr Imai replied, smiling. "Long time no see, although given my profession I'd say that's probably not a bad thing."

"True, but you're still our friend," Mari said, smiling back despite her sleepy eyes. "Sorry for not keeping in touch…Dumbass here lost your number and we only found it the other day down the back of the sofa," she said, giving a playful wink at her boyfriend.

"Dumb arse," Ryder corrected, stressing the 'r', something which she didn't gratify with a response.

"I'm just glad to see you're both alright. The life you've chosen isn't exactly the safest one."

"Ha, chosen. If only," Ryder laughed.

"Aw, but…" MiniDonmon began, a hurt expression appearing on his face.

"I didn't exactly phrase that right, did I? I mean, if I'd had the choice, I'd rather have this all _without_ all the death, destruction and despair, but still with you and all the other Digimon," he corrected himself.

"But you _are_ leading a life without death," the Digimon stressed.

"Don't be so sure," Mari said, glancing across to them before looking specifically at Ryder with a concerned and slightly scared expression. "I don't want you taking any stupid risks."

Ryder frowned, Dr Imai nodding slightly to him in recognition of what he had said earlier. "I wish you two all the best in every battle and all my colleagues are rooting for you…well, most of them."

"Most?" Mari asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Some people still aren't sure what to think of all of you - the number of casualties we had last year when all those buildings were collapsing made it rather hard for any reason to be heard. But, they also know how many people you've saved, and when you're a doctor you get used to seeing the world in a different light. I wouldn't be worried."

"I don't really blame them for being scared to be honest," Mari said, giving a light frown. "I've been on the receiving end of a Digimon attack as just a lowly citizen before, and it's not fun."

Ryder gave a deeper frown, recalling the particular incident, and, indeed, incidents, which she was referring to. Her parent's death, Taiki's attack on her in the shopping centre, being snatched up by the Royal Knights to lure him out, how BlackRyudamon had ambushed her - DarkRenamon was a blessing for her, as were her Angel powers.

"It's a shame really. Digimon are such interesting creatures," Fumiko said, a smile on her face as she looked over MiniDonmon, someone who's existence still defied her belief. Of course, he wasn't alone in doing so.

"You can say that again," Mari said with a smile, glancing aside into the shadows as DarkRenamon gracefully stepped from them, bowing her head to the doctor.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks," MiniDonmon added, grinning.

Dr Imai smiled and nodded back. "It's no problem."

"I wish they could all see the wonders we see," Ryder noted, gazing slightly off into space as he contemplated the best parts of his adventures. Your partner getting stronger thanks to you, visiting the Digital World, two hearts, one Digital, one human, beating as one in a biomerge…it was completely indescribable. "Particularly the Digital World - that place throws logic on its head."

"I've never been there," Mari mused, frowning.

"Well, I've never been to the one for this world but I've seen it on TV. It's a mix of vast deserts, lush forests and bustling cities, the orb of the real world in the sky towering over the tallest mountain and casting thousands of data streams down on the world's inhabitants. It's…fantastic, if a bit frightening."

"I can't imagine the idea of going to another world."

"I…can, unsurprisingly."

"Maybe one day ordinary people might get to see it all."

"Yeah, maybe…but I don't know how they'd be kept safe."

"Yeah…and, of course, I'm hardly ordinary any more either, thanks to you."

"No problem," Mari said with a smile.

"The idea of thousands of humans in my world is certainly a strange one," DarkRenamon pondered, the concept of so many people bewildering for a place which until relatively recently had barely been aware of the existence of its neighbour.

"Zhuqiaomon would blow a fit," MiniDonmon joked, Ryder nodding in agreement.

"There'd be tourist resorts too - every beach covered in sun beds, every Unimon used as a seaside donkey," he contemplated, shuddering at the thought. "I think we'd have to avoid taking all our problems there with us."

"At least it'd be easy to build things there, with the right programmers at least," said Mari.

"Sounds like the Digital World is going to have a lot of difficulty in the future as humans know more about it," Fumiko surmised, frowning before returning to a smile. "I'm sure you are all up to it though."

"Hope so," Ryder mumbled, frowning. Everything lay in their hands, it seemed, and right now, they weren't even sure of the present let alone the future. How could they manage an entire world?

He shook his head, smiling to himself at the unbelievable nature of the concept of a whole world lying in his hands before becoming scared and overwhelmed by the idea, and deciding to settle down into more domestic matters, which were far easier to deal with and didn't risk thousands of deaths as a result.

"Right, shall we go get a cup of brown water?"

Fumiko gave the boy a bewildered gaze, before Mari muttered what he meant. "Tea."

"Oh," she said, a smile on her face as she nodded. "Yes, but we'll have to be quick. Rika must be a fair way along it all by now."

"Not long until a whole new life enters the world," Mari said, beaming at the concept as she imagined the sight of the newborn Rey.

"And Rika can finally rest," Ryder said, remembering how tired the girl was in his most recent visit. He yawned widely, stretching out his arms before chuckling "And so can we."

* * *

"Stupid hard plastic, I can't find anywhere to sit," Gatomon complained, wandering across the chairs and along the backs as she 'searched' for a decent seat. In reality, however, she was merely trying to pass the time, occupying herself with whatever was available and envying Patamon who slept snugly with his wings tucked around him on a seat nearby. She looked about, seeing the array of Tamers, many of them now asleep, including two of the youngest, Kristy and Suzie, who, despite their initial enthusiasm and seemingly boundless energy, had now succumbed to the endless head-dipping effects of boredom.

She looked to her Tamer, slouched down slightly in one of the seats and staring boredly off into space as she tried to entertain herself with counting the ceiling tiles. Oddly, despite her search for an alleviation to boredom, she was so much in her own world that she failed to hear her partner talking, and was only woken up when that very same partner sprang onto her head, claws firmly but gently gripping her straight short brown hair.

Kari looked briefly surprised before casting her eyes upwards, Gatomon smiling, primarily out of being glad there was something to do. "You look tired."

"I am," the girl replied. "But I can't exactly go to sleep whilst we're waiting for Davis to come back with the sodas."

"He's been a while."

"Probably wandering around looking for one with the right sodas in."

"Or just wandering around to pass the time."

Kari smiled, chuckling to herself. "That too," she said, sitting up a tad and glancing about at those around her, from Tai sleeping on a slightly peeved Sora's lap to Rey sitting deep in thought, or, at least, telepathy. She considered talking to the girl, wanting to know what was going through her mind right now, but her instinct told her that she simply needed some time to herself.

The girl gave a light smile which faded quickly as she saw another of her friends, this one seemingly just as deep in thought but not for such an explicit reason. Takeru lay across a number of seats nearby by his partner, his eyes open as he stared up at the white of the ceiling tiles.

"You okay Takeru?" Kari asked, concern laden in her voice as she pushed down again that gut feeling that she already knew what was causing the commotion. It simply made her feel queasy with worry about what would happen if she was right. She didn't want to see anyone get hurt, not least two of her closest friends, Davis and Takeru.

Getting no response from the boy, she reached out, ruffling his blonde hair with a light smile. His eyes looked up and towards her, surprised as he was awoken from his trance.

"Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked, are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Really? You looked really out of it there."

"I'm just a bit depressed."

"Want to talk about it?"

Takeru frowned, knowing he couldn't possibly talk to Kari of all people about it. Hell, he knew he'd choose Davis if he had to choose any day - at least with Davis a wrong word wouldn't destroy as old a relationship. Still, at the same time, his friendship with people like Davis had become close enough that it made no difference to how strong their bond seemed. Still, at least Davis would be easier to laugh about things like this with, and he'd also probably have found it easier to actually say any words about it to the Goggleheaded boy.

Takeru gave a noncommittal grunt, not wanting to say yes and force himself to bluff or say anything about it, or say no and simply leave the girl even more concerned about him.

But even so, what could he say? That he had a 'crush' on her? The boy suppressed a cringe, the word seemed…inadequate, childish, but most of all it meant admitting what was happening. He didn't want it to be happening, and calling it a 'crush', a 'fancy', infatuation, or even love, simply made it more realistic than he wanted it to be.

Kari paused, wondering whether to press him on further or be safe and hold back. _"I should just ask him…this is going to get worse and worse otherwise."_

She opened her mouth, a sudden rush of courage building up and generating…

Nothing.

She frowned as she closed it again, looking away and seeing a familiar face arriving, someone to tell her how amazing she was and take her mind off things even when right now she couldn't have felt lower or more engrossed in what had become a major problem in her life. A slim smile appeared on her face as half of her thanked the gods for a diversion, and the other half cursed her for letting it stop her helping a friend.

"Hey," Davis called, keeping his voice hushed all the same for fear of waking anyone, including Takeru who looked asleep from his angle. The boy cradled three soda cans in his hand, DemiVeemon perched on his head with an oddly eager smile, one mirrored by his Tamer. Unaware of what he was doing, he merely noted Kari's nod and Takeru's slightly increased movements as he sat in the gap between them, passing a can to Kari.

"Thanks," she said, pecking him on the cheek before he turned to pass the other can down to Takeru.

"Here," he said, grinning at his success in scavenging. Given the fact that most of the machines were rather empty by now (thanks no doubt to the large swarm of teens who had descended on the waiting room) the comparison perhaps wasn't as metaphoric as it seemed.

"Thanks…how much do I owe you?"

"Nah, it's on me."

"Thanks," Takeru uttered, swivelling around and sitting up to deal with his can without it dripping everywhere. Absently, he pulled it open, only to immediately regret it as foam began to spew from the top. He put it down on the ground quickly, looking down at his damp lap in horror.

"Oh, yeah…should've mentioned that I found that one first and carried it around with me while I looked for the others," Davis apologised, scratching the back of his head as Kari watched with concern.

"Looks like it's now on you anyway," Gatomon quipped, Davis searching his pocket and pulling out a tissue. Kari watched as Takeru accepted it, frowning at the sight as he and Davis began to try and mop it up.

This would only make Takeru more depressed, and he couldn't even take it out on Davis as he was no doubt hoping to thanks to the boy immediately coming to his aid, the one person who already was probably already aggravating him. At least now it was all hidden, god knew what'd happen if everything came out into the open. The amount they stood to lose was tremendous, petrifying even, and Kari knew she couldn't do such a thing. She dearly hoped things would sort themselves out on her own, despite her logical side telling her it was unlikely. She frowned, knowing she had to help her friends somehow, even if she couldn't speak of the elephant in the room, one that she couldn't help but feel was all her fault.

"You okay Takeru?" she asked, trying to be of some help despite knowing she didn't have any tissues. The boy paused, looking to her with a dour face and nodding as he held a soaked tissue.

"Yeah."

He wasn't.

* * *

The walls of the hospital became older, the people became older, and Rika's ward seemed further and further away as the boy simply walked, not caring where he ended up in the sprawling maze of hospital passageways. Where a few minutes ago he had recognised the occasional room from his previous visits, now he was all on new territory.

He told himself he wasn't running away - he was still in the hospital, he just needed some time to think.

But even he didn't believe his own lies, and he became angrier and angrier at himself as he walked for daring to make them, to a point where Chaos had become completely redundant in their mental conversation.

"_Stupid, stupid, stupid Takato!"_ he cursed, pressing a hand into his forehead as he turned another corner, spying a fire escape at the end and unconsciously making a beeline for it along the quieter corridor. He told himself he was simply going to go up a floor, but right now he hadn't the faintest clue what he was going to do.

"_**Takato, just stop."**_

Takato ignored Chaos, perhaps because he simply couldn't hear them. Takato's thoughts were drowning out Chaos', and the disembodied alter-ego couldn't think of a single thing he could do to sort it out. Even taking over Takato's body seemed to be off-limits right now, the boy's emotional state practically locking the entity in a cage.

Chaos couldn't help but question why he was doing this. Why was he trying to stop what he had once wanted anyway? Once out that door, once his parents had disowned him for leaving Rika, he would be free, free to cause chaos just like in every other life. They could go to the Middle East and start a riot, to the USA and bring down swathes of the internet, to the Digital World to corrupt data and make it a hazardous place. No Rika, no Renamon, no Rey, no Realmon, no Angels, nothing to hold them back, not even Guilmon. The thought of lacking his eponymous partner soured Chaos' mood further, but sacrifices had to be made, and he had had to survive without the dinosaur in past lives.

So why did he not want to do that now?

Had he become…tamed? Had Harmony begun to control him? Had she…won?

"_**No…I haven't lost to her…I can't have…but…if I go out that door, I will. She wants me to be an evil bastard so she can justify what she's done - she hates everything I do without cause, she never considers her own actions and she treats me like crap. Sure, I do the same, but I do it jokily…she just…hates me."**_

So, he would do it. He would stop Takato, he would prove he was better than Harmony, that she was not always in the right - never in the right. It was time for him to prove himself.

Somehow.

"_**Ah, who am I kidding, I can't do anything. How the hell is Takato able to do this? None of my previous incarnations ever locked me down like this, and some of them were both stronger and smarter. I need a bloody miracle."**_

A figure leapt from the shadows, fulfilling Chaos' wish in a painful manner as it threw Takato up against the wall violently, stopping him before he could reach the exit in the quietened corridor.

"You are not leaving Rika!" hissed a voice, its anger maxed out and its associated blue orbs glaring with an intensity never seen before. The boy squirmed against the tight grip, the yellow blur pressing his shoulder against the wall.

"I…I…can't…" he mumbled, petrified. His eyes darted, his mind ablaze and nothing around him being there to stop his wildly running thoughts. No Chaos, no Guilmon, no Rika, no Henry, no Jeri, no parents…no-one! The runaway thoughts which once went untamed when he was a child were practically nonexistent in comparison to this train wreck, spiralling out of control as his mind practically egged him on.

"Takato, I care for you so deeply but you have crossed a line," Renamon hissed, gobsmacked at how the child, as she tracked him, had not only gone in completely the wrong direction to find Rika's parents in his wanderings, but had also been about to escape the hospital entirely. Takato squirmed back, before a sudden surge of red energy flashed through his hands and gave him the force to throw the Kitsune away from him.

Startled, Renamon fell back, slamming into the opposite wall and filling the air with a loud racket as a scared Takato stared on, anger quickly fading and a long line of curses protruding from his mouth. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," he muttered, beginning to wander back and forth as he gripped his head. "Sorry," he said, Renamon standing to her feet and glancing down the corridor. Seeing a number of eyes cast their way, she ignored the boy's words (if they could be called that, being mostly incoherent) and the remarkable pain the human had just managed to inflict on her back and stepped forward, this time standing over the boy and using her height to pull him in close as her mood flicked entirely.

"Calm down, calm down," she mumbled, her words still with tinges of anger which made them ineffectual. Finally, she looped her arms around his waist, the pair vanishing from sight.

Takato froze, completely stopping as he felt the world rush past at breakneck speed, his mind suddenly relieved of the problematic thought for just a moment as hospital lights and doctors flashed past his vision so quickly that he thought he was going to be sick. Suddenly, he felt a cool wind through his hair, and the pressure around his waist suddenly vanishing as Renamon took a considerate step back.

The boy blinked, his eyes taking a while to adjust to the sudden darkness about him. Well, that wasn't entirely an accurate definition - pinpricks of light filled his vision as it cleared; the light beginning to form windows and car headlights.

He leant on a concrete barrier and looked down, suddenly working out where he was as he saw the floors and lights of the hospital cascading away from him vertically. He took a step back, fearful of falling even with the barrier there.

"Takato," Renamon said, the boy's mind suddenly becoming so focused once again. Perhaps it was the wind, perhaps it was the surprise of the quick trip, perhaps even the use of Chaos' powers had sparked some sense back into his convoluted mind, but he suddenly found himself able to think clearly again.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"We needed to get away from everyone, and this was the only place I could think of."

"But…uh…" Takato mumbled, the nervousness also returning, an oddly promising sign for the Kitsune. "Aren't you worried about me, you know…?" he said, gesturing downwards. Renamon shook her head.

"I know you're not that stupid."

"Not _that_ stupid?"

"I have spent too much time with Rika," Renamon said, a slim smile on her face as she reminded Takato of why they were there. The moon above them did little to illuminate them, both because the city lights blurred it out and because it had already fallen away piece by piece to a sliver of what it was. Renamon glanced upwards, somehow knowing without any idea of why that it was only five days until the New Moon.

It seemed that their new lives, however, would be settling sooner.

"Renamon, I'm scared," Takato said, expressing his thoughts as truthfully as he could. It was rather redundant, Renamon had already gotten the point of what was wrong with him, but it was also rather chilling to hear nonetheless. This was a boy who had rushed into the D-Reaper to save Jeri, had risked life and limb by pressing the orbs together to defeat Daemon, and had fallen in love with easily one of the most scary and cold people on earth (at least, that's how she conveyed herself to the world). And yet now, he was scared of a simple change, a simple new addition to a group which had already seemed many. Was there more to it than that?

"_There has to be," _Renamon surmised. _"Takato is easily scared but he is not stupid." _This had to be genuine fear, and it was fear over something Renamon knew she didn't know enough about.

Takato, still to get a reply, leant on the wall and looked out over the city, his condensed breaths lit up by a nearby safety light on the roof. His clothes didn't really help that much to insulate him, but he barely noticed. It was only a short term thing, and he'd learnt lately that 'short term' wasn't long at all. _"Rika's pregnancy was 'short term', and it flew by in a flash."_

Could he have used more time? Was nine months not enough for him? Or did it make no difference?

"You need to talk to her…" Renamon said, her words cut off by Takato's sudden and almost pre-planned reply.

"I can't."

"You two need to resolve things between you."

"I mean I can't. Not right now."

"Takato, you have to stop avoiding your…"

"I can't do it Renamon because now is not the time," Takato said, turning round to face the yellow vixen as she paused in surprise at his sudden confidence. "Rika's in too much pain to even hear me, and if I say anything I'm just going to make it even more painful for her. I know that talking normally resolves things, but right now…right now we don't have that luxury."

Renamon frowned, hearing the words which seemed strangely mature. Was Takato…thinking this through that much?

"You can't cut off the opportunity for talking to her by running away then, even if you are scared."

"Renamon, I don't care about me being scared. Hell, do you think I'd have gotten anywhere in life if I let everything I worry about get to me constantly?" he asked, Renamon's superior vision seeing the sincere look on his face. "I'm scared because I don't want to hurt Rika…I'm scared because I know that if I can't support her it'll only devastate her even more. I had so many chances in there to help her, and we both knew I'd never pull through. I am _never_ going to pull through…who are we kidding? I'm not cut out to be a father."

"But you could…"

"Rika doesn't need me, she really doesn't. Even if I'm there, I'm just going to make things worse. If I can't even get over the stress of having a kid before it happens, how am I going to deal with it afterwards? And this way it all works out because she has her mom, grandma, you, Kristy, my parents, everyone, and she deserves it. I don't end up with anyone but Chaos and that's right too."

"How can you think that's right? Takato, her father…"

Takato frowned, looking down at the ground as he leant on the wall, making sure not to put himself anywhere near a position where he could fall over. "Her dad stayed with her and then broke her heart, and she never knew it was going to happen. I can't do that to her again, I can't promise her I'll be there forever. I don't want to see her heartbroken again."

"If you run away, you won't see her at all."

"Well, I don't know, maybe that's better," Takato mumbled, sighing deeply. "I just…I just want more time, I just want to mature, because I'm not ready to be a dad - I never really considered ever being one before all this happened."

Renamon went to open her mouth, but she paused, before raising a hand. "Stay here," she said, before vanishing from sight as Takato's eyes widened in surprise. He looked about the rooftop, suddenly finding himself alone again.

"**That was…weird."**

"Yeah."

Suddenly, he found himself not alone on the rooftop again, Renamon reappearing with another figure being released from her grip. She paused behind, Takato seeing the person she had brought with her and staring on in disbelief. He swore he saw a wink in the Digimon's eye as she vanished once again into god-knows-where, leaving him to struggle to close his mouth again.

"Dad?" he spluttered, wondering why the Digimon had brought him up here. Evidently, the older man didn't know either, surprise on his middle-aged face as he glanced about at his new surroundings.

"Takato? Where is this?" Takahiro asked, seeing the lights of the city around them but not being able to place where they could possibly be seeing them from. The last thing he knew, he was sitting on a seat in the waiting room only to be told by Renamon that they had to leave in a hurry. After that, everything had become a rather sickening blur, and now, he found himself here, with Takato.

"It's the roof."

"The roof? Huh?"

"_Renamon must've brought him here to talk…but…is it just __'cause he's my dad? I mean, he's a great dad, but he's not exactly a motivational speaker." _"Yeah," Takato said, feeling a tear in his eye from the sheer weight of the day's events. He snivelled, accidentally drawing attention to his weeping.

"Takato, are you crying?" his father asked, his concern about where he had ended up pushed completely aside as he walked over to his son, gripping him in a hug as the tears began to stream from his ducts. "Oh Takato," he mumbled, his son crying over his shoulder.

"I'm scared," he blubbed, his father patting him on the back.

"It's okay son," Takahiro replied, his son gripping him tight as he clung to the few pillars of support he felt he had remaining. If his father knew…if he knew what a coward he was being, maybe he would lose that too. "Don't cry."

"I'm immature, I'm naïve, I make mistakes, I can't even face Rika…I'm going to be a terrible dad," he said, something clicking in his father's mind which made the man push his son away from the hug, looking him in the eye as Takato became so afraid that he had actually lost that pillar of support to. Thankfully, such was not the case.

"Of course you are son."

The tears stopped in their tracks, eyes too wide to let them through the tear ducts as Takato ran over what he had just heard from his father a thousand times.

"_**Wow, he really isn't a good motivational speaker, eh?"**_

"Heck, do you think I was a good father at first?"

"Uh…I don't know," Takato mumbled, suddenly pushed off the firm footing of the argument he had convinced himself to believe by the unpredictable response.

"Well, I'll tell you, I was absolutely terrible. Mie had to do everything, and she was always saying how useless I was, and she was right."

"Uh…can't quite see _how _this is meant to reassure me."

"You're still alive, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but…uh…I don't remember you ever being a bad dad."

"Well, I was. Takato, I was less mature than you are now and I was ten years older at that point. You'd have done better than me."

"But, how? I'm going to be completely useless. And I'm not mature; I spent the past ten minutes wondering what countries I could escape to."

"**Cuba is good, but people don't notice when you make things worse."**

Takahiro briefly paused, still amazed by this alter-ego who both wasn't and was his son at the same time. "Takato, you deal with so many things in your life, and even when you looked really determined facing the D-Reaper I could tell you were scared, and you were right to be scared. When you're scared, you realise how important everything all is, and nothing is more important than your children."

"But I don't know what I have to do."

"I'll teach you if you get stuck. And anyway, I'm not sure how I'm going to be a grandfather either…it just makes me feel old, but I know I'll cope, and you will too."

"Yeah…just like everyone's been saying…I have to grow up," Takato said, his mind flashing back over those times, both that day and before, when people had given him a 'reality check'. When they were all telling him to propose to Rika…

* * *

"Takato, I know this sounds stupid coming from a guy who loves to lie in and would rather watch cartoons than go to a lecture, but you have _got_ to grow up!" Tai insisted.

* * *

…and just a few hours ago, with Fumiko…

* * *

"Yeah, okay, I did mean that…but…what do we do?" Takato asked, peeved by not getting an answer yet.

Rumiko gave a smile, one slightly unnerving for the boy as she gave an inconvenient truth. Her hand landed on his shoulder as she looked into his eyes. "You grow up," she answered, before looking across to the door. "Now come on, Rika's waiting,"

* * *

"Do you know what growing up means though?"

"Uh…tax returns, work and senility?" Takato asked, saying the first three things which came to his mind.

"No," Takahiro replied, grinning widely. "Growing up means telling everyone else you're older and more mature while on the inside simply wanting to goof off and act like a kid, like driving faster than _seems_ safe."

"Oh, yeah, Rey mentioned that."

"But, while you want to goof off and act like a kid, you also realise where to draw the line. I did that as safely as possible, and I didn't take any big risks, but I did it so that I could be here sooner, to help you and Rika through this. I mean, I haven't been able to help much so far, but that's because you two work off each other so much it's hard for anyone else to get involved."

"Are you kidding me? We've barely spoken!"

"Then you have been working off each other, even without realising it. She's sad so you're sad, you're sad so she's sad…it's what couples do. It's when you don't line up that you want to be careful - that's when you argue."

"Dad…I think you're going to be a really good granddad."

"You think?" Takahiro asked, surprise in his eyes. "Oh, now I feel old."

"You're growing up then," Takato said, actually smiling for the first time in ages.

"I guess it does just happen then."

"Yeah…" Takato mumbled, contemplating everything he had heard as he looked out at the city lights. This world around him, it was in flux, his whole life was changing and he could do nothing to stop it but…it was still his world. He was growing up, but he was still him, he was still naïve, kid-like, a "Gogglehead".

A smile appeared on his face, finding himself unable to think that word without hearing Rika's voice, her intonation, the meaning behind it, everything. The same girl who right now was in pain, the same girl he had to help through this. The same girl he would help through this.

And then, as if the great gods of chance were shining upon him, the event which had been holding out for so long finally happened.

"Takato!" called a voice across from the fire escape door, a groaning of metal heard as both father and son turned to face it. Illuminated from behind by the light inside stood a smiling figure, blue hair ruffled by the wind and a determined look on her face. "It's time," she said forebodingly.

Takato said nothing to Fumiko, instead looking to his father. "I'm ready," he said, unable to resist giving a determined smile. Takahiro nodded, quickly deciding what he had to do.

"You hurry to be with Rika…I'll go get your mother and meet you there."

"Be quick," Takato said, both nodding in agreement as Takato began to hurry across to the stairs. Fumiko smiled as he arrived, holding the door wide open for him and smiling to his father as Takato's hurried footsteps fell away down the stairs. Everything was right; everything was going to work out.

* * *

The footsteps pounded down against the speckled floor, similar only in DNA to the previous ones. Red hair fluttered about, as a set of paws to her side paced just as fast as her. It took every instinct of Rey's to avoid slamming into every trolley she passed, every person, every machine, and her mind was so far away she was amazed she could even still do such a thing.

"_This is it. Please Takato, please be ready," _she thought, pressing her hands together quickly in a prayer. Not to a god, not even to her parents, but simply a prayer of hope. She glanced to her D-Vice, the seconds of the 27th February drawing away.

She already knew what was happening.

"_This labour takes so long that it just goes over into tomorrow," _she thought, a smile on her face of reassurance for herself. She hadn't screwed up; she had just made a miscalculation, an insignificant one in the long run. Everything was going right; everything was going as it should. She hoped.

Finally, she reached the door, barely glancing at the **Maternity Room 29** sign on it as she barged her way through, Realmon following straight afterwards as they entered the chaos.

The atmosphere suddenly changed, the girl glancing about to see who was in the room, trying to ignore the groans of her mother in the bed with the midwife, Setsuko, currently performing procedures she neither knew nor wanted to know. She saw Guilmon and Renamon, the latter clutching the now-rapidly vibrating egg and occasionally glancing to the door with a concerned expression. She saw Seiko, standing over and watching it all whilst offering the occasional word of encouragement. She saw Rumiko, by the side of the bed…

"Mom, mom, I'm scared," Rika moaned to her mother, the sheer pain of it all so overwhelming but no relief coming, not even from the anaesthetic she had had. "Make it stop!" she cried, clutching her mother's hand tightly as the woman tried to tell her words of reassurance. It was useless, every single phrase she said failing to get through to the girl's panic-stricken mind.

Rey fell into a frown, the reality settling in. Takato wasn't in the room, and neither were his parents. Fumiko wasn't here either. Rika was alone, and both of the people she had hoped on had failed to show up.

Rika strained her brow, letting loose a groan of pain and yet ending up with only more pain to groan about. "Rika, you've got to help here, push," Setsuko said, oddly calmly for such a seemingly desperate situation.

"I can't!" Rika insisted, clenching her jaw together. "I really can't," she cried, never before having looked so horrified and weak in her life.

Suddenly, the door was once again barged through by the pounding of footsteps, but these ones knew exactly where they were going, ruby D-Vice flashing in the bright lights of the hospital room. Rey stepped back at the last moment, eyes widened as Takato rushed past her.

Renamon smiled, looking across to Fumiko who soon after entered the doorway, and nodded back to her. Her last second rush to find Fumiko after finding Rika in the throes of labour had paid off.

Rika's face lit up with surprise to see both Fumiko and Takato, and an odd sense of happiness flowed over her despite their late arrivals and the sheer pain currently surging through her.

Rumiko looked up, just as shocked as her daughter to see the very determined face of Takato. She let go of Rika's hand, and almost instantly it was taken up again by Takato, the boy leaning over his girlfriend, his fiancée, the mother of his child, Rika, and planting a kiss on her lips, one she savoured for all its short-lasted glory as she resisted the urge to moan once again in pain throughout its duration.

"You are always so fucking late," she said as they pulled away again, a strangely cheerful tone to her voice which Takato doubted he would ever forget. What dominated her voice even more, however, was a sheer sense of relief, partly that he was there and partly because she could now finally grip his hand as tight as possible, a method of revenge for him ever considering leaving her.

He winced in pain, reality striking him as he went to groan before he realised that _now_ was not the time to worry about such a relatively insignificant thing as his hand. "I love you too," he said, fighting the pain as she did likewise in her reply.

"I really love you."

* * *

**SUNDAY, 28****TH**** FEBRUARY 2011**

* * *

At the stroke of midnight, the door saw its final new arrivals of the pre-Rey era as her other grandparents, Takahiro and Mie arrived, both looking around the scene of chaos in surprise. But, both also looked at Rika and Takato, together, one clutching to the other and the other clutching back, and both knew that everything was going to be alright. Fumiko pushed the door closed, knowing that now would come the biggest scream of all.

"Push, push," Setsuko said, Rika finally doing exactly as she said despite the sheer pain of it all. After all, she had an outlet, Takato, one who was somehow fighting the sheer pain in his hand as he felt his bones threaten to contort and break down.

"Push Rika," he groaned against the feeling of it all, taking a step closer to the 'action' as he egged himself on to look. He peeked, and immediately regretted it as the sight was permanently printed onto his vision. _"What the hell?!"_

Chaos simply laughed.

"Push!" Setsuko called, trying to feed the baby out.

Renamon clutched the egg close to her chest, its vibration practically constant and Guilmon's eyes stuck for what to watch, the egg or Rika giving birth. _"It's time," _she thought, looking across to Rika and wishing her strength to deal with the next bit.

"One last push!"

Rika took a deep breath, before putting everything into it; straining downwards, squeezing Takato's hand and letting loose an almighty scream, one permanently etched into the memories of all present as a flash of light burst from the egg nearby.

And then, as four D-Vices struck **00:00:29, **it was over.

Everything suddenly slowed, the world seemingly coming to a standstill as the midwife held the baby in her hands, all bloody but still well-and-truly living, and, not only that, but taking her first breath and thus taking her first move on her own two feet. Well, metaphorically.

Baby Rey.

And she was not alone in being new to the world, for born at the very same instant and lying in her mother's arms alongside a black D-Vice with a half-ruby, half-sapphire ring around its screen, was a small, red blob-like Digimon, timidly clutching close to her mother's arms.

Baby Rejimon.

Born in the same moment, taking their first breaths from the same air, and being bonded their whole lives.

Rey stared on, disbelief in her eyes at what she was seeing. That was her. That was her. That was her. The thought failed to register in her mind, the paradoxical nature of it all completely bewildering her as she resorted to simple amazement at how fragile she looked. _"I'm so…tiny…and…just…how…how?"_

Realmon was similarly gobsmacked, not sure who to look at first: Rey or her. Ultimately, she herself won out, and as she stared on at the frail red blob cradled in her mother's arms, the opportunity to see her own birth through her own eyes an opportunity no-one had ever had before. She found herself not only thoughtless, but speechless.

Takahiro could barely breathe, not for asphyxiation but simply because all his breath had been stolen away by this very moment, the very sight of a new life entering their world, and not only that but a new life related to him, his granddaughter. _"Takato finally did it…I'm so proud of him," _he thought, casting his eyes across to the boy.

Guilmon looked up, staring at the red blob and, like all the rest, not being able to speak, or even think very coherently. His mind simply focused on Rejimon, a tiny little thing that had somehow been inside that egg the whole time. His nostrils twitched, taking in the smells of the room but being the only one in there who could actually tell Rejimon's scent apart. _"She's real."_

Seiko smiled, looking proudly down at her exhausted daughter who nonetheless was transfixed by her child. The woman looked to her great granddaughter again, somehow feeling so young despite her new position supposedly making her feel old. This child, her DNA had passed from her, down to her daughter, down to her daughter's daughter, and now found its way into this tiny, timid, fragile new life, taking her first glimpses of the world around her as involuntary cries sprang from her mouth. _"It may have been a mistake, but she is still a Nonaka, and she is still one of our family. I still cannot believe it's Rey though."_

Renamon looked down, feeling the tiny thing nuzzle against her chest as a smile manifested on her face. Could it really be real? Could Digimon produce other Digimon? So long until now, she had simply seen all this as part of Terriermon's patch, something not originally intended, perhaps wrong, and definitely a mistake on her part but…maybe, maybe this was natural. Maybe this tiny thing was proof that they as Digimon could resist anything; could overcome anything. She cast her eyes over to her Tamer and her fiancée, hands still tightly gripped together. _"And the same is true for humans," _she thought with a smile.

The first thing which Rumiko could think of when she looked down was how similar everything felt to when Rika had been born 17 years earlier, albeit without the Digimon. A tiny child, so fragile, so innocent, born out of what seemed like a mistake but cherished so dearly by her parents. She looked over to her daughter, both tired, but both together, and both determined to succeed. _"And they will."_

DarkBiyomon looked up, seeing everyone frozen as a collective breath was caught. From the red blob in Renamon's arms to the child in Setsuko's, there was suddenly new life in the room - creation, rather than destruction. A sign of change, a sign of rebirth, and a sign of people being closer than ever before, two families joined by a child. But most of all, it was a sign of happiness, and as the bird stared on without an expression, she somehow felt some of that joy enter her mind also. _"Chiyo should've been alive to see this, but it is still a good thing."_

Meanwhile, Mie's thoughts were practically voiceless, the sheer sight of the baby freezing her mind as it struggled to come to terms with what this all suddenly mean. A snip of the scissors on the umbilical cord brought her back to enough for a smile to manifest on her face, one that only widened when she proudly looked over the baby's mother and father. _"They will be alright."_

"Congratulations Rika, Takato, it's a girl!"

Fumiko took it upon herself to announce the gender, providing that pillar of support that Rika needed but never got enough of from her throughout most of the process. She watched as Setsuko carefully lifted the baby and took her across to her mother, smiling as she let Rey down into her mother's arms, her father looking over, both so close to the child they had worried so much over. _"Now it's real Takato, and now I know you'll be able to manage it. You're still here."_

Chaos, staring down at his child, found it hard to work out what to think. Part of him wanted to reject the girl - she was the spawn of an unholy and appalling occurrence, not because it was sexual but because it was sexual between him and Harmony. And yet, he couldn't. This was his child, a child he felt closer to than any he had ever had before in his many lives, one so close that he knew that he had one thing to impart to her. _**"The ways of causing absolute chaos."**_

Harmony, meanwhile, had seen this happen and done this act so many times that the amazement of seeing a newborn was limited, yet, somehow, this one felt more important than all the others. This little girl, this little God, Rey, was truly her descendant, in DNA and in shape. Hazel eyes blinked back, a few tiny strands of very short reddish hair on a bald-looking head. The eyes, even when crying, looked so familiar, so…harmonic. _"She's my daughter."_

Takato stared on, the fact he was a father now only just beginning to register in his mind as he looked over the infant. Yet, somehow, the word had lost all its power over him - it failed to scare him like it once had. Maybe it was Takahiro's talk, maybe it was Renamon, maybe Fumiko, Rumiko or Chaos maybe all of them. But, he knew one thing, and that was that it was definitely Rika. Even in not saying much to him, she had told him so much. Even after the strains of childbirth and the sheer trauma of it all, she still looked beautiful to him, her eyes determined and full of new vigour yet tired and proud. And most of all, there was a smile on her face, a maternal smile, one that told him that Rika was feeling motherly, feeling protective, feeling a deep love for the baby there.

He was wrong, because Rika felt only one, unbelievably overwhelming emotion as she cradled the infant gently in her arms from where she sat up at the end of the bed.

Relief.

* * *

Blue hair shook to a stop as two dozen pairs of eyes looked around the waiting room to the corridor, a dozen conversations silenced by the sight of the wide smile on Fumiko Imai's face, a smile of pride, of happiness, and of relief. "It's a girl!" she called, a great cheer arising from the amassed Tamers as a wide smile appeared on all faces.

It was finally over.

* * *

"Aw…she's so adorable," cooed Kristy as she looked over her niece, cradled in her father's arms and wrapped in a white blanket as he cautiously made sure not to drop her. He sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to disturb Rika's attempts at relaxing behind him, the events of the past hour far too overwhelming for her, despite the fact an oddly calm atmosphere had fallen upon the room, the fluorescent lights now seeming warm and friendly rather than harsh and clinical.

Takato forced himself to look away from the baby, his eyes transfixed by her little fingers, hazel eyes and the fact she was, well, his. Somehow, now, it felt right though, an inexplicable feeling that he was doubtless deeply grateful for. He looked up to the people in the room - not everyone, of course - the room was too small for that even if a lot of people had already made flying visits and had now returned to the waiting room, to home, or to the corridor outside. His parents looked proudly over at them, and so did Rika's. Fumiko had stayed, even though she felt unbelievably tired. Henry had stayed too, although his mother had arrived to take Suzie home, the girl absolutely exhausted despite her eagerness to see the baby.

Rey had sat down at the foot of the bed, occasionally looking to herself but evidently just needing some time to herself, and Takato couldn't blame her. This was difficult enough to get to grips with as it was, let alone with the additional pressure of knowing that it was actually her.

Kari, Mari and Jeri stood along with Kristy, looking over the baby up close for all her adorability. Takato held onto her tight, for some reason not liking the prospect of anyone else taking her from his arms. Perhaps it was a paternal feeling, perhaps he simply didn't want to let go, but right now, he simply didn't care.

"Can I take a photo of her?" Kari asked, clutching her camera, something almost eternally on a string around her neck or in her pocket even if the actual model of camera had changed a number of times. Takato smiled, nodding and turning Rey to face the lens, smiling into it as the baby simply stared on, perplexed about what it was. Of course, everything perplexed her just as much as it did, even as a quick clicking noise made it clear the photo had been taken (sans-flash of course, which would not have been the smartest thing around such a small child), she continued to stare at it, and at the faces staring back at her.

Kari held the camera out, showing the picture to the boy who simply smiled, before looking down to the real thing, something that a photo could never hope to rival.

"Aw," Mari cooed, smiling and looking over the girl as she looked around at the world, her retinas still not sure what to focus on. "I want one," she commented, turning to face Ryder, just in time to see all the blood drain from his face and his eyes and jaw widen in total shock.

"Wha…what?!" he stuttered, the girl finally breaking her fake expression and laughing at him.

"You are so easy," she laughed, stepping over and putting her arm round him, noting how tensed up he had gone and simply shaking her head in disbelief. _"They're all the same," _she mused, chuckling. He simply looked down to her face, staring for a bit before deciding to cast the joking suggestion away to the winds.

Setsuko, having stood back from proceedings thus far, looking over to the girl sitting on the end of the bed with a concerned expression, before looking back to the group of teenagers and taking a step towards Ryder.

"Pardon me to intrude, but is your friend Ivy alright?" she whispered, Ryder simply giving a completely bewildered expression whilst Mari raised an eyebrow.

"Uh…" Ryder began, wondering if this was simply another of Ivy's messages, albeit this one seemed far less cryptic than all the rest. How did she contact Setsuko anyhow? They were a universe apart, and the midwife didn't seem to know anything about their situation.

He glanced over the woman's shoulder, seeing Takato silently laugh nervously and nod frantically, making it clear that they still had something to explain to him and Mari.

"Yeah, she's fine," Ryder replied, still not sure what the woman was referring to. She took a concerned look down the end of the bed, Rey still deep in thought as she stared at Rejimon in Guilmon's arms, the Digimon sitting against the wall with Realmon sitting nearby and watching herself. Still unsure but not wanting to make an issue of it, the midwife nodded, stepping away from proceedings and out of the room.

"Okay, what on earth was that about?" Mari asked, turning to Takato with a bewildered expression. He laughed sheepishly, looking down to Rey.

"See, we couldn't exactly tell her Rey's real name, and on the spur of the moment…"

"Ah, I see," Ryder said, still wondering why they had to pick _that_ name of all those available. _"Ugh, Rey is as Rey does."_

"Takato," Rika said, her voice oddly timid and silent, a sense of exhaustion seeping through. She looked to the baby in his arms, the slightest gesture of eye and hand making clear her intentions. He nodded, gently passing the infant over and into the girl's awaiting arms, a contented smile on both their faces as the baby girl looked up again at her mother.

Sensing that their presence had become excessive, Jeri tapped Mari on the shoulder, the girl nodding back as the teenagers began to head out of the room, slow footsteps kept silent as they resisted the urge to stay and simply watch the child.

"We'll give you a bit of space to breathe, shall we?" Seiko suggested, a warm smile on her face which met an exhausted one on Rika's, a nod passing between them as the various parents echoed it. Rumiko gently guided Kristy away, the girl transfixed by the sight of her niece. DarkBiyomon trailed behind her Tamer, still trying to come to terms with all she had seen as they exited the room.

Fumiko stepped over to Takato, gesturing to the door. "I'll go and begin arranging all the paperwork and everything, okay?"

"Thanks," he said, nodding. Rika smiled to her in thanks, not saying a word as the woman stepped out of the door, it's form finally falling silent as it was closed. Takato glanced around, a truly peaceful atmosphere settling as he, Rika, Rey, Rey and their partners were left alone to take in all the emotions raging through their minds.

Rika sighed in relief, looking up to Takato and finding herself unable to get rid of the smile on her face, and certainly unable to get rid of the exhaustion behind it. The boy simply smiled back, gently reaching out and putting his hand on hers, the slight redness in it thanks to its earlier use as a stress ball seen as nothing but an unfortunate side effect now by him. "She's really ours," Rika mumbled, her mind still trying to come to terms with the idea that she had produced another life, one so small and fragile which had somehow before been inside her.

"She's amazing," Takato echoed, smiling and leaning over to kiss Rika. This time, without the pressure of Rika's pains and of the rapidly approaching birth, it was far deeper and longer, their lips clutched together and hoping they would never have to let go.

Rey glanced up from the end of the bed, a smile on her face in spite of the fact she was still struggling to come to terms with what had happened. She looked back across to Renamon and Guilmon, the latter engaged in a staring contest with Rejimon. Could she tell what was going on? Was the red blob-like Digimon conscious of her own actions yet, her own thoughts, the events around her, or would she develop like a human, in tandem with her partner who she would forever share a close bond with? Realmon watched the trio, keeping her distance for fear of accidentally coming into contact with herself.

Renamon stared contentedly down at Guilmon and their child, knowing their relationship with their offspring would be radically different from that which Rika and Takato would have with Rey. Rejimon would survive regardless of whether they were there or not - they would support the creature simply by protecting her from all that was bad in the world, entertaining her, and helping her become close to her Tamer. _"And I wouldn't have it any other way."_

Takato and Rika finally broke their kiss, a longing for more in both of their eyes but the sheer exhaustion in Rika's making it clear she had to stop and yawn, as she did. Takato smiled, glancing down to Rey again who seemed to have loosened up and become freed from her own world by the sight of the kiss. No words being said, she shuffled along the bed towards them, eyes locked on herself in Rika's arms, a sight which truly did beggar belief.

"I think I'm causing every paradox in the book just by being here," Rey said, her younger self looking directly at her as they locked eyes. What was she thinking? Could she tell it was her she was looking at? Did she, deep down, know herself in the future?

"I think she likes you," Takato said, smiling to his daughter, both present and future.

"I'm just glad it all worked out fine, I was really worried there that I'd screwed everything up and I'd be born early."

"Yeah, it all happened just in time," Realmon said, leaping onto the side of the bed by her Tamer, a hand reaching out and gently stroking her tails. Rey breathed a deep sigh of relief, smiling.

Rika reached out, pressing her hand against her belly, and not for the first time either. She gave an awkward smile, half-happy and half-bewildered, as she looked over to Takato. "It feels so weird to be thin again," she noted, part of her glad to be rid of the huge, movement-restricting blob on her and part of her missing it. She ran her hand across her skin, her mind trying to remember what it had been like nine months prior, searching for what had changed. It definitely felt tender, although she knew that that was because of the dramatic body-change she had undergone, some almost completely unseen as their concentration focused on the child. "I'm telling you one thing though, I don't want to go through _that_ again," she added, looking to Takato with a stern expression.

"We'll be more careful next time."

Rey gave a light smile and chuckled. She watched them talk; pleased they were finally back on good terms again even if they weren't talking particularly about the drama of the past few hours. She doubted they would ever want to revisit it, a time when they had been so distant right when they should've been ever so close.

Takato nodded in agreement to Rika, not entirely sure when the 'next time' would be. He knew for certain that their parents wouldn't want it to be for a while, even if the 'innocence' they were meant to maintain was already nine months gone.

"**Yeah…on second thoughts, please **_**never**_** do anything like that again."**

"**I have to agree with Chaos."**

"**That's rare."**

"**Not the rarest thing to happen today. And you should be thanking me; I did a good thing today."**

"**And what would that be?"**

"**I'm not evil; I tried to stop Takato escaping. I proved you wrong, ****'cause I'm the greatest."**

"**How does your ego still fit in Takato's head?"**

"**'cause I'm the greatest," **Chaos said with a wide grin.

"**Ugh."**

Renamon, taking her attention away from Rejimon for the first time in ages, stepped over towards Rika, smiling subtly as ever as she held out a black, ruby and sapphire device - Rey's D-Vice. Its screen glowed dimly, deactivated as Rika curiously took it in her hand, looking down to Rey.

"I think her wrist is just a little too small right now," she said, passing it to Takato for safe-keeping. "But someday," she added, looking to Rey who nodded in return.

Once again, the girl cast her eyes down at herself, the baby girl staring back again. Those eyes, those beautiful, round, wide, innocent eyes, _her_ eyes. Unconsciously, she began to reach out, her hand moving towards herself.

And then, a jolt of reality struck her, her hand leaping back before it could get anywhere near her own skin. "Blinovitch," she muttered to herself, reminding herself that she had to be unbelievably careful from now on.

Rika frowned, seeing the disappointment and self-berating manifest in the girl's expression. She looked down to the child, making a decision that she knew would be risky, but she also knew that Rey needed right now, in both present and future forms.

She lifted the girl, passing her to Takato who gave her a briefly bewildered look when he saw her gesture with her eyes towards the older Rey. "Uh, here," Takato said, holding out the blanket-covered form.

"I can't," Rey insisted, shaking her head as, across the room, Guilmon and Rejimon looked up, the latter bouncing towards them despite being shy of all the people present. Realmon, petrified, leapt across the bed like a frightened cat, Renamon raising eyebrows in surprise.

"_She must be worried that Rejimon could leap at her or something."_

"If you just hold the sheet, you're not touching your own skin, right?" Rika said, explaining her reasoning.

"Yeah, but indirectly I would be! I don't want to take that risk."

"Rey, if I hadn't taken a stupid risk in the first place, you wouldn't even be here," Rika said, a defiant stare on her face. "So do it."

Rey looked back to Takato, seeing a look of nervousness in his eyes as he held Rey carefully, glancing down to her. He breathed in, looking to the older Rey who reached out, also breathing in deeply as her hands moved out. They curled, ready to take herself in her arms but staying just below as she grappled with her own mind about what she was about to do.

"_This is going to go wrong, I know it. Why am I listening to everything Rika's telling me to? She doesn't know, she doesn't…"_

Her thoughts were interrupted as weight began to be laden on her hands, the soft feeling of the blanket caressing her skin. Takato's hands remained underneath baby Rey, making sure the older Rey had a grip on her before doing anything.

Rey looked down, seeing herself staring back, safe and sound. The world hadn't exploded. Bursts of light hadn't bound them together. The hospital was still intact, and she was standing there, her hands safely touching the blanket without incident.

"It worked," she mumbled in shock, pulling her baby self closer and sitting back on the bed, stroking her own skin through the blanket as her mind ran wild. Was this really safe? What if she dropped herself? What if she left permanent mark on her own skin? Wouldn't that be a paradox? Wouldn't that be impossible?

But, suddenly, those thoughts vanished into the ether, all thanks to one thing.

Baby Rey smiled. And Rey smiled back.

Rika watched contentedly, not wanting to say a word to interrupt the touching moment. Neither did Takato, nor Renamon, Rejimon (if she could, a least), Guilmon and Realmon, and even Chaos and Harmony kept quiet for once.

Unfortunately yet rather aptly, Destiny chose that moment to interrupt the calm.

A knock at the door sounded, heads swinging round to look as Takato called for the person to "come in". Smiling, the very familiar face of Fumiko peeked in, taking a step into the room and being greeted warmly by all those inside, in spite of the fact she was interrupting a peaceful moment.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," she said, giving a light frown as she raised a clipboard, a number of papers attached to it. "This is the birth certificate," she noted.

"Ugh, always the paperwork," Rika groaned, sighing deeply as she knew her mind wasn't ready for such an ordeal. Fumiko wandered over, giving a light smile at Rika's remark before looking towards the two Rey's.

"She's so adorable," Fumiko said, having seen hundreds of newborns before but finding oddly that none of their cases compared to this. "Have you decided on a name yet?"

Rika looked to Takato, both smiling. "Yep."

"Good, because that'll make this a lot easier. Who is going to fill it out?" she asked, Rika reaching out for it.

"Pass it here," she said, taking both a white pen and the clipboard. Briefly glimpsing across it, she signed her name at the bottom, before passing it over to Takato. "You can do the honours," she said, surprise on his face.

"Uh, okay," he mumbled, looking down at the key document, the birth certificate, some things already penned in like the signature of Setsuko, of Fumiko herself, of Rika and Takato's parents and of a legal advisor, along with the date and time of birth, the location, and a number of other things. He sighed, gesturing to the table in the corner, knowing how difficult it was to write on a clipboard. "Just give me a sec," he said, wandering over towards it as Rika and Fumiko nodded.

"That was cruel," Fumiko said, smiling.

"Fun too. Besides, I'm completely wiped out. You try pushing a baby out of you."

Fumiko's expression faltered, Rika coursing her eyebrows as she wondered what she had said wrong, what she had said to bring such a sad expression to the woman's face so quickly.

"I did," she said, looking over to the baby Rey as an awkward silence fell, her words close to a whisper. "It didn't work."

Rika looked briefly bewildered, before suddenly her mind cottoned onto the truth, one which hit her like a ton of bricks as she looked at the girl. "Oh…I'm so sorry. I never knew," she said quietly, Rey too busy locked into a staring contest with herself to even hear what was going on.

Fumiko's sad expression remained as she remembered the harrowing feeling, the depression, the loss, her lowest point ever. Her miscarriage. "Don't worry, I never told you, there was no way you could've known, but…maybe that's why I wanted to help you with all this…I don't normally get involved so deeply in the maternity ward, I'm usually a medical doctor…there are a lot of doctors who are more experienced at this sort of thing than me. And, maybe that's why I was really worried about you and Takato."

"What happened to the father?"

"We broke up. Our relationship wasn't as strong as yours, and without the baby or marriage it simply couldn't last. I almost quit my job, but…I knew that I'd never recover if I did that."

"Aw, that's so sad."

Fumiko frowned, nodding as she cursed herself for ever letting the subject be raised. "But, I'm not going to let that sour today. I bounced back from that, and I decided not to let myself end up that badly again, and I'm better off for it. Sure, it would've been nice if things turned out differently, but…we live with what happens."

"Whatever happens," Rika said, a smile on her face as she recalled those words and their terrible record for making bad things happen.

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it. So, have you decided on a name yet?"

Rika glanced to her daughter, both present and future, before smiling widely and looking back to the doctor. "Yep. Rey."

Fumiko looked to Rey, thinking that Rika was telling her fellow redhead to tell her the name. But, she simply looked back, a slightly nervous expression on her face.

"So, what is it?"

Fumiko looked back to Rika, the girl giving an honest face as her eyes widened slightly, restating what she had just said. "It's Rey."

"But…you already know a Rey? Are you naming it in honour of her?"

"No," Rika said, shaking her head and grinning widely as it was Fumiko's turn to stand, bewilderedly looking between the trio of redheads (albeit one only with very short and fine hair) and trying to work out what on earth they were talking about. And, likewise, it was her turn to be struck by a ton of bricks.

"No…no…wait, you can't mean?" she spluttered, glancing between Rey and the baby to be named Rey with her eyes as wide as plates. "That's not…possible."

"I've travelled in time, Fumiko," Rey said, Rika smiling, almost with pride, as the doctor stared on in disbelief. "This, this baby, is me," she added, looking down to the infant who stared back at them, bewildered by the situation. Whether she could actually see them, and whether she could tell what they were, was doubtful, but she definitely could tell that something was going on.

"H…how?!"

Rey looked down to herself, carefully continuing to hold the baby whilst she gestured to her left arm, the time device prominently on it as always. "This thing. I came back from the future, and I wanted to see my own birth. I…I can't touch myself, but I can touch the blanket," she explained, trying to answer all of the questions she knew Fumiko would have.

Fumiko stepped back, leaning onto the bed in total shock at what she had just been told. This couldn't be true…could it? She stared at the older Rey, beginning to see it all. The eyes, the hair, the jaw line…all so familiar. Elements of Takato, of Rika, of their parents as well. This girl…this girl, _was_ their child.

"Sorry for not telling you sooner," Rika said, smiling as she did so. "It's just another one of our big secrets."

Fumiko paused, trying to collect herself as she looked between Rey, Rika and Rey. "I still don't understand."

"Did Ryder tell you about the Angels?" Rey asked, the doctor searching her scrambled and confounded mind before simply nodding. "Well, did he mention any Gods?"

"Well, yeah, I think he did."

"Fumiko, meet Chaos and Harmony," the redhead said with a smile, gesturing to the boy walking back towards them, papers in hand, and to the girl in the bed, a smile on her face. The former looked briefly surprised, having been too caught up in the documents to overhear their conversation. "The Gods."

"**Pleased to meet you," **Harmony said, her low, mature, feminine tones contrasting with Rika's.

"What?"

"**Howdy," **Chaos echoed, Takato coming to a stop and trying to work out what he had missed.

"My name is Rey, and I am the Tenth Angel of Destiny," she explained, a proud smile on her face as she held herself tightly, fighting the urge to put her hand on her heart with pride. "You see, because I am their daughter, I have a few more…powers than most, and even than most Angels. Not this time device though, it was given to me by a friend."

"Your world…it…it…" Fumiko stuttered, before she simply sighed and chuckled to herself. "It just never ceases to amaze, does it?"

"Nope."

A silence fell, the doctor glancing between them all and still trying to take it all in. Takato coughed finally, interrupting it as he held up the clipboard.

"It's done," he said, Fumiko nodding and looking down to the sheet. She smiled, her eyes still wide with shock at what she had learnt as she read it, what she had been told being confirmed by what was written under **Forename**.

"Well, then," she said, taking an enthusiastic sigh and looking down to Rey and Rey, her father and mother nearby and looking eagerly up to her, awaiting the words of the beaming doctor. The baby, not knowing what was going on, looked about from Rey's arms, as her name was called for the first time. "I'd like to welcome you, Rey Matsuki, to the world."

Takato smiled proudly, whilst Rika's expression faltered. "Matsuki?"

An all-too-familiar sheepish laugh filled the air, as Rika glared at her fiancé. "Well, you see…"

"Give me that," Rika called, reaching out for the birth certificate. "I thought we were going to discuss it," she said, before casting her eyes down to where it was written, clear as day.

**Surname:**

**Matsuki**

"See, you told me to fill it out and I thought we'd agreed on her name being Rey Matsuki. I mean, I know we're not married yet, but I thought, you know…uh…Rika…you haven't said anything in a long time."

And sure enough, she hadn't. Her eyes glanced back and forth between the clipboard and Takato, a suspicious and rather peeved look on her face.

**Forename:**

**Rei**

**Surname:**

**Matsuki**

"Takato…you stupid, stupid, Gogglehead!"

"Uh…what?"

"You spelt Rey wrong you dimwit!"

"No I didn't. It's R-E-I, right?"

"No! It's R-E-Y, how couldn't you know that?"

"I've never seen it written anywhere!"

"I have, she told me how to spell it."

"But she never told me."

"But how can you spell Rey as Rei?"

"She's Japanese; I thought that's how we'd spell it!"

"But Rey's a Japanese name too."

"But it's really rare, isn't it? I don't know anyone with it."

"That doesn't matter, it's nicer if she has a more individual name." Rika insisted, groaning as she ran a hand through her hair. "Ugh, now we're going to have to get a new certificate written and this one burned and we've signed it and our parents and the doctors too and ugh, how stupid can you be?!"

Takato frowned, looking down at the ground sadly as Rika berated him, not an unfamiliar situation. Had he failed, had he failed at the one task he needed to get perfectly right?

"Wait," Rey interrupted, the eyes of the spectators stopping their endless glances back and forth between the pair like it was a game of tennis (albeit with insults rather than a ball) and all focusing on the girl. "So my name is Rei Matsuki, with an 'I'?"

"No, it isn't. Rey, we can change it," Rika insisted, shooting daggers at Takato.

Rey froze, her eyes widened in realisation as she stared off into space. "No, wait…it all makes sense now!"

"Wait, what does?" Realmon asked, still keeping her distance from Rejimon by sitting on the other side of the bed.

Rey looked to her partner, her eyes shining with newfound truth. "Why I never got to see any documents, why you guys always hid them from me. Every passport, every application, every census reply…Christ, have I been living a lie all this time?" she said, falling off her feet to perch herself on the edge of the bed.

"It doesn't matter, we can change it," Rika insisted, trying to reassure the girl who seemed so shaken by revelation.

Rey was too caught up in thought to reply yet. "The thing is, I always did think 'Rey' didn't look very Japanese…it sounded too Western, I always wondered why you chose it…but…if it really isn't my name, then…you guys taught me to always spell it wrong!"

"Then you can change things. We're going to change things anyway, they may as well change your name to Rei and teach you that," Realmon suggested.

"No, but that won't work. Mom, dad, please…you have to teach me to write my name with a 'y' until I go back in time, okay? Like, a pet name, you know? And you can't let me see anything to the contrary?"

"But, how?" Takato asked, wondering how they could possibly keep things from her for so long.

"You must've managed it. Just, make sure you don't let me know, okay?"

Rika looked to Takato, both now completely bewildered but both nodding to each other, and then to Rey.

"Fine," they both said together.

"This also means you'll _have_ to call her Rey Matsuki, because otherwise when you change her name to Matsuki when you get married she'll find out," Fumiko noted, Rika inhaling deeply and nodding in agreement, some reluctance in her movements.

"Ugh, I hate time travel," she groaned.

Takato chuckled nervously. "To be fair, we are going to get married anyway…it really shouldn't matter what she's called until then," he said, Rika staring into his eyes as he strained against the glare she sent.

Finally, she let out a deep sigh, rolling her eyes heavenwards before giving in. "Fine, fine…we'll keep her name with an 'i' then."

"So, I guess…I guess that makes me Rei Matsuki then," Rei said, looking down to herself again with a sense of disbelief still in her voice. She smiled widely, swearing she saw a smile in reply on baby Rey's face. "And you're Rey Matsuki too," she said, waggling a finger in front of the baby's face as she pointed down at a visage she could never touch. But, despite all that, despite the name difficulty, despite the pain of Rika's birth, despite the future this girl had, and despite how difficult her life would be in trying to avoid touching her…it was still her.

Takato finally let out a deep sigh, almost deeper than that Rika had given at the end of her pregnancy. And likewise, it was for one, clear, simple and joyful emotion.

Relief.

* * *

**Nonaka Residence, Shinjuku Ward**

**17:42 JST**

Rey once again found herself clutched in her mother's arms as she entered the home she would have for the next few years, a place sure to be cherished in all the memories she would have of it. For Rika, it felt like it had been ages since she had last been there, and even longer since she had last been this thin at home. She only carried the baby, but behind her followed Rumiko, Takato and Rei, carrying various bags, nappies and other items from the car. Renamon, Rejimon sleeping in her arms, Guilmon and Realmon followed their Tamers, the latter keeping a safe distance from herself even though she was asleep at that moment.

Rika breathed a deep sigh of relief to be home, as Kristy rushed up from the sofa and eagerly looked over the baby. Evidently, she had already had a chance to sleep, and it must've been a better one than the sleep Rei, Takato and Rika had had that morning, neither the hospital bed nor chairs proving to be very comfortable.

"Aw," Kristy said, Rika quickly shushing her.

"She's asleep," she whispered, Kristy nodding and putting a finger over her mouth. Kudamon, still sitting on the coffee table, watched his Tamer's reaction with intrigue, knowing that he'd never understand her mannerisms no matter how long he was her partner. DarkBiyomon, sitting on the couch nearby, continued to watch everything the humans did with intrigue, being Chiyo having given her a narrow view of the world. She was seeing brand new reactions, brand new events, brand new people, and she wasn't entirely sure what to make of them.

"I won't say a word," the girl whispered back.

"You just did."

"From now on."

"Good," Rika said, giving a playful smile before she looked up to her grandmother, smiling proudly back at her and glad they were home safe and well.

"Tired?" the older woman asked, her granddaughter nodding repeatedly.

"Very."

"**How many nappies does one baby need?" **Chaos grumbled, Harmony revelling in his misery as Takato continued to carry bags and packs in from the car. Rei helped, trying to fight back the urge to stand and take in the moment for what it was.

"That's the last one," Rumiko finally said, closing the door to their home and stepping inside. A strange silence fell, none sure what to do until Rika yawned, looking to Takato.

"Ugh, I don't know about you but I'm tired."

"You should sleep when she sleeps," Seiko advised, Rika nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, but I'm finding it hard to even consider parting with her."

"Don't worry, I'll check up on her," Rumiko said, her tone reassuring enough to overcome the difficulty Rika had with the idea.

"Thanks."

"I put the cot in the spare room for now - I wasn't sure whether you'd want her to sleep in the same room or to use a monitor," Seiko noted.

"I'm too tired to think about that, so I'll just put her in the cot where it is for now."

"Good."

She turned to Takato, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips. She smiled contently as he did the same, before casting her eyes down the hallway. "Shall we go tuck her in then?"

Takato nodded, Rika taking a step in the direction of the hallway. Takato paused, glancing to Rei. She at first took a step forward to follow her mother, before questioning herself. Rika paused and, with a tilt of the head, gestured that she could come too, the time traveller nodding and the trio excusing themselves from the adults before making their way down the hallway.

The light of the oncoming evening began to settle, the world diming and Takato flicking the warm lights of the corridor on as he passed. They stayed silent as their footsteps progressed along, past Rika's room and onto one of the several guest rooms next door, now finding itself with a new purpose as baby Rey's bedroom.

Takato opened the door, Rika smiling tiredly before stepping in, the dimly-lit interior perfect for a baby needing to sleep. Sure enough, the cot was there, all prepared and ready for its occupant, and Rika wandered over to it before gently settling down Rey into it.

Rika paused and stared over the baby's form, pulling the blanket over and trying to remember everything from her baby books about the correct way to let a baby sleep in a cot. She was surprised as it came remarkably naturally to her, something which definitely reassured her in her abilities as a mother. She leant down, gently kissing the sleeping Rey on her forehead before turning back to face Takato and Rei, no words said as she walked back towards the doorway.

Rei and Takato paused, staring into the crib with a sense of amazement still in their tired eyes. They finally took their eyes off the girl, turning to follow Rika back out of the room, her hands gently closing the door behind with barely a sound.

She looked to Takato, an unbelievable sense of relief in both their eyes as she gripped him in a tight embrace, glad that everything had worked out. Takato hadn't left her. Rey had been born on time. Fumiko had been there at the birth. And she felt like a mother. She pulled back, smiling tiredly.

"I need to sleep. Will you still be here when I wake up?" she said, her voice a strange mix of contentment and frailness, the memories of the pain of giving birth still fresh in her mind and making her feel particularly vulnerable even when she knew she had the power in her fingertips to do, well, almost anything.

"If you want," he said, smiling back to reassure her. He was still expecting at some point that he would freak out from the fact he was now a father, but oddly and thankfully for him, it hadn't seemed to happen yet. Fingers crossed it never would.

"Please," she added, leaning forward and pushing her lips against his once again in a kiss. "I love you," she said as she pulled away.

"I love you too," he replied, their words ending as she wandered back towards her room, entered, and closed the door as gently as ever behind her.

Takato watched her go, before turning, looking back to Rei who had watched proceedings with a silent jaw.

"This is all so different," he said, the fact that both his fiancée and daughter were now sleeping or going to sleep in the two rooms next to them a very odd one indeed for him.

"Yeah."

"Hmm…Rei, does this mean we're getting closer to when you have to, you know, intervene?"

"I think so, yeah."

"What do you think will happen?"

Rei frowned, shrugging. "I don't know Dad."

"Well, whatever happens, we'll be there to help," Takato said, yawning deeply and stretching out his arms before cursing himself. "Aw nuts, I said it again."

Rei chuckled at her father, the boy turning and shaking his head at himself in disbelief as he wandered back towards the living room. _"He should really get some sleep too," _she thought, but knew that he wouldn't rest until he knew both his girlfriend and their child were okay and were going to be well-cared for.

And then, Rei Matsuki found herself alone, the hallway empty and only the quiet sounds of chatter and snoring echoing down it. Her own breathing dominated all, as she pushed, putting her hands on the back of her head and stretching her elbows out to either side, looking round at the 'moment' she had travelled so far to visit.

A flash of metal flickered at the edge of her vision, and she lowered the time device in front of her, reminded of her task. She undid the strap, holding it out in front of her, but with no intention to press its button. She turned it over, gently running her fingers across the brushed metal case, the letters **R** and **M** written on it. Her hand paused on it, knowing what was underneath.

A button, one which would staple time in place, one to prevent catastrophe.

Rei frowned, knowing that, for all the happiness, she still had a job to do. The whole world, the future of the whole entire world and all its people, even perhaps the future of the whole universe, would soon rely on one person.

Her. Rei Matsuki.

**THE END**

* * *

**A/N:** Well, it's finally over, and I can breathe a sigh of relief that it didn't take too much over a year in the end. I've been very busy over the past few weeks with exams and such, and although I'm now sounding like a broken record I'm sorry for the extreme delay. If you'll notice, today, the day of publishing, is the very same day as that the ending scenes are set on, the 28th February. I couldn't resist aiming for such a fantastic piece of temporal irony. In any case, I'd like to thank all of you for bearing with me through the highs, the lows, the trials and of course the pebbles of writing **Book** **Six**, and I hope you have thoroughly enjoyed what has now become my favourite Book (so far, hehe).

There will be a short interval now while I change the film…I mean, finish planning out **Book Seven**, so I suggest you read up to date in **Extra Dimensions** (including **Story Seven: Christmases**), and also **Dimensions: Stratagems**. From now on, I'll be expecting that everyone has read everything so far in the series, including **Extra Dimensions** and **Stratagems**.

To anyone reading this in the future when **Book Seven** is already underway or complete: I still recommend you take this chance to read those side-stories so you don't end up lost. As a quick note, in case it went under the radar of anyone, the girl in **Survivor** is Naoko, not Rika. It's all basically one huge play on the reader, and hence it's definitely one of my favourite Extra Dimensions stories.

Oh, and also, you'll now find URLs for my Twitter and DeviantART things for Blazing Chaos on my profile page at the bottom, as well as more links on the wiki. Another thing to note is that my style of formatting, dates, locations etc. is likely to change a bit for **Book Seven**, allowing me more freedom to write more professionally without the restraints which having to keep track of times exactly have always placed on me. Key times will still be put in, but closely occurring scenes will be unlikely to have new timestamps. Apologies in advance to anyone who enjoyed keeping track of things this way.

Now, to finish off **Book Six**, we shall look forward to **Book Seven** with, as is becoming usual, a preview:

* * *

**Next time in DIMENSIONS**

"_My name is Ryder Mark Watson Stevens."_

Ryder stood, arms braced, held outwards as he awaited his fate, the lights illuminating his face as he closed his eyes.

"_Somehow, I ended up in a different world far from my old life, a world where my dreams are becoming a reality."_

With a flurry of tail and fur, DarkRenamon touched down next to Mari.

"_Am I mad, in a coma, or is this real?"_

Taking a desperate breath, Ryder sat up, a cold sweat running down his face as he came face to face with someone he didn't expect to see, and yet oddly still did.

"_The worst thing is that I know that if my two worlds collide, I'm going to have to make a sacrifice."_

The fiery inferno ripped upwards, screams barely heard above the roar of the fire and explosion as the flames engulfed their victims.

"_Dreams or Reality. Friends or Family. Mari or Ivy."_

Ryder fell into her arms, the sheer exhaustion of what had just happened wracking through his body so much that the only cure right now was that magical thing known as an embrace.

"_If I just knew the truth, maybe I could decide."_

**Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.**

"Please Ryder. Don't die."

"You wanted a way home, didn't you?"

"Ryder, are you insane? They'll kill you!"

"I have to do it Mari."

"**The country is in turmoil, the government is using military action to contain those responsible for this attack. They are reassuring people that the perpetrators will be caught and normality will be restored as soon as possible."**

"The whole city…what's happening?"

"TRAITOR!"

"It's…everywhere."

"Takeru, are you okay?"

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can. Nowhere is safe."

"**Above all else, the government is reassuring civilians not to panic."**

The flames rapidly raced up the sides of the pair of towers, licking upwards into the sky as a thunderous roar shook the very foundations of Tokyo itself, the fiery vortex smashing window after window and generating a catastrophic firestorm.

All went silent.

**Beep**

**Beep**

**Beep**

"Please Ryder, you have to hear me. You have to wake up," cried Ivy, leaning down by his hospital bedside and wiping away a tear from her eye, a futile effort as more began to pour, her words becoming but a whimper. "Please."

**Beep**

**Beep**

**Beep**

**Beep**

**Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep**

**Dimensions Book Seven: Escapes**

**Coming soon.**

* * *

Until next time…

B.C.


End file.
